Blog

  • Differentiate and Stand Out

    Some of the agents in my brokerage are taking a 3-day workshop on becoming better at marketing our businesses. It’s geared for real estate agents, but everything I’ve heard so far is good for any business owner to learn, and …

  • Cold, Windy Winter Days

    The cold outside today wouldn’t be so intolerable if it weren’t windy. This morning, I actually had to wear my sunglasses to go bring food and water to the horses and chickens. The wind was brisk then, and my eyeballs …

  • Update on the Old Shed painting

    Update on the Old Shed painting

    Time has been very limited lately and I haven’t been able to work on my old shed painting often enough. Today an hour presented itself, between loads of laundry and after running to town in the rain to get hay. …

  • Cooper’s Hawk and the Road Runner

    On our way to town Tuesday, we stopped along our dirt road to get a better look a Cooper’s hawk. I had hoped to get a photo, but the bird wouldn’t stay in one spot long enough. As we got …

  • Ozark Winter Walkabout

    Ozark Winter Walkabout

    Yesterday it was almost 60*F, and inspired a little walkabout in the Ozark winter to see how the pond and creeks looked, and our little driveway glacier.

    For the past few days, the temperatures have been mild, above freezing. But …

  • Our Little Driveway Glacier

    At the lowest point on our driveway, there is a spring that seeps. During winters, the seep still flows. And as it does, our little driveway glacier grows. The water spreads out over the driveway and freezes into a large …

  • Newsletter Subscriber Special

    Newsletter Subscriber Special

    Just a quick post to let you know that I’m running an impromptu newsletter subscriber special. Sign up before 5pm to get the code.

    Subscribers will receive a code to buy original art, prints, and notecards at 50% off until …

  • I’m an Artist Who Uses Paints Made from Rocks

    I’m an Artist Who Uses Paints Made from Rocks

    Every so often, I need to make a post at my website to introduce myself and share a bit about what I do. This helps keep my website relevant in the ever-important search engines. So hello! I’m an artist who …

  • Frozen Fingers on a Beautiful, Brutally Cold Morning

    Frozen Fingers on a Beautiful, Brutally Cold Morning

    It’s another beautifully brutally cold morning here at Wild Ozark. After bundling up to go out and feed the horses and chickens, I glanced at the package of Hot Hands and decided, nah, I’ll only be a few minutes. Twenty …

  • The Moment of Quickening

    I’ve been working on this painting for a while now. The sky is the farthest background, so that’s the area of focus. All the while it’s been pretty standard, putting paint here and there, by design or by whim. But …

  • Owl Spotting Day

    Before the snow began the other day, I needed to go into town to inspect one of the properties I have listed. That turned out to be a great Owl spotting day.

    On the way down the driveway, the dripping …

  • Snow Days at Wild Ozark

    Snow Days at Wild Ozark

    The past two days have been declared Snow Days at Wild Ozark. It’s been brutally cold, but today the temperatures have warmed up to 46*F so far and it is bright and sunny outside.

    I haven’t been outside much because …

  • Nature is Both Brutal and Beautiful

    Beautiful brutality are two words that seem at odds with each other, right? But that’s exactly what the natural world really is – Nature is both brutal AND beautiful.

    Even the parts most people would consider ugly is still beautiful …

  • Savor the Commute

    Savor the Commute

    When I used to work in Bentonville it meant a long drive to and from work every day. Most people probably don’t savor the commute, but I did.

    On the way out, the thirty minutes of dirt road gave me …

  • Finding the Balance Between my Creative Life and Business Goals

    When it comes to multi-tasking my life, work, and creativity demands, finding balance is my goal for 2025. When I wrote out my goals for 2024, there was a lot more on my list and I didn’t even touch …

  • Fiction influenced by Nature

    This is a post I wrote in 2014 on this same date. I’ve added an update in italics, and a paragraph at the end about the current situation concerning my (lack of) writing. But re-reading this post makes me want …

  • Herbal Care Gift Set 2024

    Herbal Care Gift Set 2024

    Yesterday I made the decoction and infusion for the Winter Crud syrup that goes into my annual herbal care gift set that I make for each of my adult children’s households. The other items include a bottle of sting oil, …

  • December in South Texas

    December in South Texas

    We just returned from a trip to south Texas, not far from Corpus Christie where my husband was born and raised. My next travel post will be in March, about springtime in south Louisiana, where I was raised, if not …

  • It feels like winter

    Well, sooner or later ever year there comes a point where it feels like winter has arrived. This week here at Wild Ozark marked that point. It’s been 19*F some mornings, but this morning was 24*F and that is plenty …

  • My Growth as an Artist

    My Growth as an Artist

    My first painting was in summer of 2018 while I was visiting my husband who was working in Qatar at the time. I didn’t have many art supplies on hand – only the first set of paints I’d ever made …

  • Old Shed with Red Sunset | Painting in Progress

    Old Shed with Red Sunset | Painting in Progress

    This old shed is one of my most photographed subjects. I take pictures of it in various weather, lots of sunsets, and throughout the seasons. Now it’s time for an Old Shed with Red Sunset painting, using my Ozark pigment …

  • Making a Tube of Earthy Yellow

    Making a Tube of Earthy Yellow

    I have a painting project stalled for lack of paints. Before I can get back to work on it, I need a few fresh colors. One of the pigments I use from my palette often is a dark, earthy yellow. …

  • !! BLACK FRIDAY ART SPECIAL !!

    !! BLACK FRIDAY ART SPECIAL !!

    One day only, Nov. 29, 2024 from 8am to 3pm, get 1/2 Price on all available ORIGINAL WATERCOLOR PAINTINGS (unframed). It’s my first annual Black Friday Art Special 🙂

    Here’s the link to all of the watercolor paintings (discount won’t …

  • Caulking the Chimney & Terraced Garden Path

    Caulking the Chimney & Terraced Garden Path

    This past weekend was one of cleaning and organizing my office/studio (still not finished), and tending to some homestead tasks that needed doing. One of those was caulking the chimney. The other involved a load of floodwater gravel to make …

  • Disorganized Space | Time for Studio Cleaning & Organizing

    Today I’ve started working on a task that’s been on my to-do list for the whole year. It’s one I procrastinate for as long as I can, it seems. But it just can’t go on like it is any longer, …