Wild Ozark™

~ Nature Artist using Ozark pigments in Kingston, Arkansas ~

Category: My Earthy Painting Process

Follow along through the steps I take to create an earthy painting. My process isn’t pretty, as I tend to make mistakes. But things usually turn out alright in the end 🙂

Painting a French Bulldog Pup | Hugo

I’m currently painting a French bulldog pup. This is my youngest son’s fur-baby. He’s not so little as this photo anymore, but Garrison wanted one of him as a puppy, and then another later as an adult.

Progression

Photo reference
… Read the rest “Painting a French Bulldog Pup | Hugo”

16 September 2023
Progression Page | Gail’s House | Memorial Painting

Gail’s House

This photo taken by my dad is the reference I’m working from. In this memorial gift painting, there’s a lot more bright green than something I’m accustomed to. I’m not sure my pigments will get quite there, but
… Read the rest “Progression Page | Gail’s House | Memorial Painting”

15 September 2023
Limelight Hydrangeas in Progress | A commissioned painting

This is a 5 x 7″ commission of Limelight hydrangeas. I’ll use my Ozark pigments in oils plus white made from titanium. For the green, I’ll use a combination of the yellow lake pigment that I made from thyme I … Read the rest “Limelight Hydrangeas in Progress | A commissioned painting”

1 September 2023
Twisted Tree In Ozark Pigment Oils | #1-2023

Sometimes they’re just gnarly, twisted trees. Welcome to my progression page for a Twisted Tree in Ozark pigment oils. My Twisted Tree paintings fall into a category all by themselves. These paintings have no direction, and I just go wherever … Read the rest “Twisted Tree In Ozark Pigment Oils | #1-2023”

30 August 2023
Kings River in Autumn | Ozark pigments in oil

A week or so ago, I started working over the underpainting I’d made for this scene. This one is different from the other two in a significant way. I didn’t have any reference photos when I started working on it … Read the rest “Kings River in Autumn | Ozark pigments in oil”

23 July 2023
Painting of a Screech Owl | Ozark Birds of Prey

It’s not often that I get decent pictures of wildlife, let alone birds of prey. Slowly, I’ve managed to find some photographers with photos I can use to reference some of my series-in-progress of Ozark Birds of Prey. Several … Read the rest “Painting of a Screech Owl | Ozark Birds of Prey”

10 May 2023
Kings River in Spring | Ozark pigments in oil

Today (Tuesday 4/18/23), I started working over the underpainting I’d previously done. It was meant for the autumn scene, but I decided to use it for the Kings River in Spring because there are still a lot of autumnal colors … Read the rest “Kings River in Spring | Ozark pigments in oil”

18 April 2023
Art Made from Natural Materials

For the past few days I’ve had to make a detour from my Detour for a Thirsty Raven painting. Because my art is made from natural materials, it means I have to take the time to replenish my supplies from … Read the rest “Art Made from Natural Materials”

11 March 2023
Detour for a Thirsty Raven | Raven Painting

This raven painting is my largest painting yet. The substrate is a birch board with three coats of white gesso. All of the colored pigments are Ozark and locally foraged, but I use purchased titanium white pigment to make a … Read the rest “Detour for a Thirsty Raven | Raven Painting”

27 February 2023
Little Cabin in the Woods | No. 2

While I’m waiting on my white pigment powder to arrive, so I can make an opaque white paint, I figured I’d experiment a little with the paints I have on hand. My white grounds came in a few days ago, … Read the rest “Little Cabin in the Woods | No. 2”

14 February 2023
Kings River in Winter | Ozark pigments in oil

Definitely needs a do-over

So this is one of the first paintings I tried with my Ozark pigments. I wanted to use only Ozark pigments and the result was that there wasn’t good variation in shades. White is necessary, and … Read the rest “Kings River in Winter | Ozark pigments in oil”

17 January 2023
Kings River Paintings | Four Seasons

So many excellent paintings of the Buffalo National river and the surrounding natural areas exist, but I haven’t seen many King’s river paintings. While both rivers begin in our local area, Wild Ozark is in the Kings river watershed. And … Read the rest “Kings River Paintings | Four Seasons”

