Rock Painting #ad #freesample

Rock Painting

By, 

Jennifer E. Miller

I'm writing something a little different this week. Some of you know I am a member of Smiley360.com, a consumer review group that allows members to try various products for free or low cost in exchange for feedback. Anyone can sign up and it's free--you should, too. When new products are available to test (called missions), Smiley360.com notifies members with an email. They have to take a survey to ensure the consumer is a good fit for that product. Upon successful qualification, they mail it. As long as members leave reviews with honest feedback with hashtags like #ad and #freesample, they will continue to be offered future missions.

This time around, it's a little different. With a Summer DIY Challenge mission, I don't get free product, but I earn extra points (which I have never figured out what those do, but hey, I have something to write about.)

Rock painting is a new hobby I began last year after stumbling across one. Community groups paint and hide rocks around town in public places. The idea is that a stranger locates a painted rock which brightens their day. Instructions written on the back of the rock, encourage the finder to post a photo on corresponding Facebook rock group (there are hundreds, if not thousands, nationwide).

I haven't ever considered myself an artist. I draw stick people and my handwriting is illegible to the point that if you can read it, you may as well have decoded a foreign language. Until that point, art to me was writing--preferably via the typewriter. But this rock painting "game," if you want to call it that, seemed fun enough to give painting a try. Surely, stick people on rocks with happy faces can brighten someone else's day.

I started with simple things like patterns or simple shapes, then quickly wanted to draw more things that were of interest to me, such as birds. I Pinterested how to draw quail and other birds, following the tutorials to paint on rocks. The more I challenged myself, the better the artwork, and the happier the stranger was who found them.

For example, I painted a COCO rock (as in the Disney movie). All it was was the iconic title of the movie and the little guitars and leaves on branches, although the lettering was challenging due to my handwriting handicap. I posted a photo of my finished creation in the rock group long before I released it into the world. Seriously, people went nuts over it. They wanted to know when and where I was going to hide it. A little girl ended up finding it, and her mom posted a photo of her holding it with a big smile and said how excited she was to find "the COCO rock."

Another one that has generated a lot of attention is my Dwight Schrute rock. If you are/were a fan of The Office, hearing the name Dwight should get you giggling. But if you haven't delved into The Office world I will enlighten you a little bit. Dwight lives on a beet farm, is an expert at warding of bears, and is a fan of Battlestar Galactica. In one episode Jim Halpert, his office rival, dresses as Dwight and tells him "bears beets Battlestar Galactica." So, I present my tribute to Dwight Schrute below. I haven't hidden it yet, but rock group members got a huge laugh from my creativity and wish to find it. It will probably make it's way to Dunder Mifflin's big box competitor.

Enough with me bragging about my artwork. How does one accomplish this rock painting thing anyway? Easy. You need rocks, paint, brushes, sealant, and your imagination.

Lets start with rocks. Pick them up off the ground, but be sure not to remove any from State or National Parks as it is not permitted. There is no need to buy craft rocks from a craft store. In fact, craft store rocks are annoying because the waxy coating prevents the paint from absorbing properly. I've heard of people purchasing landscape rocks because of the ease of finding the desired size and shape. Smooth natural ones are best and I find mine near the river. Various kinds of rock absorb paint differently. Simple trial and error is the only answer.

Your "canvas" can be any size you wish, but for simplicity I generally use pocket-sized rocks. Get creative with shapes. If a rock isn't an oval or circle, what does your imagination say it looks like? I saw a Canadian Goose in an odd-shaped one. Once you have gathered a few specimens, take them home, scrub of any dirt, and soak them in warm water and allow to dry.

Now you're ready for paint. I'm going to make this as simple as possible to understand: you can use anything to color the rock. That means, paint, markers, nail polish, colored pencils, (crayons aren't a good idea), etc. I use simple acrylic paints from Michael's craft store. I think I got a big variety pack for around $8.00. You can buy individual tubes in virtually any shade desired, but I found that I liked mixing the colors. However, if a large amount of a certain shade is needed, it's worth it to purchase a tube. Otherwise, it can be difficult to recreate the exact shade and tone, even if you remember what colors you used. I found the Bright Red (shown next to yellow) in the variety package too orangey, so I went ahead and purchased a tube of Holiday Red which I like better.

