These are the ways my muse speaks to me. The messages are given through the flora and fauna of my habitat, and I (try to) pass it along to you in the form of art. This task is something I consider to be sacred. Everything about the act of doing it, from gathering the rocks to the destruction and subsequent re-creation into usable paints, to the transference of an idea into reality on paper… it all is part of a sacred art.
I’ve finally been making the paints long enough to see some repetition in the colors. They’ll never be exact from batch to batch, but I’m getting a sense of what to expect from the various rocks I use. Here are the Ozark pigment profiles of the ones I use most often. The Pigments Red Red …
Ozark Pigment Profiles | Paleo Paints Read More »
Skip right to the discussion for your workshop: email me at [email protected] I’ll bring my stash of Ozark pigments and rocks, or we can go foraging on site at your location. Plus, I’ll bring all the materials needed to make art with local colors! I’m gathering my supplies and gearing up to do workshops featuring …
Presenting … A Rainbow of Ozark Pigments Read More »
Today I’m working on a few 9 x 12″ prints, and the idea occurred to me that the process of making mounted prints might be something you’d like to see. There’s a bit of work involved with making these, but I love that they’re ready to hang when I’m done. The look is casual. For …
Making Mounted Prints the Wild Ozark Way Read More »
Blood of the Ozarks no. 1, The first of the fall Driftwood Palette collections at Wild Ozark will be available at the Heart of Rogers show on Oct. 18.
When I first started experimenting with handmade watercolors, I didn’t have any special tools. I had some ideas, a little bit of information, and a whole lot of curiosity. Along the way I discovered these things that have become my paint making tools of the trade. Making Do Some of the tools are pricey, and …
Paint Making Tools of the Trade Read More »
Just finished this red-shouldered hawk (Buteo lineatus). The original is SOLD. Prints are available. Progression Pics: Art in Progress I post all of the steps as I’m doing it at Instagram, so if you want to follow along in real time, follow me there or on FB. Sometimes it’s a good bit later when I …
Ozark Birds of Prey : Red-shouldered Hawk Read More »
Paleo Paints Mini’s are mini cubes of watercolor paints using Ozark pigments. Each one is approximately 3/8 inch cubes. They’re wild-crafted and handmade. Smaller than a standard half-pan but far larger than a sample dot, these are perfect for creating watercolor travel sets. The Colors The mini cubes come in all of the colors I …
Handmade, Wild-crafted Paleo Paints Mini Cubes Read More »
I’m working on the second painting in my series of northern goshawks. Click through to read about what I’ve done differently on this one as compared to the others.
Click HERE to go directly to my online gallery. All of the work you’ll see there uses paint made from rocks. Click HERE if you want to see Paleo Paints at Etsy. And HERE for workshops on making them. Talking about Paint from Rocks When people see my artwork, they usually don’t realize the colors …
“I make paint from rocks…” A typical encounter. Read More »
Jacqueline Froelich of KUAF came out to Wild Ozark to interview me about the Paleo Paints. Here’s the link so you can listen 🙂
I’ve always been fascinated with birds of prey and the sport of falconry. One of the birds commonly trained for hunting is the Northern Goshawk. Here’s my rendition of a beautiful wild goshawk photographed by Nicoli Gianluca. Goshawk No. 1 Right now the image is at the art shop getting scanned because it’s too large …
Goshawk No. 1, Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) Read More »
That’s the name of a sweet little venue that is popping up this weekend over at the Johnson Mill in Johnson, AR (between Springdale and Fayetteville.) Give Less, Give More is hosted by Good Acres Life, a local company owned by Mariette Spedale. Pick up some Paleo Paints or Paintings I’ll be there with my …
Give Less, Give More – a Popup Show at the Johnson Mill Read More »
For the past couple of months I’ve been busy with festival-going and getting ready for more festival-going for the Burnt Kettle Syrup. Then for the past couple of weeks, I’ve been enjoying time with Rob (Mr. Wild Ozark/Burnt Kettle). Paint-making and painting has been on the sidelines for a while. But it’s time to get …
Catching Up & Gearing Up for More Paint-Making and Paintings Read More »
I’ve been busy as a bee lately making more and more paint. Even though this week my intention was to focus solely on getting ready for upcoming shows and festivals, the lure of a large chunk of pink sandstone seduced me. I couldn’t help it, and I gave in to make more paint. Collection No. …
Making Paint from Pink Sandstone of the Ozarks Read More »
My son found a rock alongside the driveway, near the creek. He kept it to give me since he knows I’ve been smashing a lot of rocks lately. This one seemed like it would be a great rock to make some of my earth pigments and handmade watercolors. It was mostly black, with some brown. …
Brown Earth Pigment for my Handmade Watercolor Palette Read More »
This painting of a Louisiana Brown Pelican was based mostly on a photo by Shelby Townsend , but I liked the feet on another from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, so modified them to drape over the edge of the post. The Model for my Subject Here’s Shelby’s story about the day he took the photo. …
The Painting of a Pelican Read More »
Saturday I went down to Felkins creek which is near the end of our driveway. It’s not that I needed more rocks. I just wanted to see what the recent rains might have turned up. So I should probably have not gone looking. I only needed one rock. Or one color of rock. And …
A Call for Rocks and a New Page Read More »
I’m sure by now you’ve noticed I’ve been making paint lately, ha. All of my sets of paints are called ‘Soul of the Ozarks’ collections. Each collection is numbered, and starts over in the numbering each year. This post is meant to give you some insight behind the paint-making part of my business. If you’d …
Soul of the Ozarks Read More »
When I made my very first pan of watercolor paint, it was a russet from one of the sandstones on the ground outside. The color was nice, but at the bottom of that pan there was a very thin layer of a much deeper shade. I coveted the tiny bit of that and used it …
I am Going to Call it ‘Nirvana’ Read More »
There’s a new work in progress sitting on my easel. By the time I’m done with this post, it’ll probably be a finished work. It’s another kestrel, and I’ve reached a reliable stage in the process. I call it the ‘Panic Stage’. update 5/2/19: It was finished in August 2018 and is the image at …
The “Panic Stage” in a Work of Nature Art Read More »
The past week was a really busy one. I spent most of the time busting rocks and grinding them to powder. Why? To make paints! You’ll know why I say they’re worth their weight in gold after you read the rest of this post. I mostly did the nice, colorful rocks but I also did …
All for Little Pans of Color Worth their Weight in Gold Read More »
The whole painting is in my handmade watercolor paint made from one of our local shades of sandstone. Every Sunday I’ll be at the Kingston Square Arts shop with the colors I’ve made so far. If it’s not too busy I’ll usually be working on a painting and you’re welcome to pick up a brush …
A Study in Sandstone Read More »
I’ve been experimenting with local plants to get a nice, stable, green color for my handmade watercolor paints. Most of the things I’ve tried in my quest for green has resulted in gray or brown. Lamb’s Quarters, a common edible weed turned out to hold green promises. Blue is the other elusive color on my list, …
The Color of a Plant Does Not Equal the Color of a Paint Read More »
My plan all along was to gather a bit of the sand of Doha before I left for the sand-stony ground of home. As it turned out, it was harder to find than I expected. Everywhere I went was nothing but pavement and cobblestone pavers. Any ground I saw usually was either landscaped medians between …
The Dusty Sand of Doha Read More »