17 January 2023
Update on the Gecko Paintings

I’m in the process of painting the third of three different geckos for a ‘Unique Pet’ portrait commission. I’m almost finished now with the painting phase of this project. After the last little gecko is finished, I’ll frame them and … Read the rest “Update on the Gecko Paintings”

13 January 2023
Limited Palette | Working with Only the Local Pigments

When I first started painting with the Ozark pigments, I wasn’t sure yet whether I would be able to make good art with a handful of colors. It’s a very limited palette of earthy tones ranging from white to black, … Read the rest “Limited Palette | Working with Only the Local Pigments”

9 January 2023
Highlander and Longhorn Cow | Painting Process for ‘Best Friends’

Every year for their birthdays, the grandkids pick the subject they want me to paint. And every time we do this, their requests are getting more and more challenging. The latest one I’ve started is a scene that includes two … Read the rest “Highlander and Longhorn Cow | Painting Process for ‘Best Friends’”

9 October 2022
The Making of “The Forager” Painting | Black Bear

It’s sleeting on this chilly January morning as I gather my board and easel. I’m about to get started on The Forager painting. The subject is a young black bear munching on wild grapes.

Note: ‘The Forager’ will show … Read the rest “The Making of “The Forager” Painting | Black Bear”

6 January 2022
Weesatche, Texas | Another Farmstead Painting

I’m working on a painting for my husband’s Christmas gift. It may not be finished in time, but it won’t be too long afterwards before I’m done. It’s the house where his aunts lived in Weesatche, Texas. It was a … Read the rest “Weesatche, Texas | Another Farmstead Painting”

23 December 2021
Great Horned Owl Painting in Progress

I’ve long wanted to do a Great Horned Owl painting, since I drew up the list of birds of prey and put them on my To-Paint list. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of it at the very beginning. So … Read the rest “Great Horned Owl Painting in Progress”

12 November 2021
Painting of a Farm | Progression Page

This painting of a farm, as seen from the front door of the farm house, was a commission for a real estate agent (my daughter) to give the seller. It was a difficult necessity that led the owner … Read the rest “Painting of a Farm | Progression Page”

10 August 2021
How Did the Buffalo National River Get its Name? | “Namesake”

I bet you’d already guessed it. The namesake of the Buffalo National River is … the buffalo. But that’s a misnomer. What we call ‘buffalo’ are actually bison. The American ‘Buffalo’ is really an American Bison. Before Europeans arrived on … Read the rest “How Did the Buffalo National River Get its Name? | “Namesake””

17 June 2021
Yellow-Billed Cuckoo | Rain Crow | Madison’s Earthy Art

It’s almost that time of year again when the rain crow, also known as yellow-billed cuckoo, starts calling. This is another one of those often heard but seldom seen critters that live out here at Wild Ozark. The other … Read the rest “Yellow-Billed Cuckoo | Rain Crow | Madison’s Earthy Art”

13 June 2021
Soul of the Ozarks | The 6th Painting | Red Fox Kit

My 6th painting was a special request by my granddaughter. She loves wildlife and wanted me to paint a fox. Her actual favorite was a kit fox, but instead I painted a red fox kit. I had a good photo … Read the rest “Soul of the Ozarks | The 6th Painting | Red Fox Kit”

29 May 2021
Painting in Progress: Dr. Carter’s Office

My current painting in progress is one of the buildings on the grounds of the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History, located in Springdale, Arkansas. Dr. Carter’s Office was moved to the museum at a later date, but started life in … Read the rest “Painting in Progress: Dr. Carter’s Office”

23 April 2021
A Bearded Dragon in Ozark Pigments | Painting Process

It’s not an Ozark critter, for sure, but I had a photo of my grand-daughter’s Bearded Dragon and so I painted it today. A print for Karter is already framed and ready to deliver for her birthday. This was a … Read the rest “A Bearded Dragon in Ozark Pigments | Painting Process”

30 March 2021
Stones to Grind | A Fantastic New Interview and Publication

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 … Read the rest “Stones to Grind | A Fantastic New Interview and Publication”

21 February 2021