Ozark pigments

Madison Woods, Artist, Pigment Hunter, & Paint-maker. My husband and I live far off the paved highway on our homestead in Madison county, and it’s a perfect environment for a nature artist.

There are many fabulous painters in this region.  What sets my work apart from most is that (with the exception of very small amounts of yellow and green primary, and titanium for white) I use pigments foraged locally, processed by myself into paints. The balance of the color you see in my art are the colors of the Ozarks.

Before I start a painting, I collect the pigments I’ll need to produce the painting, if I don’t already have enough paint on hand. If I’m working on series, then I’ll collect and create enough paint for the entire series before I get started.

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Becoming a Painter

My life as a watercolorist began in the summer of 2018. Before that I used colored pencils for drawings. I’ve been a sketcher/drawer most of my life.

2023 was a year of exploring the Ozark pigments in oils. I’m self-taught in all aspects of art. As for the paintings, I’ve only ever used my own watercolors or oil paints, so I have no idea how they ‘work’ as compared to store-bought varieties. My colors are earthy and the palette very limited.

While I enjoy painting anything of nature, I am most passionate about painting the birds of prey. But it’s really more about the predator/prey relationship than it is about the birds. When I see this relationship in action in nature, it’s not about hoping one side or the other ‘wins’. It’s about the sheer skill and expertise shown by both parties, both with deep, innate drives to survive.

Themes that resonate with me include the duality of nature, such as the predator/prey, and liminal, ephemeral spaces.

Year 2026 is a year of exploring new techniques and even slower art than making my own paints imposes. It’s a year of wandering thoughtfully into my expressions of nature’s beauty and complexity.

~ Madison Woods
www.WildOzark.com

Madison Woods Artist Timeline

• 2018
  • July – began making paint, began painting
• 2019
  • 2019 Interviewed by KUAF about the Ozark pigments and my art (https://www.kuaf.com/post/local-artist-creates-paints-using-ancient-methods)
  •  Feb- Fox No. 1 accepted into Artists of Northwest Arkansas Members Show, Faulkner Center for Performing Arts
  • Feb- Arkansas Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts’ 2019-2020 Artists Registry (curator Courtney Taylor)
  • Feb- Created a Vision Plan for the Ozark Birds of Prey project
  • Sept 2019 – Nesbitt Gallery, Chickasha, OK
  • Jan – Mar 2020 – Museum of the Red River, Idabel, OK
  • April 2019 – Two of my paintings were included in the Alley Art Project, Little Rock Downtown.
  • May 2020 – Goddard Center, Ardmore, OK
  • 2019 November- Heritage, Heart & Arts Exhibit, 1894 Gallery, Texarkana, AR
  • 2019 November- Group Art Show, Jones Gallery, Kansas City, MO
  • 2019 November- interview with Lisa Tomey for Okra Magazine (pending publication).
  • 2019 December- Oral Heritage Interview with Missouri State University Libraries
• 2020
  • 2020 Feb – August, Convergence Show, University of California @ Monterrey Bay & Big Sur Land Trust
  • 2020 Feb 19, Feature article/interview, NWA Democrat-Gazette “Maker’s Corner”
  • 2020 Apr 20, Featured as one of 50 in the Women Make Arkansas virtual showcase event on FB by Et Alia Press.
  • 2020 Sept -October – Buffalo River Art Gallery Calendar Contest exhibition/sale
  • 2020 Sept – Interview for Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, ‘Arkansas Artists Follow Naturally Creative Paths‘.
  • 2020 Nov – Audubon Artists 78th Annual Exhibition (juried, online) | Silver Medal/Cash for Aquamedia division
  • 2020 Nov -Las Laguna Art Gallery 2020 Portrait Exhibition (juried, online)
• 2021
  • 2021 January – Wild & Scenic Film Festival, placed 3rd in 2D (paintings)
  • 2021 February – Spotlight Article in Okra Magazine, Issue 13
  • 2021 June – Solo Exhibit, ASSEMBLY Project, in conjunction with INTERFORM.art | Shiloh Museum of Ozark History, Springdale, AR
  • 2021 July – broke the sales record at the Downtown Rogers Art on the Bricks (sold 5 original works that afternoon)
  • 2021 September – Bosque Arts Classic (juried by Tyler Crow CA, Bosque Arts Center in Clifton, TX)
  • 2021 Oct 25-Nov 5 | Audubon Artists 79th Annual Exhibition, at the Salmagundi Club, 47 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10003
• 2022
  • 2022 June-Aug – Watercolor USA exhibiting artist, Juror Kevin Umaña, The Forager, Springfield MO Art Museum
  • 2022 Summer/Fall issue – cover art and feature article in Ozarks Watch magazine. Editor Susan Croce Kelly.
  • 2022 Metamorphosis Exhibit, Ft. Smith Regional Art Museum, People’s Choice Award for Whisper
  • 2022 October, Solo Exhibit Gotahold Brewery
  • 2022 November, invitation to write blog article/post about my art/nature connection to the Ozarks, Smithsonian
  • 2022 December, Group Exhibit Lightspace & Time
• 2023
  • Jan 14 Began the journey into Ozark pigments in oils
  • April Article published at Smithsonian Folklife Festival blog about my work with local pigments and connection to the land
  • May 5 through November at the Swale House on Governors Island, NY – Re-Imagining Conservation: From the Ground Up, Creature Conserve Arts Curator, Heather McMordie. Destination Unknown (watercolor, 2019).
  • July Group exhibition at Gotahold Brewery, Eureka Springs Detour for a Thirsty Raven
  • October Group exhibition, Magical Circus, Fenix Art Gallery, Fayetteville, AR, curator Zeek Taylor. Detour for a Thirsty Raven, 2023.
• 2024
  • June 1-2, Rescheduled for Nov 2024. Bentonville Fine Art Festival, Orchard Park, Bentonville, AR. Juried by Rhonda Mills.
  • July 19-20, Art on the Border, Ft. Smith, AR. Juried event.
• 2025
  • This year I’ll probably do less markets, enter less shows. The economy last year was slow and has made it difficult to continue the outreach. But I’m still here painting, and writing. Email me at madison@wildozark.com if you need anything.
• 2026
  • Accepted into Oil Painters of America (Associate)