Brushes. Again, I purchased a package with various widths and angles. Since I tend to paint small things, I purchased additional thin brushes and use the wider ones from the package for larger area application. Buy whatever works for you. Trial and error will be your friend here, too.

Sometimes I want to write words or draw thin outlines. In this case I use paint pens. I'm going to be honest: I don't care much for paint pens, especially the oil based kind which glob and clog, don't apply easily over acrylic paint, and run when the sealant is applied (more on that later). Extra fine permanent markers like Sharpies work okay, but the medium doesn't mesh well with acrylic paint. What I mean is, it's obvious a permanent marker was used over paint.

Posca pens (available from Amazon.com) are extremely popular. After getting frustrated with other paint pens, I went ahead and ordered them. They are easier to use, but here's the thing: unless you let one color dry, the next one will bleed when the two are used in close proximity. I painted a rock which included lines of paint close together. I had to paint a line, used a hair dryer to dry it, then paint the next line, and so on. It took forever. If not careful, the Pocsas can splatter especially if the rock has texture. They also do not produce the coverage like acrylic paint or even the oil based paint pens. However, they haven't clogged yet, blend nicely with acrylic paint, and are much easier to write with then oil based pens. So, I guess it's a trade off. Like I said, I'm still not a big fan of paint pens in general, but the Poscas come in handy depending on what I'm drawing.

Acrylic paint in background; Posca pen for words.

After artwork is complete, it's a good idea to write something on the back with instructions to the effect of  "Keep or rehide. Post a photo to (insert rock group) Facebook group page." Sometimes I add my initials. I find the extra fine Sharpie or other permanent marker to work best. Just note that, depending the rock's natural stone makeup, the sealant sometimes makes permanent markers darker and difficult to read. Unfortunately, there's no knowing when this is going to happen. 

I blacked out the group name for photo. This is an unsealed rock.

The final step is to seal your artwork with waterproof sealant. If you skip this step, don't put the painted rock out in the world. Weather will wash off your paint or marker, which isn't good for the environment. Also, I have personally picked up unsealed wet rocks. Lemme tell ya; they're messy. Sealing is a must. I use Rustoleum pictured below which is available at Walmart for around $4. The finish doesn't matter, but I like semi-gloss for a little shine.

Placing rocks over cardboard or news paper for sealing only makes your rocks stick to it. Instead, I have a 1x6 board with strategically placed brad nails that serve as "racks" for spray sealing.

It must be noted that spray sealants makes some medium bleed, possibly ruining your artwork. Sharpies and oil based paint pens are affected. There are a couple ways to avoid this.

1) Let the medium dry 24-48 hours then lightly spray a tiny bit of sealant. Allow to dry than finish up with a thicker coat of sealant.
2) Brush a light coat of Modge Podge over artwork/writing, allow to dry then seal with sealant. Modge Podge is technically glue and not waterproof. It's imperative to seal over the Modge Podge.

I used to prefer option 2. Now I go for option 1 because Modge Podge makes everything sticky causing the paint to peel off, even on my homemade drying rack.

Once the sealant has dried, the rocks are ready to place around town for others to find. Keep rocks out of State and National Parks, National Forests, and Federal Lands. Good places are local city or county parks (less regulated) or other public areas like outside of libraries. Some people place them inside businesses, but I personally discourage that because picking up the rock can look like shoplifting. However, outside of the business in the parking lot is generally okay; I place them on lampposts quite often. Some places do not want then anywhere on their property. Get familiar with a local rock group and you will quickly find out the popular rocking areas, as well as those to avoid.

I've come across various internet articles written by grumps who don't want to see unnatural things like painted rocks in a natural setting. This is somewhat reasonable, which is why rocks should stay out of State/National Parks and the like. In addition, I try to place my rocks on man-made items: lampposts, park benches, picnic shelters, trail marker signs, highway rest areas, etc. In my humble opinion, this is a good compromise. I also only take no more than five rocks at a time to hide in one area. While rock hunting is fun, seeing a plethora of colorful stones detracts from the ambiance of natural settings. At my favorite local park by the river, I've come across twenty plus rocks in a hundred foot diameter area; too many. Using good judgement goes a long way and it will still brighten a stranger's day.

Happy rocking!

If you participate in (or decide to start) rocking hunting, I'd love to see some photographs of your artwork.