Painting Rocks!: February 2023

Sunday, February 12, 2023

ROCK PAINTING TUTORIAL #17 - "Hummingbirds Rock"

Hi there and thank you for your interest in this rock painting tutorial on how to paint hummingbirds and flowers onto a rock (pictured below)...

To make the rock pictured above I used a picture of colorful hummingbirds that I found on PINTEREST. I then simply transferred the picture onto a rock and added color with paint markers.

Here is the picture I used for this project...

Hummingbird picture found on
Pinterest which was used for
this rock painting.

If you would like to make a rock like the one in this tutorial, follow the DIRECTIONS as outlined below on this page.

(In addition to the outlined directions on this page below, please feel free to click the underlined links throughout this page to learn more about each subject underlined. As a disclaimer, if you do purchase anything through an affiliate link, I will earn a small commission at no cost to you.)

I purchased the rock used for this painting at a stone center near my home. Most towns have a stone center nearby.

Here is a picture of the "misfit pile" at my local stone center...

Misfit pile of rocks at my local stone center
contain broken pieces that come in all shapes and sizes.

If you would like to find a stone center near you, here is a link to an article I wrote, entitled "Gathering Supplies and Where You can Find Rocks to Paint" which can help.

A stone center is a great place to find rocks for rock painting for a few reasons. They are fairly clean as rocks go, they come in all shapes and sizes, and the stone center will usually sell to the public at a discounted rate too.

For example, I just purchased eight large rocks at my local stone center for about $20. Eight large floral rock paintings can be sold for close to $50 each (or more!). If you do the math, you can see how this can turn the wonderful hobby of rock painting into a business.

As a little safety tip for you, when you go to the stone center wear gloves, long pants and closed toed shoes so you don't hurt yourself as you go through the rock piles in your search.

You can also purchase rocks that are ready to be painted on Amazon now! The rocks you can purchase online are probably somewhat smaller than the ones you will find at a stone center, however they do have a variety of smaller sizes online. Click the link under the picture below to learn more...

Rocks are available to purchase online

The rocks pictured above are great for smaller painted rock projects like the ones in the picture below...

Painting Flowers on Rocks

Before we begin, you will need an image to trace onto your rock, so please read the following article linked below to learn how to get an image for your rock painting...

Learn How to Find Pictures on Your Computer, Resize and Print from a Word Processing Document

Read the article in the link above to find an image like the one I used for this hummingbird rock painting tutorial...

Please note that the image is printed in the same direction as it will be used face up during the tracing process. Again, all of this is explained in the article linked above about how to get images to use. Here is another link to that article for your convenience.

After you have your image and gathered some supplies, we're ready to begin!

You will need some kind of

carbon paper (shown above) to

place between the rock

and the image to be traced.

DIRECTIONS

1. Paint your rock with two coats of white acrylic paint. Let it dry thoroughly. The reason you paint the rock white is to make the lines and colors pop. You can color in the background later.

Rock painted with white acrylic paint
before tracing image

2. Following the instructions on the package, place the transfer paper on the surface of your rock (which has been painted and dried with white acrylic paint), then lay the printed peacock image of your choice right side up over the transfer paper. The transfer paper should now be positioned between the rock and the printed image (use a laser printer).

Secure both papers with Scotch tape and trace the

hummingbird image with a blue or red pen so that it will

be easy to see the lines that have already been traced.

The Scotch tape holds the image in
place to keep it from moving while
being transferred to the rock.
Ready to trace!

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Learn the Art of Decoupage

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3. You can use a variety of acrylic paints to add color to your rock painting. I like to outline my transferred images with a extra fine point black Sharpie to get good definition of the lines before I start painting or coloring with my acrylic paints or markers.

4. Using paint brushes with acrylic paints, paint pens, or permanent markers, add color to the outline of the hummingbirds and flowers...

The hummingbird image outlined with

an extra fine black Sharpie and with

some color added.

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Artistro Paint Pens for Rock Painting
(Reviews below)

Kristina

Love them!

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on May 7, 2020

Style: 12 Extra-Fine Tip

"Awesome pens! I purchased the extra fine tip paint pens. I'm very pleased to say that the tips are strong and will not get frayed from continual usage. The colors are very nice and write smoothly. They delivered very quickly and a day earlier than expected which was nice. They do take a bit to get the paint flowing but that's to be expected with any paint pen so overall I am very happy :) will probably buy the brush tip ones as well."

claire maddern

Great pens and good value

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 31, 2018

Style: 12 Extra-Fine Tip

"Purchased the extra fine pens for rock painting. Lovely vibrant colours and any mistakes can be coloured over once dry without bleeding or showing through. Always used Posca pens but these are just as good and cheaper too! Take care when ‘priming’ the pens though, I pressed mine a few too many times and the ink came out pretty fast."

5. Once the ink is dry, you may want to go over any outlines with an extra fine black Sharpie pen and give it a touch up. Seal your rock with a weather resistant acrylic sealant following the directions on the can.

6. You can display it in your own home, give it to someone as a gift, or sell it on a site like Etsy. I hope you enjoyed this rock painting tutorial and please subscribe to my Youtube channel for more craft tutorials!

Be creative & be happy!

