If you are on Maui, you can find Guy's Artwork at the Following Locations...

 
Artist Statement

 
"My art takes on many different variations. I enjoy exploring different media but in the end I always come back home to oil paining. I love the flexibility of oil paints and the ample time that I have to work the paint.

I greatly admire Pablo Picasso for his willingness to explore new styles and methods of art. He was an accomplished realistic painter at a very young age but realism wasn’t what he was meant to do. He used the foundation of traditional painting to expand and find his own voice. Even though my artwork looks nothing like Picasso’s, I consider his spirit of adventure to be very influential in my work.

The black lines in my early cartooning relied on variations of thickness – a line started thick then tapered to thin. The same thick-thin linework also shows up in Japanese calligraphy. Kanji is a set of Japanese calligraphy characters that was based on simple picture drawings and I love to explore carving kanji into stone. Hawaiian petroglyphs are simple rock carvings or pictograms that represented people or animals. They are very similar to the early Chinese and Japanese calligraphy characters and have become one of the subjects that I love to paint and carve.

A petroglyph is a very simple rock drawing but things that look very simple are often very difficult to master. If you look at my paintings or carvings involving petroglyphs you will see that there are variations of line thickness - a line starts thick then tapers to thin. This thick-thin relationship has become a major influence in my art and can be found in my oil paintings, cartoon illustrations and even my stone carvings. My petroglyphs are somewhat stylized because of changing line thickess, but that is what makes them uniquely my own creation."

Guy Junker         

The Brush and the Sword

A major influence in Guy’s life is the study and practice of a Japanese martial art called Iaijutsu. This style of Japanese swordsmanship involves mental focus and determination to quickly draw the sword, cut and return the sword to its scabbard. Guy has studied Iaijutsu since 1999 and regularly performs in public demonstrations and cultural events with Maui Komei Juku.
 

“The Brush and the Sword are very similar. If you are uncertain or hesitate when making a brush stroke or a sword cut, the result will be painfully noticeable. The key to both painting and swordsmanship is practice. Making something that is difficult look easy takes years of practice and the paths of the Sword and the Brush are unending ones. Both are paths to be followed for a lifetime.”

Guy Junker
 

Artist Bio

Guy Junker

Guy was born June 7th, 1972 in Arkansas City, Kansas. He was adopted by his new parents Bud and Phyllis Junker and lived in Kansas until the age of eight. Guy’s family moved to California in 1979 and most of his formative years took place in Santa Maria, California.

As a child, Guy always drew the cartoons that he saw in the newspaper and would pass them out to friends at school. Later in High School, Guy would draw every day in Calculus class which surprisingly was tolerated by his teacher Greg Sarkisian. His teacher saw that art was important to Guy and fighting this inherent instinct was perhaps not the best road to take.

During his Junior year at St. Joseph High School, Guy had drawn a political cartoon depicting headmaster Sister Shelia taking away some of the students’ year book privileges. Several hundred copies were distributed throughout the school lockers and Sister Shelia asked the school’s art teacher who she though might have drawn the cartoon.

Ms. Crabtree, the art teacher said, “Oh, that Guy’s work”.

Guy was quickly rounded up and brought into Sister Shelia’s office and was prepared for the worst. Over her wire brim glasses, Sister Shelia looked down at Guy and said, “I have given considerable thought to the appropriate punishment for your recent disruptive behavior and have decided not to punish you. Although I did not like the reference to my Trash Duty and Executions book or the Nazi uniform that had drawn on me, you were making a statement without vulgarity or profanity.” Guy had dodged a bullet and this controversial cartoon was Guy’s first published work of art.

After High School, Guy went to Allen Hancock College in Santa Maria, California and studied painting and sculpture. Much of the seedlings of Guy’s paining and drawings skills were learned at Allen Hancock College. Many established and well respected Central Coast artists would use the studio at Allen Hancock and Guy learned invaluable lessons from these working artists during his stay at Allen Hancock College.

Guy transferred to San Jose State University as a Fine Arts Major – Painting. During his time at San Jose State he began to hone his painting skills. In 1994 he visited his sister in Maui, Hawaii and fell in love with the islands and soon moved to Maui. Guy began cartooning and illustrating for various magazines and publications, including American Legion Magazine, Hawaii Race Magazine, Maui Time Weekly, the Journal of Asian Martial Arts, and Maui no ka oi Magazine. He also designed for Crazy Shirts Inc. which sells shirts in their Hawaiian Island locations and Mainland U.S. stores. Currently Guy’s illustrations are featured in each new issue of the Maui no ka oi Magazine and he regularly does cover illustrations for Maui Time Weekly. Guy also works in stone petroglyph carvings which can be found in stores and galleries throughout the Hawaiian Islands

Guy’s fine art paintings have been purchased by collectors all over the world including Japan, Portugal, Australia and across the United States. Over the years Guy has worked with many art directors and publishers. This invaluable experience has helped him immensely when working with clients on commissioned oil paintings. Determining the needs of the client and meeting the deadline have been interwoven into the process of Guy’s commissioned paintings.

Do you have something in mind for that space in your home or office?....Just ask Guy.