While I’m between birds of prey paintings, I’m doing a few small works on paper scraps. They’re not truly ‘scraps’, but leftover 5 x 7″ pieces from large 300# Arches watercolor paper I had cut down to size. I …
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Presenting … A Rainbow of Ozark Pigments
Skip right to the discussion for your workshop: email me at madison@wildozark.com. I’ll bring my stash of Ozark pigments and rocks, or we can go foraging on site at your location. Plus, I’ll bring all the materials needed to make …
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Details make a difference | A before and after study
I’m still getting the hang of techniques when it comes to painting. One thing I’ve found is that details make a difference in the right places. The key is in figuring out where those details need to go. And how …
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A Nature Artist’s Business Plan | 2020
An artist’s business plan is just like any other business plan, really. It all boils down to a strategy to make more money than is spent. 2019 was my first full year of ‘being an artist’. Last year was mostly …
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Activity & Products Lineup for Wild Ozark 2020
Last year I had a lot of plans for a variety of different products. This year I’m streamlining a lot. 2020’s new products plan is an effort to reduce costs and effort and increase sales and income. My next post …
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Big Sur Land Trust | Goshawks on Exhibit in California
My two goshawk paintings, Rhapsody and Goshawk No. 1 are heading west! Both were accepted to the Convergence Show put on in conjunction with the Big Sur Land Trust and California State University in Monterey Bay. They’ll be hanging at …
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A Wild Ozark Decade | CHANGE
If I had to summarize an entire decade in one word, I would say it was the decade of CHANGE. So much change happened in both my personal life and business direction.
But some things never change. If I had …
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It’s not really raining | Sporadic Musings
As the sun rises over the ridge-top to our east the frost on our metal roof quickly responds. It sounds like rain as the melted drops fall onto the lower roof. But it’s not really raining. The sun is shining …
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The Bear Issue with Our Spring-fed Water Line
So I’ve done a good job of making sure the water is dripping on the cold nights and so far so good with not letting the lines freeze (since the first time I let it happen this year). But this …
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The Orange in Osage Root Bark
The color in the Osage root bark is quite vivid and I’m trying to capture that pigment.
My first attempt wasn’t very successful. I used water to try and extract the orange. I simmered it on low heat, then strained …
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Leave the Water On
You’d think by now I’d remember to do that when the first true cold snap arrives. But no, I always forget, just like I forgot last night. And now, of course, there’s no water running from my faucet when I …
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Eye of the Storm – 2nd Nature Fantasy Painting
This one was an experiment to see if I could let go of my self-imposed restraints a little. I wanted to produce something different. Both of my sons took one look at it and shuddered. “You should stick to birds, …
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Bone Black
I made bone black, from a cow vertebra that I charred inside a small tin inside the wood stove. Previously I’d used charred wood from hickory and oak. It has been a difficult paint to re-wet and it never reached …
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A Reflection on Gratitude | A Thanks-Giving for Blessings
I feel a sense of gratitude often throughout most days, but each year around this time, I like to compile a list of things that make me feel grateful. As the end of the year approaches, I start thinking more …
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Not so Daily Musings – Too Much Busy-ness These Days
It’s been a very busy November. Too much busy-ness. My ‘Daily Musings’ looks like it’s going to be a ‘Not So Daily’ Musings kind of post. Today, and every day for the past week or two… I can’t even remember …
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Making Mounted Prints the Wild Ozark Way
Today I’m working on a few 9 x 12″ prints, and the idea occurred to me that the process of making mounted prints might be something you’d like to see. There’s a bit of work involved with making these, but …
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Daily Musings- No Colic Today
I’m going to try and start writing some of my old ‘musings’ posts again. Regularly, if I can. They might not have a lot of photos, since it’s optimizing everything that takes so much time up when I’m making a …
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Decorating with Nature: Paintings Made from Ozark Pigments
If you like decorating with nature, oh boy, do I have some artwork for you. Think earthy colors and natural tones: ochres, umbers, and siennas. Yellows, reds, browns, oranges, and shades of black and gray. I mean, literally, shades …
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Making Paint is Meditative
Early this morning my friend moved through the doorway of this life and into the realm of whatever lies beyond. And because making paint is meditative to me, that’s what I did for most of my time today.
What comes
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Paint from Red Sandstone
Today I made several different shades of paint from red sandstone.
When I make a paint from a pigment-rich stone, like this one, rather than waste what is left on the plate after mulling and scraping up the paint, I’ll …
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This is a sticky post so it stays at the top. New posts to the blog are after this one. …
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Color from Osage Root Bark
Today I experimented with Osage root bark to see if it will make paint. Ordinarily, I avoid using plant pigments because they tend to be fugitive, meaning they fade or discolor with time. Some plant pigments, like the green I …
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What are Paleo Paints?
The Paleo Paints
My husband once said my handmade paints reminded him of how the cave men made their paints for the cave drawings. And he was right! And so we called them Paleo Paints.
I make them by crushing …
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Something Fishy Going on
UPDATE: The problem was a conflict with one of the plugins. So I think all the text is back to visible on the posts.
This morning it appears that the text in many of my blog posts is missing. Section …
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On Exhibit in Oklahoma – Destination Unknown
Somehow I forgot to make a post for the exhibit of this painting. Destination Unknown is my painting of a red-tailed hawk taking off from a weathered fence post. All of the pigments are light fast and of Ozark origin. …