Trace & Paint Flowers

Graphite Paper

Rocks for Painting

Mod Podge Matte Gel Medium

Painting Flowers on Rocks

White acrylic paint

Paintbrushes

Arteza Paint Pens

Sharpie Permanent Markers

Sharpie Ultra Fine Black Marker (for outlines)

Art Markers

Shuttle Art Markers

Deco Art White Paint Pen

Paint Markers

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Supplies Side note: Not all the above products will be needed for this particular tutorial. I have linked to some supplies that I use in my rock paintings so that you can have access to some of my favorite products, but you can find most of these in your local craft store.

Here are the links to other rock painting tutorials on this blog:

ROCK PAINTING TUTORIAL #1 - A Basket of Pansies

ROCK PAINTING TUTORIAL #2 - Gardening Animals

ROCK PAINTING TUTORIAL #3 - Red & Orange Poppy Flowers

ROCK PAINTING TUTORIAL #4 - Little Boy in a Bunny Costume

ROCK PAINTING TUTORIAL #5 - Mama Bird & Chicks

ROCK PAINTING TUTORIAL #6 - Fairies & Bunny Spring Rock

ROCK PAINTING TUTORIAL #7 - Beach Bunnies Family Rock

ROCK PAINTING TUTORIAL #8 - The Candy Corn Family

ROCK PAINTING TUTORIAL #9 - Daffodils Rock

ROCK PAINTING TUTORIAL #10 - Fairies & Daisies

ROCK PAINTING TUTORIAL #11 - Strawberry Fairy Rock

ROCK PAINTING TUTORIAL #12 - Fairies & Bunny Spring Rock

ROCK PAINTING TUTORIAL #13 - Daisy Flower Rock

ROCK PAINTING TUTORIAL #14 - Stained Glass Angel Theme

Some of my PINTEREST boards that may interest my crafty friends:

Hand Painted Rocks by nancymaggielee

Stained Glass Painting & Glass Crafts

Rock Art

Illustrations & Drawings

Image Transfer

Watercolor Clip Art

Sharpie Crafts

T-Shirt for your favorite rock painter
available on Etsy

Friday, February 10, 2023

ROCK PAINTING TUTORIAL #16 - "Beautiful Peacock"

Hello, and thank you for your interest in this rock painting tutorial. I hope you will find it fun and informative.

To make the rock pictured above I used a picture of a peacock with definitive lines that I found on PINTEREST. I then simply traced the picture onto a rock and added color with paint markers.

If you would like to make a rock like the one in this tutorial, follow the DIRECTIONS as outlined below on this page.

In addition to the outlined directions on this page below, please feel free to click the underlined links throughout this page to learn more about each subject underlined.

I purchased the rock used in this painting at a stone center near my home. Most towns have a stone center nearby.

A stone center is a great place to find rocks of all shapes and sizes because they usually have a pile of rocks that are broken which they will usually sell to the public at a discounted rate. For instance, I just picked up 8 rocks at my local stone center (pictured below) for about $20.

If you would like to find a stone center near you, then you can read this article to learn all about where to purchase rocks to paint on. As a tip, wear gloves, long pants and closed toed shoes so you don't hurt yourself as you go through the rock piles in your search.

Here is a link to an article "Gathering Supplies and Where You can Find Rocks to Paint" which will help you out.

You can purchase rocks that are ready to be painted on Amazon now. The rocks you can purchase online are smaller than the ones you can find in a stone center, however they have many sizes available in the smaller variety. Click the link under the picture below to learn more...

Rocks are available to purchase online

The rocks pictured above are great for smaller painted rock projects like the ones in the pictures below...

Rocks for painting

Before we begin, you will need an image to trace onto your rock, so please read the following article linked below to learn how to get an image for your rock painting...

Learn How to Find Pictures on Your Computer, Resize and Print from a Word Processing Document

Read the article in the link above to find an image like the one I used for this peacock rock painting tutorial...

After you have your image and gathered some supplies, we're ready to begin!

You will need some kind of

carbon paper (shown above) to

place between the rock

and the image to be traced.

DIRECTIONS

1. Paint your rock with two coats of white acrylic paint. Let it dry thoroughly.

Rock painted with white acrylic paint
before tracing image

2. Following the instructions on the package, place the transfer paper on the surface of your rock (after it has been painted and dried with the white acrylic paint), then lay your peacock image over your rock. The transfer paper is between the rock and the printed image.

Secure both papers with Scotch tape and trace the peacock image with a blue or red pen so that it will be easy to see the lines that have been traced.

My peacock rock after tracing the image and with
some acrylic paint pen color already added.
Not quite finished here but having so much fun!

4. Using paint brushes with acrylic paints, paint pens, or permanent markers, add color to the outline of the peacock image...

Acrylic Paint Pens

I personally love using paint pens or Sharpies because it allows me to add color to small spaces with precision. They are also available in different size tips which will make it easier to add color to larger spaces on your rock as well.

5. Once the ink is dry, you may want to go over any outlines with an extra fine black Sharpie pen and give it a touch up. Seal your rock with a weather resistant acrylic sealant following the directions on the can.

6. Enjoy your rock! And remember to...

Be creative & be happy!

Trace & Paint Flowers

Graphite Paper

Rocks for Painting

Mod Podge Matte Gel Medium https://amzn.to/2Xh1idD

Painting Flowers on Rocks https://amzn.to/2Zwl87g

White acrylic paint https://amzn.to/3b4d00G

Paintbrushes https://amzn.to/3d6uScL

Arteza Paint Pens https://amzn.to/3cqpEYt

Sharpie Permanent Markers https://amzn.to/3eStQ4a

Sharpie Ultra Fine Black Marker (for outlines) https://amzn.to/2DOIkot