Welcome to my blog about Nature, Art with Ozark pigments, Rural Real Estate, & my Hermit Homesteading Life. Oh, and sometimes I write about my philosophical observations.
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A sampling of the art that I’ll have at the Bentonville Fine Art Festival
Mark your calendars for this event planned by Arkansas Art Shows. The fair will be held at the picturesque Orchards Park in Bentonville, Arkansas, across from the entrance of the renowned Crystal Bridges Museum. I’ll be there with my art …
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Little Things can Make a Big Impact
It’s so easy to get caught up on the big things – the huge projects, major hurdles, or life in general. Sometimes it can get overwhelming. I think that noticing those small accomplishments, moments, and experiences that make up the …
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Check the Spring Tank
When it’s a drought, we monitor our water usage more closely than when it isn’t so dry outside. When it gets like this, before I do anything that uses a lot of water, like washing clothes, I take a hike …
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Checking the Spring Seep
The ‘Seep’ is where the ground stays wet on the far end of the horse’s field. Since it’s been so dry, I wondered if it had dried up too. Because if that spot is dry, then the creek is going …
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Northern Lights in the Ozarks
I’d always wanted to see the aurora borealis, and this year I’ve seen it twice. Northern Lights in the Ozarks are pretty rare to see. How did this Happen? These colors are the result of the electrons from the sun …
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2024 Ponca Color Fest
Join me this year on October 25 & 26 for the 2024 Ponca Color Fest! Last year the weather was misty rain and the event was cancelled. Cross your fingers for a weekend of cool, autumn weather and blazing colors …
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Making Pickles, Pickerel Frogs, and Washing Soot
Add to the list of things I’ve done this week planting lettuce, and starting a painting. But washing soot has to come before I can get a lot more done on the painting because I’m out of black paint. I …
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The Things I See at Wild Ozark
The other day as I was driving to the office for work, I saw a beaver at the second bridge. I stopped to watch it and took some video. Then on the way home that day, I saw deer, mostly …
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Paintings from Earth Pigments
My path to becoming a painter was sort of traveled in reverse. I found the pigment first, but wasn’t sure how to make use of them. After some experimenting and research, I made a set of watercolor paints. And then …
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Hognose Snake: a Master of Deception
While I was watering my garden the other day, one of the usually reclusive garden residents came out from beneath one of the boards propped up behind a bed. It was a hognose snake, also called puffers, or puff adders. …
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Char the Bones
Winter and fires in the woodstove are just around the corner. And that means it’ll soon be time to char the bones and antler I use for making a velvety black paint. It’s a good thing I don’t have to …
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Experiencing Nature and the Rule of 3
There’s a technique for dealing with anxiety that involves observation. It goes by many different names, but the one I know by is called the Rule of 3. I’ve found it to be excellent, not only for anxiety, but also …
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Fence Lizard | Starting a New Painting
I’m working on a painting of a fence lizard using my Ozark pigments in oils. This is the page that shows my progression from start to finish. During the hot days of summer, there are lots of fence lizards skittering …
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Prints of Madison Woods Originals
Technically, it’s misleading to call reproductions ‘prints’, but that’s how most people refer to them. In actuality, what I offer (aside from originals) are giclée’s. And a giclée is a reproduction made using a commercial inkjet printer with archival inks …
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Narrow Sized Imaginary Mountain Scene
While working on my fence lizard painting, I had leftover paint on the palette when finished for the day. So I decided to use it to start a new painting on the same size board, a small narrow 8″ x …
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How to Add Nature to Your Life
Research shows that having a connection to nature is beneficial to mental health, and those who spend time outdoors are likely also enjoying physical benefits. But, those who either live in cities, don’t like the usual ways people experience …
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Often Heard, But Seldom Seen
I have a short list of critters that are often heard, but seldom seen. The spring peeper in the featured image for this post is on that list. I was thrilled to finally get to see one so I could …
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Random Nature Connection – Resistance to Change
This is an older post, from 2015 about resistance to change. With so much change in the air these days, it felt like a good time to repost an old post. When I see the ice lifting tiny rocks and …
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What Constitutes Nature?
When you think of ‘nature’, you’re probably thinking of green spaces, trees, creeks, rivers, etc. But what else could that word encompass? This post is about questions pertaining to perspective and perception; about what constitutes nature. Gloria is probably more …
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White Passionflower
There’s a patch of white passionflower (Passiflora incarnata) in my garden that consistently blooms pure white blossoms. The ‘pops’ also look a little different, with a rounder shape than the usual egg-shaped pods. The other passionflowers around our place all …
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Seeing the Milky Way & Scorpio Constellations
After dark last night, we sat on our balcony and waited for our eyes to adjust. Seeing the Milky Way is always special, even here where we can see it often. The night was perfect for viewing – the moon …
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The August Issue of Wild Ozark Musings
It’s been a while since I’ve posted one of my newsletter issues here. These go out as an email to subscribers, usually once a month. If you’re also a member of the special groups, then you’d also get an email …
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Art in Fort Smith, AR
It’s time for Art on the Border! I’ll be at 1000 Fianna Way, Ft. Smith, AR this evening and all day tomorrow with original watercolor and oil paintings featuring the Ozark pigments. Lots of 8 x 10″ giclée prints, and …
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Mindfulness | Hermit Diary
While the world was in Covid shutdowns, I’d begun making blog posts I called ‘Hermit Journals‘. While I’m glad we’re not still in lockdown, I miss making those entries. So I’m going to start them up again as …