How to Tackle a Rock Painting Challenge

Have you ever agreed to paint a rock then asked yourself, "How am I going to paint THAT?!"

A request for Noah's Ark was my rock painting challenge because:

• It was a complex design
• I had not painted it on a rock in the past.

I learned (and now apply) these lessons to painted rock designs which seem more ambitious than my skill allows.

Lesson 1: Don't rush to paint. Keep the project in the back of your mind and ideas will start coming to you.

Instead of rushing to paint the Noah's Ark, I spent time:

• Thinking about and finding suitable rocks for the project
• Looking at pictures of animals and Noah's Ark
• Gathering reference materials.

Before I could envision how to paint Noah's Ark, I needed a rock to paint on. I was fortunate to find 3 rocks of a suitable shape in varying sizes - small, medium, and large.

Lesson 2: Paint a practice rock. Test the design and try techniques on one or more practice rocks before tackling the "keeper."

I painted Noah's Ark on the smallest rock first. From this practice rock, I learned:

• The paint color for the wood portion was too dark and did not feature enough interest
• The wood-painted portion could have been lower to allow more room at the top for the animals
• Something should be featured in the windows of the ark
• It was best to paint the largest animal(s) first then select the remaining animals based on the space available.

Lesson 3: Test Designs and Colors. Try out colors and designs on paper before committing to the rock. Record the steps and paint colors you used.

Before continuing to paint on the medium-sized rock, I sketched a simple ark on paper and played with various paint color combinations for the wood portion of the ark. Noting the colors I used helped me recreate it on the rock.

The 2nd Noah's Ark I painted (medium-size rock) incorporated what I learned from painting the practice rock:

• The painted wood portion was a lighter color and more interesting
• More room was allowed at the top portion of the rock for the animals
• The windows of the ark and the roof now featured animals
• The animal selection and placement process was easier.

The Noah's Ark challenge wasn't daunting by the time I painted the 3rd and largest rock (which would be gifted to my friend).

Lesson 4: Use reference materials for inspiration and guidance. Don't feel you have to paint from memory.

I referred to photos and these how-to guides to paint the animals:

• Artistry Set on Stone by Suzi Chua 
• Painting Zoo Animals on Rocks by Lin Wellford
• Painting More Animals on Rocks by Lin Wellford
• Noah's Touch by Linda Jordan

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When you accept a challenge and push yourself to paint a complex design which you've never done before, the sense of accomplishment makes your spirit soar.

Have you been asked to paint a complex or challenging design on a rock? 

Try these tips.

Please leave a comment about your experience painting complex, challenging designs on rocks.

© Cindy Thomas Painted Rocks

How to Prevent "Sharpie" Permanent Markers from Blurring When Sealed

After I found my perfect paint pen for rocks (which did not blur when sealed), I received a blog post comment which suggested "applying a layer of Elmer's Glue on the Sharpie Art, allowing to dry, before applying spray sealant."

I decided to try this out for myself but instead of using a spray sealer, I used two of my preferred brush-on sealers.

My first test used a Sharpie ultra fine point black permanent marker. I printed the words "Sharpie test" on my stone and followed it with a thin coat of white glue. After the glue dried, I applied a thin coat of Delta Ceramcoat brush-on sealer.

White glue applied over a Sharpie marker before Delta Ceramcoat sealer

Result: Neither the glue nor my sealer blurred the words written on the stone with a Sharpie permanent marker pen.

For my second test, I used colored Sharpie permanent markers and drew a simple design on a pitted stone. Once again, a first coat of white glue was thinly brushed over the design. Then after the glue dried, I used Americana Duraclear brush-on sealer.

White glue applied over Sharpie markers before Duraclear Satin Varnish

Result: Neither the glue nor my sealer blurred the design drawn on the stone with various colors of Sharpie permanent marker pens.

I'm happy to report that white glue (e.g., Elmer's) used over Sharpie permanent marker pens did indeed prevent blurs when applied prior to both formulas of my clear sealers. (Note: I used this trick on small stones and cannot say how well it works with large painted rocks.)

Give this tip a try for yourself and let me know what you think.

© Cindy Thomas Painted Rocks

Painted Rocks: How to Correct Mistakes

 
Here's how you can fix a mistake made while painting a rock and, believe me, I have made many mistakes.

(Keep in mind these tips work for rocks which have NOT been sealed.)

While the paint is still wet

• A Q-tip (or corner of a paper towel) moistened with a little clean water can wipe away the paint which ended up where it didn't belong
• An art tool called a "paint eraser" can also remove errant paint. (This two-sided tool has a chiseled and pointed rubber tip at each end.) I find dipping the tip in a little water is helpful with paint removal

More info about this paint eraser

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When the paint has dried

• Dawn dish detergent on a moistened paper towel magically "erases" dried paint most of the time
• Sandpaper is useful for scraping off small areas of paint which have strayed onto an unpainted, natural part of the rock
• Sometimes a combination of a little Dawn dish detergent followed by sanding works best
• Rubbing alcohol wiped on the dried paint with a q-tip or soft cloth also works 

 

 

As a last resort

• If the mistakes are too numerous or you just don't like how the design is turning out, just cover the rock with white acrylic paint and start something new.

Do you have tips for removing paint from a rock? Please leave a comment and I will try them out.


© Cindy Thomas Painted Rocks