All About Painted Rocks

My rock paintings are just that; detailed, “one of a kind” paintings of a subject that I felt was suggested by the rock’s shape. I usually paint detail on all sides of the rock, including the bottom. This gives the viewer a pleasant surprise when they pick it up and turn it over, which they always do. I like to include humor in my art when I can. It never hurts to laugh! I sketch out the placement of key positions of the subject to make sure it’s symmetrical. Almost everything has symmetry, from an animal’s eyes to an automobile’s headlights. If they don’t line up it looks bad. The problem with a rock is it doesn’t always allow for easy placement of these key points. Sometimes it just will not work.

Sometimes a rock will have a bump right where there should not be a bump. At these times I think a chisel would be nice but instead I work around the bump. What is the rock telling me? What could the bump be? Many times the “oh yea” thing happens and I realize that the bump just adds to the charm of the rock’s subject; for example, the bump on a leaf became a ladybug or the bump on a leopard’s head became a baby leopard on the mother leopard’s head. It really is like solving a puzzle. Each step seems to resolve into another explanation of the shapes on the rock.

I guess you can see that I have fun with this stuff, but it takes a great deal of thinking time that doesn’t contribute to producing a lot of work. I will admit that when I take the time to solve the puzzle and the piece really works, I don’t feel like I even did the work. It is more like I followed the directions from the rock itself, and I just painted it.

The basic part of the rock paintings is, of course, the rocks. I find odd-shaped rocks from the seashore. The irregular shape stimulates the imagination better than a simple round rock. The shape and size of the rock are the important criteria, not the kind of rock; however, the rock must be solid and not prone to crumbling. Most rocks are paperweight size. I wash the rocks and coat them completely with a primer coating of white gesso. This is to provide a good base to paint on and also to bring out the rock’s shape instead of the natural markings that were on the unprimed rock. 

				Once the primed rocks, are dry, I gather some together, get comfortable, pick up one rock and shine a light source across one rock to bring out the shadows and the shape. I keep turning the rock over and around in the light, until I see a subject suggested by the shadows and shape. I write the possible subject on the bottom of the rock. When I look at the rock later, I will know which side is the bottom and what its subject will be.