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

Painting of a Screech Owl | Ozark Birds of Prey

It’s not often that I get decent pictures of wildlife, let alone birds of prey. Slowly, I’ve managed to find some photographers with photos I can use to reference some of my series-in-progress of Ozark Birds of Prey. Several … Read the rest “Painting of a Screech Owl | Ozark Birds of Prey”

10 May 2023
Cottagecore Art is Down to Earth

My paintings in earthy colors fit into this style. This was a new phrase to me. I’d never heard of it before and didn’t know that was even a thing. It reminds me of when I first discovered the term … Read the rest “Cottagecore Art is Down to Earth”

10 May 2023
Rustic Kitchen Paintings

While I’m at the studio I paint when there’s no one visiting or shopping my art, or other tasks to do, I spend the time painting. This past Saturday I didn’t have any reference images on hand. Usually when I … Read the rest “Rustic Kitchen Paintings”

30 April 2023
The Why Behind a Painting

I got an invitation from Google to test out the new AI chatbot called Bard. So far I’ve tried it out for a few different things, mostly to draw up outlines for potential blog posts. Today I asked it to … Read the rest “The Why Behind a Painting”

27 April 2023
Wild Ozark YouTube Channel

Yay! Today we passed the 100 subscriber mark on our Wild Ozark YouTube channel. What? You didn’t know we had a channel?

A Slow Build

We’ve had one for a while but it’s been idle for a while, too. I’m … Read the rest “Wild Ozark YouTube Channel”

26 April 2023
When I’m not Painting, and Something Woo-Woo About Me

There are days when I’m not painting, usually when I’m between paintings or stepping back from one in progress. On Saturdays when I’m at the studio in Alpena, I always like to at least get something small done or … Read the rest “When I’m not Painting, and Something Woo-Woo About Me”

24 April 2023
Kings River in Spring | Ozark pigments in oil

Today (Tuesday 4/18/23), I started working over the underpainting I’d previously done. It was meant for the autumn scene, but I decided to use it for the Kings River in Spring because there are still a lot of autumnal colors … Read the rest “Kings River in Spring | Ozark pigments in oil”

18 April 2023
Today’s Art-Biz Task List

Photographing Artwork

The first thing on the Art-Biz task list for today was to get some good photos of the Raven. I took it outside for some photos in natural light. Here’s the final ‘done’ image. I’ll use this photo … Read the rest “Today’s Art-Biz Task List”

17 April 2023
Overcoming Video Fear

Today I went out to check and see if the ginseng unfurling had begun. It hasn’t. But if you want to read my update on what is up, head on over to my ginseng website. Then I hiked around … Read the rest “Overcoming Video Fear”

12 April 2023
Canvas Shopping Bag with my Raven Art

I’ll be ordering some of these this Friday. Do you want one? Thanks so much to all of you who have already placed orders!

https://shop.wildozark.com/product/raven-tote-bag/

Ordering Schedule

The first order will be placed this Friday. It’ll take about 2 weeks … Read the rest “Canvas Shopping Bag with my Raven Art”

5 April 2023
A Quick Cow Painting | Karter’s Brahman Baby

It’s a good thing my grandkids like paintings of their critters for their birthday presents. Here’s a quick cow painting for Karter. It’s her baby Brahman.

An alla prima quick study of a Brahman calf lying in hay. Ozark pigments
… Read the rest “A Quick Cow Painting | Karter’s Brahman Baby”

28 March 2023
An Artist’s To-Do List

Thursday and Friday was all about the rain, and more rain. With thunder and lightning in the area, I left the computer unplugged for much of the time. But there’s always something on my To-Do List to work on, whether … Read the rest “An Artist’s To-Do List”

25 March 2023
2023 Workshop Season

UPDATE 5/2/23: Workshop season is here, and I’m beginning to schedule a few classes/workshops/herbwalks/orchidwalks. Some will take place here at Wild Ozark, and some will take place at the studio in Alpena. Keep up with workshops as they’re scheduled by … Read the rest “2023 Workshop Season”

21 March 2023
A Spiral Day

This morning I walked over to see if there’s grass growing in the horses’ field yet. After crossing over rocks in the creek, as I walked up the hill out of the creek valley, I found this fossil. It looks … Read the rest “A Spiral Day”

19 March 2023
Art Made from Natural Materials

For the past few days I’ve had to make a detour from my Detour for a Thirsty Raven painting. Because my art is made from natural materials, it means I have to take the time to replenish my supplies from … Read the rest “Art Made from Natural Materials”

11 March 2023
New Acceptance | Creature Conserve at Swale House

I’m incredibly honored and excited to announce that Destination Unknown is heading to the Swale House on Governors Island, NY for the Re-Imagining Conservation: From the Ground Up exhibition.

Many thanks to @creatureconserve Curator, Heather McMordie. The exhibit runs … Read the rest “New Acceptance | Creature Conserve at Swale House”

3 March 2023
Detour for a Thirsty Raven | Raven Painting

This raven painting is my largest painting yet. The substrate is a birch board with three coats of white gesso. All of the colored pigments are Ozark and locally foraged, but I use purchased titanium white pigment to make a … Read the rest “Detour for a Thirsty Raven | Raven Painting”

27 February 2023
Shiny Object Syndrome? | Switching Gears

Sometimes an opportunity arises and I leap at it. Afterwards I question whether or not my desire to pivot is warranted, or is it a case of ‘shiny object syndrome’. Have you ever heard of that phrase? It’s the habit … Read the rest “Shiny Object Syndrome? | Switching Gears”

21 February 2023
Little Cabin in the Woods | No. 2

While I’m waiting on my white pigment powder to arrive, so I can make an opaque white paint, I figured I’d experiment a little with the paints I have on hand. My white grounds came in a few days ago, … Read the rest “Little Cabin in the Woods | No. 2”

14 February 2023
Dreary Day Art | & Why Not Horses?

It surprises me that I have never attempted to paint horses. All of my early life I doodled horses on any scrap of paper I could find. Eventually I got pretty good at drawing them. Dreary day art musings led … Read the rest “Dreary Day Art | & Why Not Horses?”

7 February 2023
Ozark Winter Storm | Jan 24 2023

Progress on my painting of Kings River in winter came to a grinding halt a few days ago when we got our first Ozark winter storm of the season. We’ve had some freezes, and a little snow, but those little … Read the rest “Ozark Winter Storm | Jan 24 2023”

28 January 2023
Empty Paint Tubes for Oil Paints

Eventually, once I’ve made more paints, I’ll write a page on my process with that. In the meantime, for those wishing to know where I get the empty tubes for oil paints, here’s a link. I get them from Amazon, … Read the rest “Empty Paint Tubes for Oil Paints”

21 January 2023
Kings River in Winter | Ozark pigments in oil

Definitely needs a do-over

So this is one of the first paintings I tried with my Ozark pigments. I wanted to use only Ozark pigments and the result was that there wasn’t good variation in shades. White is necessary, and … Read the rest “Kings River in Winter | Ozark pigments in oil”

17 January 2023
Kings River Paintings | Four Seasons

So many excellent paintings of the Buffalo National river and the surrounding natural areas exist, but I haven’t seen many King’s river paintings. While both rivers begin in our local area, Wild Ozark is in the Kings river watershed. And … Read the rest “Kings River Paintings | Four Seasons”

17 January 2023
Kings River | Scenes that Inspire Art

We live in the neighborhood of upper Kings River, in Madison county near the Newton county line (Arkansas). Kings River Falls are not too far away as the crow flies. The landscape here is rocky heart of the Boston Mountain … Read the rest “Kings River | Scenes that Inspire Art”

15 January 2023