I’m Madison Woods, the artist of Wild Ozark. My paintings are all earthy colored because I use pigments local to the Ozarks to make my paints.
I don’t have a brick-and-mortar studio anymore, so if there’s a painting you want to see, just let me know and I’ll meet up with you somewhere in NWA to show it. Or catch me at the events where I’m participating.
Or, if you’re up for a long scenic dirt road drive, you’re welcome to come out here to visit my home studio (by appointment). Fair warning, though… it’s nothing special. Just a crammed little office with my desk, printer, and easel. Most of my paintings are stacked in a box waiting for the next show.
Here’s some quick links to help you find your way around.
A Little About My Paint-making Process
Since my paints are handmade and (mostly) locally foraged, I have to make sure I have the colors I need before I begin a project. If it’s a plant pigment, then I’ll need to harvest the plant and process it to make the pigment. The only plant sources I use at this time are thyme, and the root bark of Osage trees. The rest comes from foraged rocks, soot, bone, or purchased lapis and titanium dioxide powder.
Here’s a blog post I made earlier about making oil paints:
So, if it’s a rock, then I’ll break it to smaller pieces, then crush it as finely as I can. The crushed rock is the raw pigment. After that I put the powder into a jar and fill the jar with water. Depending on the source rock, I’ll either pour off the colored water into another jar to let it settle, or pour the rinse water out and keep the sediment for the paint. After the water clarifies and the pigment has settled, then I pour off the clear water and let the sediment dry. That is what I’ll make the paint from.
When it comes to plants, there’s more chemistry involved. I’ll make what is called a ‘lake’ pigment. Here’s a post that gives more information on that process.
I hope you love this earthy palette of color as much as I do! Thanks for reading ~ Madison