Wild Ozark™

~ Nature Artist in Kingston, Arkansas ~

Blog

  • Stay Motivated – Oddly Easy for this Old Shed Painting

    Stay Motivated – Oddly Easy for this Old Shed Painting

    My brush hit this canvas for the first time in November 2024. And I’m STILL working on it. On one hand, I’m proud of myself for being able to stay motivated on a single project for this long. I think …

  • Ozark Pigment for the Color of Dirt

    Ozark Pigment for the Color of Dirt

    The color of dirt in the Ozarks varies here around Wild Ozark. But the most predominate is a shade of yellow-brown. In some areas there is a darker brown, probably where there is more humus and organic matter. Some of …

  • Finding Fungi in the Rain

    Finding fungi in the rain is fun. When being inside makes me antsy, it’s time to put on my rain gear to get close and personal with the mushrooms popping up everywhere.

    Fungi in the Rain

    These are the ones …

  • Painting While it Rains

    This post was written on Monday 5/26/25. I didn’t get to work on my old shed yesterday because I had other things I needed to work on, but today the weather was still soggy. Painting while it rains outside is …

  • Piddling Days

    Today has been one of those piddling days here at Wild Ozark. It rained most of the day today, rained yesterday, and will rain some more over the next few days.

    The creeks are flooded.

    Rainy days are piddling days at Wild Ozark.

    My peonies are dropping petals.

    …
  • Licensing my Nature Art

    Licensing my Nature Art

    Last year the Hospitality department of a significant online art company contacted me. They work with new construction or renovations for businesses and asked about licensing my nature art. I don’t know if I’m at liberty to say who …

  • Interesting Tree Painting

    I’m taking a short detour from my old shed painting to work on an interesting tree painting. It’s a grayscale with eventually a spot of color. Where the color will be is the question, but I have an idea.

    Today …

  • Pantone’s Color of the Year encourages An Earthy Palette

    I’ve never been one to follow the trends, but when all of my art is a spectrum of earthy colors, it makes me really happy that Pantone’s Color of the Year, Mocha Mousse, is one that falls in line …

  • Sepia Dreams, But First…the Cedar Problem

    I’ve been struggling with the cedar trees in my painting. And there’s been a problem with colors in my trees in the middle ground. Most of my paint are variations on sepia.

    That’s just because almost all of my …

  • Spring Wildflowers late April

    Spring Wildflowers late April

    Here in the Arkansas Ozarks, the time for spring wildflowers is here. Some of the ephemerals are still lingering, but the bloodroot is well and gone. Now the later, more durable flowering is underway.

    Here’s some I saw today while …

  • Showy Orchid Watch

    Showy Orchid Watch

    Between thunderstorms today, I went out to check on the Showy orchids. I always miss seeing them until the flowers are up, and sometimes not until they’re already peaked. So today began my Showy Orchid Watch.

    At first I didn’t …

  • Spring Wildflower Walkabout

    Today I took a spring wildflower walkabout. Mostly, I wanted to see if the Showy Orchid was up yet. I thought maybe there’d be at least some leaves. There was nothing. I’d have to check daily to catch them at …

  • Inconveniencing the Horses

    Inconveniencing the Horses

    Sometimes, I feed at the back gate. There’s a few reasons why, but I’m sure they think it’s because I’m just inconveniencing the horses. That’s only part of the purpose, though.

    Exercise

    When the grass isn’t actively growing in the …

  • Taking Detours

    Today (it is Tuesday 3/18 as I write this) when I went to check the mail, I decided to continue on down the road a little farther to Felkins creek. I usually enjoy taking detours from the routine when I …

  • Fences, Necessary Tractor Repairs, and House-cleaning

    Sunday morning: It was 33*F when I got up this morning, and I’ve decided to ignore any task list items for today. My body objects to this swing in temperatures, and prefers to go downstairs without needing to put on …

  • Still Working on that Old Shed Painting

    Still Working on that Old Shed Painting

    Yes, I’m still working on that old shed painting. It’s taking me a while, but now it’s beginning to flesh out in the middle ground. Once I get the trees finished up, I’ll start on the ground around the shed.…

  • Iron Oxide as Pigment

    Iron Oxide as Pigment

    The colors in my pigments are because of various combinations of iron oxide, for the most part. This gives me the browns, the yellows, oranges, and the reds. I have an earthy palette!

    Hematite

    The red colors are from …

  • The Earliest Ozark Spring Flowers

    So far, the earliest Ozark spring flowers I’ve noticed have been the endemic Ozark witch hazel (Hamamelis vernalis). Wriggly tendrils of yellow and orange add little splashes of color to the otherwise barren winter landscape, usually in February …

  • Lively Little Waterfall

    When there’s rainwater runoff, we have a lively little waterfall. It splashes down right at the edge of our driveway and flows across it to the creek.

    It usually only flows at a trickle, so only keeps the ground wet. …

  • Earthy Artwork Prints

    Everything (almost) that I’ve painted is available as beautifully reproduced earthy artwork prints. The few that aren’t are most likely commissions, though a few of those are also available.

    To find them, go to shop.wildozark.com and click the Artwork icon …

  • Differentiate and Stand Out

    Some of the agents in my brokerage are taking a 3-day workshop on becoming better at marketing our businesses. It’s geared for real estate agents, but everything I’ve heard so far is good for any business owner to learn, and …

  • Cold, Windy Winter Days

    The cold outside today wouldn’t be so intolerable if it weren’t windy. This morning, I actually had to wear my sunglasses to go bring food and water to the horses and chickens. The wind was brisk then, and my eyeballs …

  • Update on the Old Shed painting

    Update on the Old Shed painting

    Time has been very limited lately and I haven’t been able to work on my old shed painting often enough. Today an hour presented itself, between loads of laundry and after running to town in the rain to get hay. …

  • Cooper’s Hawk and the Road Runner

    On our way to town Tuesday, we stopped along our dirt road to get a better look a Cooper’s hawk. I had hoped to get a photo, but the bird wouldn’t stay in one spot long enough. As we got …

  • Ozark Winter Walkabout

    Ozark Winter Walkabout

    Yesterday it was almost 60*F, and inspired a little walkabout in the Ozark winter to see how the pond and creeks looked, and our little driveway glacier.

    For the past few days, the temperatures have been mild, above freezing. But …