The other day as I was driving to the office for work, I saw a beaver at the second bridge. I stopped to watch it and took some video. Then on the way home that day, I saw deer, mostly does and yearling fawns. A mile or so later, a woodchuck hurried off through a cut the graders made for drainage. And a in the next mile or so, lanky bobcat crossed the road to head down towards the Kings river bank. The things I see on my way to or from, or while wandering around Wild Ozark almost always sparks my fascination and curiosity.
While were were out shooting exploding targets with the grandkids on Sunday, I found a fossil from part of a crinoid. These were ancient marine animals, and a living version of them still exists today. And Chloe found a rock shaped like Arkansas and showed it off to her cousin Jax and me. We brought it to the house as a keeper. Maybe what I have is an eternal child-like fascination in things, and that’s fine with me. They were both more excited and fascinated by the exploding targets, though, and I have to admit, it was fun making some noise.
Things I See at Night
The night skies are no less fascinating than the things I see during daylight hours. Last night, around 9 pm, I watched a bright satellite traverse the sky from west to east, until the light reflecting from the sun disappeared, rendering invisibility to the satellite. A large band of the Milky Way, our home galaxy, extended vertically across the night sky. And as I was feeling such thankfulness for the dark skies that give us the ability to even see it, a shooting star blazed a trail towards the west.
This all influences me, as an artist and a real estate agent. My paintings are a reflection of the natural beauty I admire, and the properties I enjoy listing and showing the most are those that have strong elements of nature, in design or location.
Easily Awed
That I am easily touched and awed by these simple things, regardless of whatever other busyness might be going on, affects who I am as a person. This connection I feel towards the world at large gives me an anchor in what can sometimes be a turbulent life. And I’m full of gratitude towards it.
And another thought… ‘awed’ is a nice word. To me, it means to be in a state of awe. So why is ‘awful’ not an equally nice word that means full of awe??
Anyway, this season always makes me think deep and philosophical thoughts. I thought I’d share them with you. Sometimes I’m even moved to write poetry. Now. On to some pictures. Unfortunately I don’t have one of the bobcat. Or the woodchuck and deer. But I did make an earlier video of the same beaver, if you want to see it.
Things I See That Make Me Want to Paint
I have many, many photos of our old shed. I painted it once in watercolors long ago. Now I want to paint it again, much larger, and in my oil pigments. Here’s the intended scene.
And after that painting is done, when I can get another large canvas, here’s another of the things I see that make me want to paint. I’ll have to wait also until I can buy more of the lapis lazuli powder to make a lot more of the blue paint. I don’t have enough of it left right now. But this scene is on my list of scenes I can’t wait to paint.
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
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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
