I decided a few weeks ago to try painting some scenes that might appeal to the mountain bikers who enjoy the trails of northwest Arkansas. Since I’m not a biker, I searched online for ideas and found a photo of a biker on the Choo Choo trail in Bentonville, Arkansas, by Joe Jacobs. He gave me permission to use his photo featuring his wife, Lisa, on the bike. Together, they own , Arkansas Outside.

Choo Choo Trail, Bentonville Arkansas

Of course, my colors won’t be anything so vivid as this. In fact, I’ll probably keep it sepia-toned for the landscape. And of course, I can’t paint anything like it is in real life, so it won’t be exactly like this in layout, either. But hopefully it’ll be appealing to those who love riding those trails!

Photo by Joe Jacobs, used with permission

The Process

Here’s where you can see the messy progress from start to finish. I’ll add updates as I get to them, but right now there hasn’t been much time to paint lately.

I’m not going to attempt to add the cyclist until after the paint is dried. That way, if I need to wipe it off and try again, I can 🙂 Mountain bikers aren’t my usual repertoire, so there’s no telling how it’s going to turn out…

Finished, Waiting for Paint to Dry

So, even if the colors are photographic, I like the old-world hues of our earthy Ozark pigments. This painting is now finished and listed at my online shop in the ‘In Progress’ category. While the paint dries, and until it’s varnished and framed, there’s a discount on it. Once it’s ready, I’ll bring it over to the gallery in Alpena and you can find it there or still purchase online at the full price. I’ll also bring it whenever I make the monthly journey to the Bentonville Art Market.

About the Colors

I use the rocks of Wild Ozark to make my paints, except for the white. So, all of the ‘color’ is from Ozark pigments, but the white is from titanium dioxide. It allows me to add values and shades to my very limited palette of earthy colors. If you’d like to know more about this part of my process, here’s a page that will get you started down that rabbit hole.