A Rainbow in Stone

 A desert landscape, entirely from my imagination! Well, OK, a desert landscape with elements from various locales assembled together in one scene.

A Rainbow in Stone                      8" x 10" / 20cm x 25"

The background is from Sedona, AZ. The arch is actually a reversed image of Rainbow Bridge, UT (that's where the rainbow in the title comes from; besides, both the arch and rainbows are arches), the plant life is from southern AZ, and the golden barrel cactus are native to northern and eastern Mexico in the state of Chihuahua.

I wanted to do a painting that combined some of my favorite desert scenery, but besides that -- this is somewhat of a rendering of scenery I want to make on my HO scale model railroad.

To me, model railroad landscaping is analogous to a sculpture version of what I paint. It's a painting in 3D. The only things missing are the cloudy skies and distant mountains -- and I may work on that problem, too.

I hope I can succeed in pulling off a scene like this in HO scale!

Mark Junge

www.MarkJunge.com or www.SouthwestSpaces.com

In the Mojave (Desert)

All new: "In the Mojave" is a scene in Joshua Tree National Park, CA. This involved one of the few times in my life (years ago) when I scrambled up a boulder to get more of a bird's-eye view.

8" x 10"/20cm x 25cm, acrylic on panel. No AI. Enjoy!!

Mark Junge

www.MarkJunge.com or www.SouthwestSpaces.com

In the Mojave                                                   8" x 10" / 20cm x 25cm

Sonoran Desert Moon

Sonoran Desert Moon is the latest in my never-ending series of desert paintings!

The size is 18" x 24" / 45.7cm x 61cm, a size that was always my favorite size, but I don't tend to work that "big" anymore.

The scene is in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, AZ, looking toward the Sonoita Mountains of Mexico. (I've seen the mountain range spelled "Sonoyta" -- I don't know which is the favored spelling). I sort of thinned out the vegetation somewhat, and I've never had the pleasure of seeing the view from a bird's-eye perspective.

In any case, I followed a 19th century Hudson River School tradition by painting the landscape this way. I added cloud shadows and a quarter moon that is partially obscured by clouds. (I actually painted in more clouds than I had intended to, but I decided to leave them. Maybe I'll do another piece similar to this, but with fewer clouds).

Enjoy!

Mark Junge

www.MarkJunge.com or www.SouthwestSpaces.com

The Nurse Tree

A nurse tree is one that provides shelter and a certain level of protection for other young plants; in this case, a saguaro cactus. Here, a palo verde tree in bloom offers shade to the cactus, enabling it to grow to a large size without getting burned in the scorching desert sun. (The tree is also giving shade to a desert cottontail bunny-rabbit!)

The Nurse Tree    8" x 10"/20cm x 25cm

Mark Junge

www.MarkJunge.com or www.SouthwestSpaces.com

Desert Adobe

Desert Adobe is a painting where my imagination took over. The distant mountains are based loosely on the Coxcomb Mountains of Joshua Tree National Park, CA. But the rest of it, including the house, are figments!

I wanted to create a sense of aloneness. Would someone living here ever feel lonely? Is the house even occupied, or is it abandoned? Who knows?? I'll leave that up to the viewer!

Desert Adobe                           8" x 10"/20cm x 25cm

Alone in the desert! Enjoy!!

Mark Junge

www.MarkJunge.com or www.SouthwestSpaces.com

Finished the Joshua Tree Scene!

I mentioned last time I was working on a scene from Joshua Tree National Park, and I posted the photo I was using as a reference. Well, it's finished!! I even included a desert cottontail bunny-rabbit, which I haven't done in a while since it's a little hard to paint them when the artwork is small!

One Desert Morning                                               18" x 24" / 45.7cm x 61cm

Detail -- the Bunny-Rabbit!

Mark Junge

www.MarkJunge.com or www.SouthwestSpaces.com

Still Painting -- Slowly!

 Here it is, June already, and the year is almost half over!! Good grief!!

Late last month I went into nearby Joshua Tree National Park before the heat would set in and dry up whatever wildflowers were left. Even so, there weren't as many as I had hoped, but I still got some awesome material for more paintings.

I'm working on one now, although I'm being rather pokey about it. I seem to have developed a major lazy streak!! (But then -- after being a workaholic for so many years in college and after, I think I'm entitled).

This is a hill I'm painting numerous times before, each a little different from each other:

(The road, of course, won't be included in the painting!)

Continuing the continuation!!

Mark Junge

www.MarkJunge.com or www.SouthwestSpaces.com