Is Gesso a Good Primer for Painted Rocks?

Yes, in my opinion gesso is an excellent primer for painted rocks.

Gesso (pronounced jes-oh) is used to prepare a canvas for painting. (If you would like to know more about gesso, this article "What is Gesso and How is it Used in Painting?" is very informative.) 

I've been hearing about gesso used to prime rocks (my canvas) and thought I'd give it a try instead of the usual white, acrylic paint.

For my experiment, I purchased two types of gesso from the Michaels.com website...

• Regular - Folk Art brand
• Super Heavy - Liquitex brand

...and selected a smooth stone for the regular gesso and a pitted stone for the super heavy gesso.

My process:

• Brush one coat of each type of gesso on a stone (regular gesso on the smooth stone, super heavy gesso on the pitted rock)
• Paint the same design on each stone using one coat of various brands of acrylic or acrylic craft paint
• Use an art pen for thin details
• Seal the stones

Gesso features and performance:

• Folk Art - regular gesso
• Consistency of toothpaste
• Applied with a brush easily and smoothly
• A little went a long way
• Covers well
• Can be mixed with acrylic paint for a colored base coat
• Soap and water clean up
• Quick drying

Regular gesso applied to a smooth stone

• Liquitex Super Heavy gesso
• Consistency of cake icing or spackling compound
• Somewhat messy
• Applied with a brush and required smoothing in different directions
• Can be tinted with acrylic paint
• Soap and water clean up
• 24 hours to dry
• Brighter white than the regular gesso

Super heavy gesso applied to a pitted rock

Paint colors and brands used:

• Craft Acrylic (craft acrylic is a thinner consistency than regular acrylic paint)
• Anita's Orange
• Anita's Christmas Green
• DecoArt Cherry Blossom Pink

• Acrylic
• Americana Snow (Titanium) White
• Apple Barrel Bimini Blue (turquoise)
• Apple Barrel Red
• Apple Barrel Lime Tree
• Apple Barrel Black
• Folk Art Sky Mist (light blue)

 
The acrylic and acrylic craft paint colors adhered very well with both types of gesso. The brush moved smoothly across each rock's surface.

Results of one coat of paint applied over each type of gesso

There were no problems using the art pen on the gessoed and painted stones. In fact, the pen drew especially well on the pitted stone primed with super heavy gesso.

Results of art pen used on gessoed and painted stones (Sehnaz Bac design with permission)

My final photo clearly illustrates the benefits of using white acrylic paint or gesso as a primer for a stone. The paint colors on all three primed stones are brighter than the unprimed stone. The difference is most apparent when you compare the orange hue on each painted rock.

Results of no primer vs. acrylic paint and gesso primers (Sehnaz Bac design with permission)

© Cindy Thomas Painted Rocks

Do You Need a Garden Decor Idea? Paint a Year-Round, Reversible Address Stone

Warm-weather address stone

Flowers painted on a concrete wall block are eye-catching during Spring and Summer.






Problem: this flowery address marker looks very out of place during cold, winter months. 


Solution: a reversible year-round address stone.

Reversible address stone suitable for both warm and cold months

I did not want to limit myself to a Christmas side for Winter. So, I painted one long and short side (and half the top) with green leaves; the other long and short side (and top half) are painted with holly leaves and berries.

For this project I used "yard and garden" acrylic paint specially formulated for outdoors. 

To seal the concrete wall block, I tried Outdoor Mod Podge for the first time. (I found the Mod Podge to be tacky and used a polyurethane sealer over the Mod Podge.)

Tips:

• Think about where the address marker will be placed. This will help you decide how much of the design should be painted on the short sides and top (see photo below)
• Be very careful when lifting/moving the concrete block - it will weigh approximately 20 pounds
• Priming the concrete wall block first with a product like Kilz helps the paint go on smoother 
• I sat the concrete block on an upended plastic kitty litter container while painting (see photo below)

  
Ideas: 

• Paint one side with Autumn leaves and the other with poinsettias
• Paint a holiday theme on one or both sides
• Instead of painting house numbers, attach some purchased at a home improvement store
• Instead of a concrete wall block, use a large rock that stands upright

Two concrete address markers - One is reversible

Why not welcome your guests with a personalized address stone suitable for display year round. 

© Cindy Thomas Painted Rocks