Everything that has to do with art by Madison Woods will fall under this category. Most of it is subcategorized to be more specific. It’s always hard for me to figure out how a person might search for my work if they don’t know what to call or can’t remember my name.
If you would share with me the phrase you used to find me here, this would help me tremendously to get found in the future by others!
All of my paintings feature pigments I’ve collected by hand and processed into watercolor paints. I use the same techniques that artists of old once used (or had apprentices use). There are tutorial pages here at this site if you’d like to learn how to do the same thing with your own rocks.
Art by Madison Woods is mostly nature art, but sometimes I play and experiment with other things. I live here in Kingston, Arkansas with my husband in the middle of the very rural Ozarks. So there’s no end to inspiration from nature. Life is an inspired experience when you live somewhere like this. We have predators and prey, and we are both predators and prey ourselves, at times. We try to live honorably among the wildlife, and respect both theirs and our place in this world. We’ve staked our claims upon a small amount of the land we’re responsible to steward. The rest belongs to the animals.
My palette is limited to the color range available here at Wild Ozark. So far, I’ve resisted the urge to purchase outside pigments so I can have the brighter shades, especially blue.
There are plant pigments that would offer nice bright shades of color, but they’re most often not permanent. Those will fade over time, often within a few days, to a few months. Some may last several years, or perhaps even a lifetime. If I’ve used a pigment like this, it will be clearly stated in my provenance for the work, and on the shop listing.
Thank you for stopping by this website. I hope you enjoy my artwork and come back again!
~ Madison Woods
Lisa J. Tomey interviewed me way back in 2019 for an article to be published in Okra Magazine. Just when it was about time for it to run, Covid struck and that article got pushed back on the publisher’s to-do list. Well, I’d almost forgotten about it, but Lisa did an awesome job of keeping …
Stones to Grind | A Fantastic New Interview and Publication Read More »
Originally, I had planned to do a series of my favorite woodland plants in grayscale. But that was before I found the stone that gives me a sort of green pigment. So changed up the plans a little. Now I’m doing a series of our orchids in my full palette of pigments. First is this …
Showy Orchis (Galearis spectabilis) in Ozark pigments Read More »
My 5th painting was a special request by my sister. She loves pelicans and wanted me to paint one for her. This is the story of my journey into the world of being a watercolor painter. My angle on this is a bit different than most other artists, in that all of my paints are …
SOUL OF THE OZARKS | The 5th Painting Read More »
After the second kestrel, which was the third painting, I thought I’d try another kestrel. I had another good photo to work from and I’d come to really love the colors and form of kestrels. By this time I was back home and could make more paints. I hoped I would make better ones – …
SOUL OF THE OZARKS | The 4th Painting Read More »
I once heard it spoken in one of the great (virtual) hallways where educated artists gather, that an ‘intuitive artist’ doesn’t exist. That an artist only uses knowledge and conscious decisions to know what to do on their canvas – no mystery involved. The idea, of whether that is true or not, lodged like a …
Is Art made through Magic, Intuition, or Knowledge? Read More »
The first painting of 2021 is also the first of its size, and the first using a single source for pigment. But it is my second Brahman cow portrait. ‘Brahman Baby’ was the first. This is my progress page, for those who like to see the progression of how a painting looks from blank canvas …
Cow Portrait | Whisper, the Brahman cow | Painting Process Read More »
Virtual Art Show I’m thrilled to report that A Curious Pair and Destination Unknown were accepted to the virtual art show of the Wild & Scenic Film Festival. Update 1/15/21: A huge THANK YOU to Consuelo (Chelo) Montoya for choosing Destination Unknown as the third place winner of the paintings category.
Whoo-hooo! Once this rock crusher is put into service, I’ll be able to produce a lot more pigments and paints from our Ozark colors.
