Today I’ll be painting a branch, the one my hawk is perched upon. But before I do that, there’s one feather I forgot to add. It’s on the tail and it’s making everything look off to not see it there. So I’ll add that first.
Here’s the pigments I’ve put on my palette for today.
Painting a Branch
- Magnetite (brown)
- Bone black
- Earthy yellow (sandstone)
- Indigo
- Titanium
- gray from titanium + bone
My tube of yellow is getting very hard to squeeze, so I’ll have to make more of that one soon. It’s not dried, but the pigment gets compacted if I don’t use enough oil. This is a tube from my first set and I made it too thick to begin with.
Local Ozark Pigments
All but the titanium and indigo is Ozark pigment. However, if my woad manages to grow this year, the blue will be officially an Ozark-grown pigment, at least. I don’t think I’ll find anything here to make a white, so I’ll continue using titanium powder to make that paint. I could make lead white, but I’d rather not. It’s hazardous until it’s bound to the oil. Titanium is nearly non-toxic.
Of course, none of the powders should be inhaled, and so that’s why a respirator or mask is necessary while working with the dry powders.
Today’s Painting Focus
Here’s the branch that needs work. I’ve done nothing at all to it yet except to put a bit of color to block it in when I first set up the outline. That’s all dry now, so it’s ready to begin.
To see the finished painting, head over to the hawk progress page.
Pouring Off Water from Washed Pigments
This morning, the red pigment had settled and I poured off the water. While I was at it, I made a little video to show how I do that. It’s not hard to pour it off at all, once it’s had enough time to settle firmly to the bottom. But you still have to do it very carefully. The pigment is light and can get dispersed back into the water very easily. If that happens, like if you bump the jar too hard, you’ll have to let it set again overnight to settle down and start over the next day.
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 😉
Here’s my Online Portfolio
And, Click here to join my mailing list.
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
