C Diff

 Oh, the joys of C. diff.

In case you haven't heard of this, C. diff is short for Clostridium difficile, a group of bacteria that gets into your colon (or may already be there) that is typically outcompeted for resources by all the other bacteria in one's gut.

However, too often, going through a round of "broad-spectrum" antibiotics -- antibiotics that weaken or kill almost all bacteria except C. diff -- removes the competition and allows the bad bugs to multiply and cause major diarrhea, and sometimes can damage the colon. The condition itself is referred to as C. diff.

The Wiffee had a tooth extracted last month, and her dentist put her on a round of clindamycin to prevent an oral infection. (A "prophylactic" use of antibiotics -- never a good idea, in this retired microbiologist's opinion!) And guess what? Now she has C. diff!! Clindamycin is a broad-spectrum antibiotic and, I discovered, is especially notorious for setting a patient up for C. diff.

So -- I've been more of a caretaker than an artist for about 1.5 weeks, and we're both running out of steam. We've been advised to place The Wiffee in an assisted care facility until this is over with -- at my age and condition, it really is more than I can handle, particularly since diarrhea and not eating much has weakened her considerably.

C. diff can be a recurring disease, but we're hoping that won't be the case here. Anyone who wants to pray for us and especially for her -- please! Feel free!

Mark Junge

www.MarkJunge.com or www.SouthwestSpaces.com

Scanning electron micrograph of Clostridium difficile

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci,

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci, more commonly known simply as Leonardo da Vinci, was the ultimate Renaissance Man -- artist, engineer, architect, scientist. (Da Vinci was NOT his last name -- in Italian, it means "of Vinci", the town in which he was born).

Even people who are not that excited about art have heard of him. And that he's the one who painted the famous Mona Lisa.

Mona Lisa

Frankly, however, I never understood why this particular painting has received the notoriety that it has. It must be the most famous painting on the planet -- but why? I mean -- it's a beautifully done piece, but for whatever reason, it just doesn't grab me and pull me in. I've seen portraits that move me much more than Mona Lisa.

It may well be an image of Leonardo in drag -- there are theories about that. And her "mysterious smile" -- what's that all about? She has a hint of a smile -- so what? We ALL do from time to time!

So -- what am I missing? What makes Mona Lisa so special in people's eyes?

Mark Junge

www.MarkJunge.com or www.SouthwestSpaces.com

Desert Sunset -- on a Bunny??

"Desert Sunset on a Bunny." ON A BUNNY????

Well, yeah...if you've been following this blog for a while, you know I'm addicted to cute little bunnies, whether domesticated or wild. They (along with guinea piggies) have gotta be the cutest critters in God's creation!

So I often place desert cottontail bunny-rabbits in my desert scenes, watching the viewer before the viewer notices the bunny! I hope this new piece continues the tradition.

Desert Sunset on a Bunny            11" x 14" / 28cm x 35.6cm

This scene is in Joshua Tree National Park, California, USA.

Mark Junge

www.MarkJunge.com or www.SouthwestSpaces.com

The Desert and a Desert Bird

Years ago, I was in Joshua Tree National Park on a cloudy day, and I was lucky (or blessed) enough to be in a spot where the clouds opened up just a little and shone a spotlight on a Joshua tree in front of a monzogranite formation. It didn't last long, but I was able to get a few pictures of it on black-and-white film before the spotlight disappeared.

Sadly, I don't know where that roll of film is today, although I know I still have it SOMEwhere! But between my memories and more recent photos I took to provide the details, I was able to reconstruct the scene as I saw it (except the sky was a more solid gray, not as dramatic-looking as I painted it. Size is 8" x 10" / 20cm x 25cm.

The Sun and the Rain

I also finished a piece showing a handsome desert bird -- a Phainopepla (pronounced fane-oh-PEP-la). They look sort of like black cardinals, but they aren't cardinals at all.

On the left are the birds' favorite goodies -- desert mistletoe berries. Like the Christmastime mistletoe, the desert variety is somewhat parasitic, and birds that eat the berries (like our friends, the Phainopeplas) drop the seeds, typically after it passes through their digestive tracts, and the seeds are deposited on some unsuspecting, innocent plant to grow and begin the cycle anew.

But the birds have those neat crests on their heads, black feathers (females are gray) and red eyes. They're quite striking and are about 8" / 20cm long. The size of this painting is, like the above piece, 8" x 10" / 20cm x 25cm.

Phainopepla

Mark Junge

www.MarkJunge.com and www.SouthwestSpaces.com

Three New Desert Paintings!

Visiting Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Arizona last month definitely energized my desire to paint the desert -- I've completed three small paintings since we returned on 04 April!! All are 8" x 10" / 20cm x 25cm.

A Desert Stroll

Eagle's Nest

Arizona Desert

Can you tell? I LOVE the desert!! I think I needed to see saguaro and organ pipe cacti in their natural settings. (Eagle's Nest is a scene in local Joshua Tree National Park, California, USA). I love Joshua trees and our Mojave desert, too, but I think I needed to be immersed in the Sonoran desert of Arizona for more inspiration.

I'd say it worked!

Mark Junge

www.MarkJunge.com or www.SouthwestSpaces.com

Allosaurus and the Queen of Blood!

April has been sort of an interesting month, art-wise. We took a trip to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona (I needed to see cactus!) and a quick daytrip to nearby Joshua Tree National Park. We had hoped to see lots of flowers, but there weren't very many.

I finished a painting for a friend who wanted an image of herself as the Queen of Blood, a top-tier vampire in a spooky scene. I also made a quick drawing of an allosaurus, a Jurassic-period carnivorous dinosaur. I identify with being a dino, while the friend sees herself as the Queen of Blood!!

I think the Queen of Blood isn't too scary, but if you're sensitive to ghoulish/Halloweenish scenes, you may not want to look beyond the Allosaurus drawing.

Mark Junge

www.MarkJunge.com or www.SouthwestSpaces.com

Allosaurus

The Queen of Blood

Cactus and Clouds

Life has a way of putting us (me) behind schedule. I dealt with Covid in January and seemingly got past it. Then last month I had a bout of vertigo -- that dizzy feeling where the world seems to be spinning around you even if one is sitting or lying down! Thankfully that's over with now. Vertigo can be an after-effect of Covid -- I've had brief episodes of vertigo before, but this time it lasted a week. NOT FUN!!!

At least I did manage to squeeze in a new painting of the Arizona desert -- it's entitled Cactus and Clouds, measures 11" x 14" / 27.9cm x 35.6cm, and depicts an area southwest of Wickenburg, AZ:

Otherwise, I'm now working on a painting requested by a friend -- sort of Halloween-ish, but it's not of Halloween. I may post it here, but I may not, in which case I'll write about something else.

I'm still feeling fatigued a lot and often don't feel like doing much, but I try to find a balance -- paint while I still can, but be lazy when I want to be lazy! After being a workaholic for so long, I've learned to love laziness!!

Spring is almost here. Enjoy the turn of the season, pray for Ukraine, and thank you for your support.

Mark Junge

www.MarkJunge.com or www.SouthwestSpaces.com