In the 1970's, I made this sun wall hanging using yarn and burlap. After I left home, my sister saved Mr. Sun from the trash and now proudly displays him in her home and collects sun art. To thank her for reuniting me with a blast from the past, I offered to paint a sun rock for her collection.
Reunited with my wall hanging after 40 years
I used 4 different stones so I could paint 4 different sun designs.
I started with the smallest stone and simplest design first - a stylized sun on one side and moon on the other.
Stylized sun and moon painted rock
Both my sister and I live in the Southwest so hot chili peppers were the inspiration for this sun's design.
When art pens or Sharpies are used on a rock, care must be taken when applying a sealer because the pens tend to blur or fade. Applying thin coats of a spray sealer is usually effective in protecting the painted rock unless your spray sealer happens to drip as you're spraying. (This is the first time it has happened to me and may have occurred because I did not clean the nozzle after prior use.) Here's what happened and how I fixed the stones. I created these stones using acrylic paint for the colorful background and Pro Art pens for the mandala design.
I was sealing the stones using my preferred method and sealer, and the can's nozzle dripped while I was spraying thin coats onto the rocks. (The green stone survived but the design on the orange and blue stones blurred.)
Two of Three Stones Blurred by a Spray-On Sealer
Close-Up of a Design Blurred by Spray-On Sealer
My first thought was "Oh, no. I have to repaint the entire stone." But after mulling it over for a few days, I decided to "mend" the error and try another sealer recently suggested to me. The first step was to paint over the blurred portions of the stones using my tiny nail art brush.
After the blurry, colored portion of the stone was repainted and dry, I re-drew the ruined mandala section with the Pro Art pen.
I didn't want to chance using the same spray sealer. Instead, I grabbed some clear nail top coat and brushed it over the stone. And the clear nail top coat didn't smear the design!
The Blue & Orange Stones Repaired and Sealed with Clear Top Coat for Nails
In the photo above, the green stone has the matte spray sealer and the blue and orange were sealed with the clear nail top coat.
What I learned from this experience.
Clear top coat for nails is a suitable sealer for smaller rocks where a pen has been used.
Clean the nozzle on the spray sealer (per the can's instructions) otherwise it may drip and ruin the art.
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.)
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)
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.
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.
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.
Stones 1 and 2 side by side
Stone 3 - Round and smooth
My third stone is nice but I definitely need more practice.
It has been suggested to me that nail art brushes are wonderful when painting details on rocks. You know what? It makes sense! Fingernails are a tiny canvas, so it follows that brushes used for nail art would work on rocks too. I purchased this inexpensive, 15-piece nail art brush set to give them a try.
Note: When you click on certain links in this post, I may receive a commission for the purchase of products. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
There were other sets available but they shipped from China and I was willing to pay the extra shipping cost to have it originate in the U.S. (I've been told that nail art brushes purchased on Ebay and shipped from China take approximately 10 days to receive and you're able to track the package (if it states the item is shipped via "epacket"). I have not verified this information for myself.)
Contents of My Nail Art Brush Set
3 Drawing Tools
7 Painting Tools
2 Liners
1 Dotting Tool
2 Fan brushes
Plastic storage case
The Tests
I started off with this small rock for my first test of the brushes...
...and used a design from "The Chinese Brush Painting Bible" and 3 of the brushes - a liner, flat painter, and pointed drawing tool. I was quite happy with the results.
Design Painted with 3 Nail Art Brushes Only
For my second test, I used an even smaller rock...
...and chose another design from "The Chinese Brush Painting Bible." This time I used only 2 brushes - the flat painter and a longer drawing brush. Once again, I was quite pleased with the nail art brush results.
Design Painted with 2 Nail Art Brushes Only
Here's a side-by-side look at the two rocks I painted using only 4 of the nail art brushes.
Alternative Use for the Nail Art Dotting Tool
I already have several dotting tools and the one included in the set is quite tiny. Instead of dots, I use this tool to secure small rocks when they're being sealed. (In the past I would use toothpicks to hold the stone in place while I was sealing it.)
Dotting Tool Used to Secure Rock While Sealing
My Conclusion
Nail art brushes ARE a great tool for rock painting details. Even if I never use all the brushes in the set, the price is low enough to justify the purchase based on my results. And, you can never have enough brushes. Right?
Videos - How to Use Nail Art Brushes
I found these two videos very helpful explaining how each nail art brush/tool can be used.
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