This is probably the first year that I didn’t go through a reflection of the previous year while making plans for the coming year. In some ways right now, it feels like it doesn’t really matter anyway. No matter how much I plan things out, life inevitably has a way of undoing the strands. Then …
My 2021 Outlook | A Loosely Defined Path Read More »
It snowed over the weekend for the first time this season. This always leads to me taking a lot of photos of our natural Ozark beauty, most of them not shared because they’re just too repetitive. But I can’t help but take them, because I see so many beautiful sights. It’s not a habit limited …
Natural Ozark Beauty on the To-Paint List Read More »
Still in July 2018, and still in Qatar visiting Rob, I decided to try a 3rd painting. I’d do another kestrel and see if I could do it better this time. Because it was so hot outside during daylight hours, there wasn’t a whole lot else to do all day other than read or watch …
SOUL OF THE OZARKS | The 3rd Painting Read More »
Honestly, while I was delighted that my handmade watercolors worked alright for my first try, I wasn’t real pleased with the painting itself. So I decided to try a second painting. The Second Painting I was still in Qatar. It was July 2018, and the daytime temperatures outside were so hot I didn’t want to …
SOUL OF THE OZARKS | The Second Painting Read More »
Many of you who have followed me for a while will have already seen these paintings, and you might remember the stories that go with them. I’m sorry for the repetition you’re about to endure if that’s the case. But I’m beginning to forget some of the details of my earlier paintings and I want …
SOUL OF THE OZARKS | Part 1 | The First Painting Read More »
I’m updating the artist statement and welcome page on my website… even if we already know each other, stop in and leave your introductions!
You may remember my flutter of initial excitement about the possibility of adding a stable blue to my palette. Yesterday I finally tried it in a quick painting in my journal. It worked! It’s so exciting to have this color to use now. But until next year, the supply is very small and I’ll have …
Trying out the blue with a test painting Read More »
I woke up this morning to an email announcing that one of my paintings had been accepted to a show. It’s good there are portrait exhibitions that allow strange paintings to hop on board. It’s no secret that I am awful at painting people, especially faces. But I have one very weird one that fits …
New Acceptance: Las Laguna Art Gallery | 2020 Portrait Exhibition Read More »
I’m pretty excited to announce that ‘Destination Unknown’ was accepted to the the 2020 Audubon Artists Exhibit. UPDATE 11/6/20: I’m even more excited to say that my painting won the Silver Medal and a cash award of $300 for the Aquamedia division!! As with most other art events, this one has moved online for this …
New Acceptance – 78th Annual Audubon Artists Exhibit Read More »
A short tutorial on how to identify pigment rocks. This is how I decide which ones to use for making my handmade watercolor paints.
I’m working on painting a raccoon on black paper. It’s the first time I’ve painted on black, and the experience is very different from anything else I’ve tried to paint. As I was deciding which paper to put it on, I was holding the old Arches block of watercolor paper and about to throw the …
Painting a Raccoon in Ozark Pigments on Black Paper Read More »
It’s hard not to want to spend all my time making art with earthy colors, especially when I see super pigmented resources like this all around me every day. Just look at this rock. I don’t know what took me so long to get started. The colors have been here all along, I’d just been …
How Such Earthy Colors End Up In My Art Read More »
When I want a certain color of paint, I’ll go to the creek to look for the rocks I’ll need. In this case, the color is a rich russet – brown with orange influence. What is the color story behind the rocks? But that’s not really where the color story starts. The story starts when …
A Color Story | Earth Pigments | From Rocks to Paint Read More »
I had almost resigned myself to never having an Ozark source for a stable blue pigment. I’d tried various flowers around here, like chicory, and hoped the blue porcelain berry skins would have given me blue. None of the rocks have even the slightest hint of blue (except for the one that looked grayish blue …
Chasing the Blue Pigment Read More »
I love seeing my art on the walls in other places and on the walls in other people’s spaces. It makes me happy to know these earthy Ozark pigments are out in the world bringing joy. Here are some of the photos owners have sent me of my works on their walls. Some are prints, …
Art by Madison Woods | Ozark Pigments Across the US Read More »
Natural lighting makes a difference when you’re trying to get the colors right on fine art prints.
Over the years since its been here, I’ve taken many photos of this old Ford 8N tractor. It used to belong to my grandfather and my dad refurbished it and brought it up here. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been used and the weather has been hard on it over the years. It needs a lot of …
Painting the Old Ford 8N Tractor Read More »
