Wild Ozark™

~ Nature Artist using Ozark pigments in Kingston, Arkansas ~

Wild Ozark: Where Madison Woods paints with Ozark pigments … and talks to rocks, creeks, and trees.

Blog

Progression Page | Gail’s House | Memorial Painting

Gail’s House

This photo taken by my dad is the reference I’m working from. In this memorial gift painting, there’s a lot more bright green than something I’m accustomed to. I’m not sure my pigments will get quite there, but
… Read the rest “Progression Page | Gail’s House | Memorial Painting”

15 September 2023
Upcoming Madison Woods Paintings | Memorial Gift, Paintings as Gifts

For the rest of the year I’ll be busy doing art for family members, so any commissions requested now will begin after 2024 begins. Here’s the itinerary for upcoming Madison Woods paintings.

A Memorial Painting

My oldest son’s paternal grandmother … Read the rest “Upcoming Madison Woods Paintings | Memorial Gift, Paintings as Gifts”

12 September 2023
Hiking up the Mountain

This morning I went hiking up the mountain to check on our water tank. It’s been very dry here for the whole summer, and the recent rains haven’t added anything to the creeks. The creeks are almost completely dry. Every … Read the rest “Hiking up the Mountain”

10 September 2023
Making a Temporary Fix in the Morning, Painting in the Afternoon

I was mending fences with a temporary fix in the morning, painting in the afternoon, and keeping a close eye on Rob in between.

Temporary Fix, Twice and a Dead Battery

Thursday morning, when Rob took his morning walk, I … Read the rest “Making a Temporary Fix in the Morning, Painting in the Afternoon”

9 September 2023
Limelight Hydrangeas in Progress | A commissioned painting

This is a 5 x 7″ commission of Limelight hydrangeas. I’ll use my Ozark pigments in oils plus white made from titanium. For the green, I’ll use a combination of the yellow lake pigment that I made from thyme I … Read the rest “Limelight Hydrangeas in Progress | A commissioned painting”

1 September 2023
Twisted Tree In Ozark Pigment Oils | #1-2023

Sometimes they’re just gnarly, twisted trees. Welcome to my progression page for a Twisted Tree in Ozark pigment oils. My Twisted Tree paintings fall into a category all by themselves. These paintings have no direction, and I just go wherever … Read the rest “Twisted Tree In Ozark Pigment Oils | #1-2023”

30 August 2023
Stonework is Also Artwork

Aside from using the rocks around here for making my paints, I love using stonework to make my garden terraces and stairways to wind through those terraces. Today I added another step to the stairway on the front end of … Read the rest “Stonework is Also Artwork”

29 August 2023
Wall of Gratitude

I love it when my collectors share their framed artwork with me. Seeing how they’ve framed it and where they’ve placed it in their homes fills me with a joyous sense of gratitude. So I’m making this post as a … Read the rest “Wall of Gratitude”

27 August 2023
Artist’s Log 2023 | Art, Nature & Homestead

My days are usually filled with a variety of business, art, and home related tasks. This post will serve as my art, nature, & homestead ‘short’ journal entries. More like an artist’s log book, if you will. Some of the … Read the rest “Artist’s Log 2023 | Art, Nature & Homestead”

23 August 2023
When Life Throws a Curveball

Little things crop up unexpectedly from time to time, like a hailstorm in late May or squirrels eating all of the pears when they’re almost ripe. Sometimes life throws a big curveball, though. Such an event happened here at Wild … Read the rest “When Life Throws a Curveball”

20 August 2023
Yellow Paint from Thyme | Lake Pigment | Part 4

Today I’ll be using the pigment I made a few weeks ago to make yellow paint from thyme. It’s an oil paint. I use linseed oil to make the paints, and walnut oil while I’m working with them. While I … Read the rest “Yellow Paint from Thyme | Lake Pigment | Part 4”

15 August 2023
Walking the Morning Mile | Signs of Autumn

This morning after the rain stopped, we walked our morning mile. I noticed the red leaves of black gum (black tupelo) scattered here and there on the driveway. They’re a subtle cue that autumn is on the way. Yellow sweet … Read the rest “Walking the Morning Mile | Signs of Autumn”

