Tonalist Landscape of Kings River in Spring

Description

Title: Kings River in Spring
size: 16 x 20″
medium: Ozark oil pigments (except for the white)
substrate: birch cradle board
framing: optional

To see the progress of this painting visit the progress page at my blog.

Also available as jigsaw puzzle.

The pigments I use really does well for this tonalist landscape of Kings River. The colors in the painting came from rocks I’ve gathered from the banks of this river and tributaries.

Key Points

• size is 16 x 20″
• pigments are Ozark pigments in oil, and titanium white
• my paints are handmade and locally foraged (except for the white)
• you can view it in person at my studio in Alpena, AR

Setting the Scene

We live down a long dirt road in Madison county, Arkansas. Every time I go to town, I pass over Kings river at multiple points. Kings River is a scenic focal point and source of natural beauty for the Kingston area. Our own little Wild Ozark creek feeds into the larger tributary Felkins creek, which feeds into the river. So I feel a sense of connection to this river. There are places along the river, not far from our house, where I like to forage for the rocks that go into my paints.

The scene in this painting is from the bridge on our dirt road. Each season brings a new look to the river, yet the scene retains the same bones. Sometimes the water is higher and the gravel gets rearranged with each heavy rain. Sometimes even boulders are repositioned. When it rains a lot, the water can even come up over the high bridge – that’s a LOT of water, because the bridge is at least 30 feet over the river.

So I’m painting the same location throughout the seasons. This is the second in the series. Autumn and Summer will be on the easel throughout the year until I get the whole year of seasonal looks recorded.

Ozark Pigments for a tonalist landscape of Kings River

Because I don’t have bright colors, it’s difficult to create a realistic painting. However, the earthy hues of these Ozark pigments bring a beauty all of their own to the canvas. I hope you love them as much as I do. It is an honor for me to showcase the colors of this land in my art.

A note about the colors: all of the color, except for white, is locally foraged and processed here at Wild Ozark. I use rocks for most of the color, although bone, soot, antler and charred wood may also find a way to the palette sometimes, too. There are few organic sources, like plants or fungi, that are lightfast. But I’ve found a couple that I use from time to time because they’ve proven their longevity. This painting only uses stone (inorganic) pigment sources.