Tuesday, December 1, 2015

How To Paint Dotted Mandalas on Rocks

Mandala painted on stones using a dotting technique 

Beautiful, dotted mandalas are all over the Internet. 

I wanted to paint some for myself but could not figure out how the simple, yet intricate design was accomplished. 

Then, I came across a fantastic dotted mandala tutorial and look what I painted!



Here are my tips and thoughts about painting these beautiful stones.

Paints

I used both acrylic and acrylic craft paints. Acrylic paints will need to be thinned with water more so than the craft paints. Consistency of the paint is very important in order to obtain a nice effect.

Colors

I love color and these stones can be painted with any combination. For inspiration, I have a Pinterest board devoted just to color palettes:


Brushes

The tutorial recommended a certain type and size of brush for painting dotted mandalas. I had 4 suitable brushes on hand. I found the small brushes from a recently purchased nail art set worked best for me. (The nail art brushes are the 2 with white handles in the picture below.)

Dotted Mandala Stones Brush Types


Stones

I used 3 types of stones for my dotted mandalas because I wanted to see how the painting technique would work on each one:
  • Round and pitted (bottom left)
  • Flat, smooth and an irregular shape (right)
  • Round and smooth (top left)
Stones for Dotted Mandala Painting


The Tutorial

I recommend reading the detailed steps from the tutorial a few times before starting.


Practice

I practiced the brush dotting technique on paper first to get the hang of it before painting my first stone.

Practicing Dotted Mandala Painting on Paper


Painting the Stones

Stone 1 - Round and pitted

You can paint a dotted mandala on a pitted stone. I think my first attempt is OK but the dots appear to be flat.

Cindy Thomas Painted Rock Mandala 1

One stone "dot" painted and two more to go.



Stone 2 - Flat, smooth and an irregular shape

It was definitely easier to paint on the flat, smooth rock and my dots have a little more dimension this time.

Cindy Thomas Mandala Painted Stone 2

Stones 1 and 2 side by side

CindyThomas Stone Mandalas


Stone 3 - Round and smooth

My third stone is nice but I definitely need more practice.

Cindy Thomas Painted Mandala Stone


What I Learned
  • It's not as easy as it looks.
  • Go slowly and don't rush.
  • Practice and practice and practice.




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© Cindy Thomas Painted Rocks