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
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.
Well, it seems like most of the exhibit opportunities are online for the rest of the year. However, I have one painting that will be in an exhibit open to real-life interaction. Here are the Fall 2020 Exhibit locations and dates. Ongoing 2019-2020: ACNMWA Curated Biennial ACNMWA is a nonprofit statewide volunteer organization begun in …
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 »
In July, I forgot to make a 2-year anniversary post for my adventure of handmade paint and smashing rocks! Can you believe it’s already been two whole years since that first poor little painting? I find the time has flown by on one hand, and on the other, it seems like it has been a …
Handmade Paint | Smashing Rocks and Making Art in Kingston, Arkansas Read More »
For my World Watercolor Month journal entry on the 26 of July, the word prompt was ‘Favorite Sound’. Well, that’s about as hard for me to choose as my favorite color. But right now, during the sultry days of late summer, I guess my favorite sound to hear is the call of the cuckoo, also …
Favorite Sounds | The Call of the Cuckoo | a.k.a. Rain Crow Read More »
I use my daily sketches to practice some new things I don’t usually give myself much opportunity to try. And… it’s low risk!
Yesterday I mentioned my white spotted crow obsession. It’s been a couple of days since I’ve seen him, but this morning he was on the driveway again. Today I managed to get a pic of Spot. It’s not a very good one, but at least you can see he’s not a figment of my imagination. …
I’ve been trying to catch a crow I’ve named ‘Spot’. And during my daily walks, I’ve been visiting where the creek crosses the driveway to collect pigments and generally admire the beautiful Ozark earth colors.
This month is World Watercolor Month 2020 and I’m trying to do a quick painting every day according to the daily prompts. If you want to join in, I’m posting mine over at Instagram and I’d love to see yours too. Since I’m also the new Instagram Ambassador for the Mid-Southern Watercolorists, I’m posting the …
World Watercolor Month 2020 | A Daily Sketch for a Month Read More »
Behind the Scenes of a Wildlife Art Commission, with an artist who makes her own paints from local pigments.
Lost my glasses and didn’t get the rock. A humorous account of a day in the life of a pigment hunting artist.
Gift-planning is a great way to break from the difficult days of early 2020. These 5 unique gifts will thrill the nature artist in your life.
The topics of today’s post: Taking Commissions, Our new farm dog, Ghost, Original Art Update, and the Subscriber Mounted Print Giveaway.
