Saturday, February 5, 2011

Painting Rocks

This is a painted rock.



Two friends have milestone birthdays this weekend: Liz is turning forty, and Anne is eighty! Seemed a good time to resurrect my long-lost art of stone-painting. When I first moved to North Van (almost 15 years ago!), I spent a bohemian winter (read: semi-starvation) painting and wandering the riverside trails of Lynn Valley. Among other survival tactics, I painted river-rocks and sold them at the Vancouver Art Gallery gift shop.


Here's the 30-foot pool (below):


Ooo. Pretty rocks. So here's the process:

Go for hike in valley. Wear good boots for skidding down the short-cut bank instead of following touristy trails. Wear a backpack. Scramble along shoreline for 300m or so, scouring shallows for pretty rocks.


Pick rocks with interesting bumps and colours, relatively smooth, of reasonable size. Avoid granite, which is too pixel-y. Set them on high boulders to pick up on your way back. Make sure the rocks will stand firmly on a flat surface, with the most interesting face exposed. You'll need more than you think you need.


Hike out with your backpack full of small boulders. Consider the merits of painting something lighter, like bark.


At home, scrub rocks to remove any sliminess. Let dry, then paint with Polymer Medium (Gloss), a glaze you can find in art supply stores. This will bring up the mineral colours, though not as bright as fresh-from-the-river colours.


Then, as time permits, stare at rocks every which way (possibly for hours--this is a non-lucrative art form). Wait for rocks to "speak to you." Maintain total faith that you will see something. When it happens, it's uncanny how the existing shapes and crevices "fall into place." That's the thrilling part. Don't give up.


Sketch in forms with chalk. Paint them. Ideally, I try to let the natural colours/shapes of the stone define the form as much as possible, and bring it together with as little paint as possible. Pretty zen.


Before:


After:


Before:


After:

Before:



After (again):

Sometimes I glaze over the whole stone again, after painting, but this time I just glazed certain elements, like the moon/leaves/waterfall for special effect. I also glued pieces of flattened recycled bicycle tubes to the bottoms so the rocks can sit on surfaces without scratching/sliding.

17 comments:

Melany of the Shuswap said...

Hey Cheryl,

Love your Blog

Melany of the Shuswap

Jessica H. said...

this is so lovely! I love your rocks. What can't you do Cheryl! What type of paint do you use?

Cheryl said...

Thanks Melany, I love that you read my blog :) Hi Rosie and Bella woof. And thanks Jessica--ditto, except for the woof. I use artist-quality tube Acrylics (brands like Golden/Liquitex/Stevenson)that dry quickly to a durable finish, so they won't crack/flake/rub/wash off. They come in lots of earthy colours, like Burnt Umber/Burnt Sienna/Hookers Green/Yellow Ochre/Phthalo Blue etc. The pigments are good quality and can be mixed to blend with the natural stone colours.

Sueb said...

Your rocks are beautiful!
Sue

Anonymous said...

Love your sweet writing style. You are not only an artist. You are a poet as well. I have a special affinity for the rock people also. Fun and joyful work!

Unknown said...

Thank you! i love the affirmation that I wasn't approaching my own rock painting process like a crazy person by staring at the rocks sitting on my table that I drug home today, I am in an art history class that the assignment is to make a rock paining.

Cheryl Lindberg said...

People Who Stare At Rocks do not think other People Who Stare At Rocks are crazy. That's a rule. I would love to see your rock when you're done. Can you email a pic?

Unknown said...

Hi Cheryl,

I was pinteresting painted leaves and what do I see but your beautiful painted rocks! You are OUT THERE sister!! So lovely and wonderful to be in your presence in any means, online and otherwise ;-)

Love,

Brenda of Tarenje

Unknown said...

Beautiful!! I paint on rocks but an searching for a liquid that would allow my rocks to stay out in the elements without injuring the paint. Have you found a satisfactory sealant??
Marty
Art that Rocks 4u

Victoria said...

Lovely!

Unknown said...

Oh Cheryl, your art brings me much joy. You are truly an inspiration, thank you for sharing your beautiful medium with us. Can't wait to delve into your blog and glad I stumbled on to you. Be blessed!

Angela said...

Beautiful rock painting, I do the same thing with my blob-art, I drop blobs of water colour paints and leave it to dry, then stare and observe it until an image appears which I then highlight. I'm going to do what you do with the rock too. Very inspirational.

Anonymous said...

Your rock paintings are very beautiful.They inspired me for my new works. Thank you for sharing them with us in details...

Lucretia (Hattie) said...

Your rocks are what attracted me to your blog. They are beautiful!

Lucretia (Hattie) said...

I’m new and can’t figure out how to attach my name, so I show up as ‘Key’ 😕

Lucretia (Hattie) said...

Now I have a name 🤗

Brenda said...

Your work is so insightful and inspiring. Love your blog. Thank you for sharing both.