This is an example of the imagery that arises when I let my imagination guide my artwork. It’s one of the earlier paintings I did after finding out I could make paint from the rocks here, titled “Four of Wands”. The trunks of the trees represent the Wands you’d find in a tarot deck suite.
Symbolism
Most of the time, I don’t think my paintings carry symbolism. However, when I don’t work from a reference, sometimes what emerges on the canvas steeps in it.
While painting, I wasn’t thinking of the title or the reference to the tarot deck. My painting has a slightly different take on the interpretation of that card. It wasn’t until afterwards that I chose the title, because I could see the symbolism it portrayed.
Four of Wands symbolizes mirth in family, community, and harmonious security. In the painting, the main tree is a mother guarding a clutch of “eggs”. It was really rocks that inspired the egg shapes, but as I began painting them, they transformed into eggs. There’s a murky bayou running between her and the other trees in the background, representing the dangers that lurk in the world.
In spite of the gulf that separates them, the trees are a community and they’re the anchors in that world of possibilities.
Twisted Minds, Twisted Trees
Anyway, that’s how my mind works. I thought I’d share that with you.
ABOUT
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Madison Woods is the pen-name for my creative works. I’m a self-taught artist who moved to the Ozarks from south Louisiana in 2005. My paintings of Ozark-inspired scenes feature lightfast pigments from Madison county, Arkansas. My inspiration is nature – the beauty, and the inherent cycle of life and death, destruction, regeneration, and transformation.
Roxann Riedel is my real name. I’m also salesperson for Montgomery Whiteley Realty. If you’re interested in buying or selling in Madison or Carroll county, AR, let me know! You can see the properties that I blog about at WildOzarkLand.com.
Wild Ozark is also the only licensed ginseng nursery in Arkansas. Here’s the link for more information on the nursery
P.S.
There’s always a discount for paintings on the easel 😉
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Contact Mad Rox: (479) 409-3429 or madison@madisonwoods and let me know which hat I need to put on 🙂 Madison for art, Roxann for real estate, lol. Or call me Mad Rox and have them both covered!
https://www.youtube.com/@wildozark
