Ponca in Summertime | Original Watercolor in Ozark Pigments

Ponca in Summertime is my attempt to capture, in local pigments, using actual water from the Buffalo River, of one of my favorite places to go here in northwest Arkansas.

• Framed outer dimensions 16 x 20″
• Painting dimensions 10.25 x 14″
• All Ozark pigments
• Not all pigments light-fast
• Currently framed under Conservation Acrylic

This is one for all of you Buffalo National River fans out there. This river is the pride and joy of northwest Arkansas and was the first US river designated as a ‘National’ river. Floaters, hikers, and nature lovers flock to the headwaters region of the Upper Buffalo every year. Ponca in summertime is beautiful. The climate is hot out there on the rocks but the water is icy cold. Photographers have immortalized the beauty of it with their work. And now I’ve captured the image that captured my attention when I used to visit here with my children so they could swim at the low-water bridge swimming hole in summers.

That curved tree has been there for as long as I’ve been a resident here, and those low profile bluffs at least will be there long after I am gone. There are higher, more spectacular bluffs to be seen just around the bend… around most of the bends of this special river.

Ponca in Summertime

The painting began plein air on the gravel bar looking upstream at Ponca in the summertime. I took my paints and easel to the access of the Buffalo National River in northwest Arkansas. I used water from the river to wet my paints. The whole experience of working on this, on location, felt surreal.

The pigments are all from rocks and other resources common in the area. However, the green pigment will slowly change to brown over the years. It could take many years, since it is framed under conservation acrylic, or it could take only a few years. It may not turn in your life-span. I just don’t know how long it will take. All I can say is that the painting was finished at the end of August 2019 and so far there has been no change.

Lifetime Offer: When the colors change, if I am alive and able to do it, I would be happy to touch up the painting with fresh green for you if you buy this original work. Prints are available if you’d prefer to know it’ll last at least a hundred years. This offer applies to future owners if you sell it or pass it on to someone new. 

There is only one source here in the Ozarks for a sort-of green earth pigment, and it is hard to find in any quantity. So when I wanted to use a green paint for this painting I made a ‘lake’ pigment from the red leaves of black gum. This same leaf gives a light fast tan when not processed as a lake, but tan wouldn’t do. I wanted green for Ponca in Summertime, so I used what I had available at the time.