This is Sally (the salamander), and she’s the third character in my whimsical Down at the Creek series. I’ll add characters to this series as they coalesce in my imagination. The series will culminate in a large painting (22 x 30″) that combines all the scenes into one large setting. Fun, right!? Check back soon to see where I’m at with this art in process.
Earth Pigments | Ozark Pigments
To really show all of the steps of my art in progress, I have to start with the paint. All of the color in this came from pigments sustainably foraged here in my neck of the woods. The one responsible for that nice orange is a rock gifted to me. They found it in western Madison county, not too far away.

This rock is bright orange. It’s probably ‘rust’, iron oxide. It’s similar to the pigment that gives color to the orangey-red clay in these parts. Except this is a rock, not hardened clay. The paint from this pigment is the brightest color in my palette!
Art in Progress
Obviously, this isn’t realism. However, the series did start out as a plein air practice. I went down to the creek to do a little painting, and, well, it took a little bit of a detour. And now I’m painting whimsical nature scenes with critters for characters.







Stay Tuned for more Art in Progress
I’ll add the finished image when I’m done. Hopefully tomorrow!
Update: 7-30-22 Well, it took a few more days than I’d anticipated because the ferns were harder to do than I thought they’d be. But here’s the finished painting:

Where to Find my Art
I have an online shop where you can find available original art, and prints for all of my art. If you can’t find what you’re looking for there, then shoot me an email and I’ll help you out. If you’re interested in this particular piece of nature art in progress, let me know if you’d like to claim it now while I’m still working on it.
Gallery at NWA Mall
A few of my works are hanging at the new art gallery in the NWA Mall in Fayetteville, AR. Check the website for hours and days. It’s only open on the weekends for now.
Ponca Color Fest
The second to last weekend in October is always the Ponca Color Fest. More details are at the Exhibit and Events page. I usually mostly bring prints and notecards for this one. If you know you’d like me to bring a particular original, be sure to email and let me know.
NWA Boutique Show
In November, I’ll be at the NWA Boutique show in Rogers, Arkansas. It’s the perfect venue for Christmas shopping. Nature art is a great gift to give, and I’ll have plenty of sets of Wild Ozark watercolor pigments (Soul of the Ozarks – Paleo Paint sets) there too!
There’s always a running schedule of exhibits and events here on this site, too. Click here to go to it now.
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Author/Artist Info
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Madison Woods is a self-taught artist who moved to the Ozarks from south Louisiana in 2005. In 2018 she began experimenting with watercolor painting, using her local pigments. She calls them Paleo Paints. In 2023 she began her journey into the world of oil painting with those same pigments. Her paintings of the Ozark-inspired scenes feature exclusively the lightfast pigments foraged from Madison county, Arkansas. Her inspiration is nature – the beauty, and the inherent cycle of life and death, destruction and regeneration. Wild Ozark is also the only licensed ginseng nursery in Arkansas. Here’s the link for more information on the nursery end of life out here.
Online Portfolio
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First and foremost, apart from being an artist and author, Madison is a nature enthusiast. She enjoys using local resources in every aspect of her life and considers the land she and her husband live on as partners in life. They care for the land and the land cares for them. She’s an herbalist, gardener, and wildcrafter of medicinal plants.
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