Description
A barred owl with backlit Ozark scene, painted in handmade oils featuring Ozark pigments by Madison Woods. Nature art from the ground up.
For Prints of this painting go here: Coming after completion
While this painting is on the easel, it is offered at a discount. When it’s finished (ETA Sep 2026), it’ll ship at no extra cost to US addresses.
Details about the Original Work
Title: Rest After a Busy Night
Size: 11 x 14″
Media: handmade oils, Ozark foraged pigments + titanium
Substrate: gesso board
Pigment source: soot, sandstone, magnetite, thyme lake. Outsourced blue, green, and titanium to adjust Ozark colors.
See the barred owl painting from start to finish
To see all of the stages in between beginning and end, notes I’ve made during progress, etc. bookmark this page at my main website: Progress page for Barred Owl painting
Click to enlarge
A Little About My Process
Since my paints are handmade, I have to make sure I have the colors I need before I begin a project. If I’m close to out of one, then I’ll go look for the rock that gives me the color I need. If it’s a plant pigment, then I’ll need to harvest the plant. The only three plant sources I use at this time are indigo, thyme, and the root bark of Osage trees. The rest comes from rocks, soot, bone, or purchased titanium dioxide powder.
So, if it’s a rock, then I’ll break it to smaller pieces, then crush it as finely as I can. The crushed rock is the raw pigment. After that I put the powder into a jar and fill the jar with water. Depending on the source rock, I’ll either pour off the colored water into another jar to let it settle, or pour the rinse water out and keep the sediment for the paint. After the water clarifies and the pigment has settled, then I pour off the clear water and let the sediment dry. That is what I’ll make the paint from.
When it comes to plants, there’s more chemistry involved. I’ll make what is called a ‘lake’ pigment. Here’s a post that gives more information on that process.