14 August 2023
BioDB: Uniting the World for Wildlife Conservation

Introduction: This is a guest post from the founder of BioDB, Assaf Levy. From time to time, I host a guest article on this website if the topic has to do with nature, conservation, environmental concerns, local nature attractions, or … Read the rest “BioDB: Uniting the World for Wildlife Conservation”

13 August 2023
Kings River in Summer | Ozark Pigments in Oils

As you might already know, I’m doing a series of paintings featuring the beautiful Kings river throughout the seasons. This page is for Kings river in summer. The reference photos I’m using for all four paintings are taken at the … Read the rest “Kings River in Summer | Ozark Pigments in Oils”

11 August 2023
Periodic Clearing

Every so often over the years I’ve written about the times when I’ve had to do a sort of mental housecleaning… a periodic clearing of the metaphorical clutter in my life. Sometimes that also involves clearing out a bunch of … Read the rest “Periodic Clearing”

7 August 2023
Long Dirt Road: Why it Takes me an Hour to Drive 12 Miles

This is a post from a few years ago that I love, so I’m reposting it. We live down a long dirt road. This little facet of our lives is the main thing that makes or breaks most newcomers to … Read the rest “Long Dirt Road: Why it Takes me an Hour to Drive 12 Miles”

2 August 2023
Journal Entry | 2 August 2023

My plan with this is to just jot down the little things I do each day that I think will be interesting to someone somewhere. If a Journal Entry is long enough to post by itself, I’ll hit publish. If … Read the rest “Journal Entry | 2 August 2023”

2 August 2023
Nature Art Inspiration at Kings River

I recently finished a painting set at the Kings river which is down our road. Wild Ozark is a few more miles down the dirt road away from pavement than the bridge, but we cross it every time we go … Read the rest “Nature Art Inspiration at Kings River”

2 August 2023
Art Book | Soul of the Ozarks 2023

A while back I decided to make an art book to send to my collectors. They’re not big door-stopper books, just a catalog of the current art available, with some prose. Every year I’ll make one but will start with … Read the rest “Art Book | Soul of the Ozarks 2023”

31 July 2023
Kings River in Autumn | Ozark pigments in oil

A week or so ago, I started working over the underpainting I’d made for this scene. This one is different from the other two in a significant way. I didn’t have any reference photos when I started working on it … Read the rest “Kings River in Autumn | Ozark pigments in oil”

23 July 2023
Changing of the Seasons

It doesn’t feel like it outside, but inside of myself I can feel that autumn is on the way. The changing of the seasons is underway. There’s been a subtle shift, and every year when this point passes, I can … Read the rest “Changing of the Seasons”

18 July 2023
Lightfast yellow color, Harvesting Thyme, Planting Weld & Indigo

In my quest for lightfast yellow color, I usually use earth pigments. Those are notoriously long-lasting. They’re also earthy, beautiful in their own way and I love them. But sometimes I crave brighter, clear colors. Those are usually only found … Read the rest “Lightfast yellow color, Harvesting Thyme, Planting Weld & Indigo”

11 July 2023
A Yellow Paint Experiment | Lake pigment from thyme

Back when I made my very first set of paints, I had a really nice yellow. I’d made several yellows from various plants and did lightfast tests on them. All failed except for the one, gorgeous yellow. Not only did … Read the rest “A Yellow Paint Experiment | Lake pigment from thyme”

4 July 2023
The Wild Ozark Art Studio in Alpena is Permanently Closed 🙁

Sorry to say it, but my sweet little studio just wasn’t paying the bills or earning enough to make it feasible to continue. The original post below remains for memories.

What now?

I may begin doing outdoor pop-ups at home … Read the rest “The Wild Ozark Art Studio in Alpena is Permanently Closed :(”

2 July 2023
3 Creative Ways to Use Rocks

If there’s one thing I do well, it is that I am a master of finding creative ways to use rocks. Since we moved to these rocky Ozark mountains in 2005, I’ve loved our rocks even if they do present … Read the rest “3 Creative Ways to Use Rocks”

20 June 2023