Introduction: This is a guest post from the founder of BioDB, Assaf Levy. From time to time, I host a guest article on this website if the topic has to do with nature, conservation, environmental concerns, local nature attractions, or art.
This is a post from a few years ago that I love, so I’m reposting it. We live down a long dirt road. This little facet of our lives is the main thing that makes or breaks most newcomers to rural life. It takes a long time to go anywhere, if you go slow enough …
Long Dirt Road: Why it Takes me an Hour to Drive 12 Miles Read More »
I recently finished a painting set at the Kings river which is down our road. Wild Ozark is a few more miles down the dirt road away from pavement than the bridge, but we cross it every time we go to town. Usually, that’s once or twice a week, though if I could manage to …
Here’s the progression page where you can watch this painting in progress. The background is finished, starting on the foreground soon.
Even in a day full of non-art related tasks, there can be moments of art inspiration.
I’m at an ‘in between’ time at the moment. Between rain showers and rainy days, between things scheduled on my calendar. And since I just finished a painting, I’m between paintings, too. But this is a great time for an Ozark nature artist to get out and enjoy some nature.
There are other plant walks in Arkansas, but this one is probably a little different. The trails we’ll follow are deer trails and logging roads. The drive to get here is gorgeous. And the biodiversity here at Wild Ozark is incredible. Our 160 acres is far off of the beaten path six miles from pavement. …
Here’s where you can see all of the progress pics from start to finished for the Kings River in Spring painting.
This morning I walked over to see if there’s grass growing in the horses’ field yet. After crossing over rocks in the creek, as I walked up the hill out of the creek valley, I found this fossil. It looks like the spiral of an ammonite. If that’s what it is, it’s the first one …
Progress on my painting of Kings River in winter came to a grinding halt a few days ago when we got our first Ozark winter storm of the season. We’ve had some freezes, and a little snow, but those little incidents don’t compare. In previous years, we’ve had worse storms when not only did the …
The new year of 2023 kicked off the first oil paintings in my Kings River Four Seasons series. The one I chose to start with first is the winter scene. I’ll rotate through them to work on one while layers on others dry. Here’s Kings River in Winter as photographed and here’s the first pass. …
We live in the neighborhood of upper Kings River, in Madison county near the Newton county line (Arkansas). Kings River Falls are not too far away as the crow flies. The landscape here is rocky heart of the Boston Mountain range Ozarks, with very little flat ground away from the river valleys. Our 160 acres …
Happy Solstice Day! It’s that time of year again, when the longest night of the year is upon us. Which in turn means that today is the shortest day of the year. After this, the days will incrementally grow a little longer until Summer Solstice rolls around. I’m so ready for the days to get …
mermaid in a sea of swirling air Gloria drops her leaves litter like silk puddles around her on the ground She’s nearly nude now * The wind rolls in like waves breakers on hilltops It spills, crashes into the valley I feel like a mermaid In a sea of swirling air
What does OOAK mean in arts and crafts descriptions and titles? It means one of a kind (ooak), but this might not always be so clear cut as you might think. Pay close attention to item descriptions and ask questions of the seller if you want to be sure you’re getting truly unique items. One …
This morning I wanted to go to a granddaughter’s Kindergarten graduation, but the bridges were flooded, so that was nixed. Then I decided that I’d wait for it to quit raining and then go out to get some better photos of one of the wild Ozark orchids I’d seen the day before while we were …
It usually gets noisy when it rains in the Ozarks, with the roar of water rushing down hills. Here’s a video of our waterfall and the creek.
The Forager was accepted to the 61st exhibition of Watercolor USA, a national, annual juried exhibition recognizing contemporary American watermedia painting. The juror was Kevin Umaña, co-founder of The Ekru Project, a Kansas City-based artist-run gallery focused on contemporary, emerging, and historically excluded artists. Watercolor USA 2022 Exhibit Details June 4, 2022 – August 28, 2022At the Weisel …
Every morning I feed the horses and chickens. Once it gets close to spring, I also begin my ‘get-in-shape’ program. Come along with me to feed the horses before I head out for a jog and walk early on a March morning. I’ve fed the chickens already. The time is right after sunrise, so light …
Encroachment goes both ways. Sometimes humans go too far into nature, but there are times when nature invades too much on humans, too! Click through to find out what I’ve been working on toward striking that balance.
So far the only firm date on the spring schedule, or all of next year, is the Master Gardener’s Convention in Springdale, AR. It’s time to plan what to do with 2022!
The book is hardcover, 160 pages long, with a single photo per page spread, with the quote on one side and frog on the other. It encourages the reader to marvel, think, and rejoice with each turn of the page. Frog lovers of all ages will love it.
Follow along as I paint a picture of the yellow-billed cuckoo! Featuring earth pigments from Ozark rocks, clay, and bone.
Yesterday evening I heard the first close whippoorwill of the 2021 season. Rob said he’d heard it the night before and wondered that it didn’t wake me up. And this week we “mowed” grass for the first time. But that’s not what you think.
The first time I saw it, the thought that it isn’t sandstone did run through my mind. Other possibilities include bituminous coal. Could that be what this strangely behaving rock is?
