(and Plants)
(and Places)
The idea of rock painting is from a series of books by Lin Wellford.
This is her
Rock Art site.
When I went to a few of the links and saw other people's rock painting,
it made me very sad. There is no way my painting is half as good as some of them.
However, I then began to look at it a different way.
I recognize that I have never had any natural artistic talent.
I can't even draw stick people.
OK, well, maybe I can draw stick people.
So... my animals may not look as realistic as some others,
but they are not bad, either. Some are even downright cute.
Plus, I think, as time goes by I'm getting better.
Besides, I'm having a lot of fun. And that's good enough.
After starting with 'Pets', I've expanded to 'Flowers' and 'Houses, Cottages and Towns'. The houses are great because I can use the uneven rocks not suitable for the other two. Now every rock is a good rock!
November, 2004 - I used to show every single rock I painted,
but I've decided to simplify things.
The making of my first parrot... he's just a small guy, 4 inches tall:
Some finished parrots:
The first 2 pics are of the same rabbit, front and side view;
the next pic is my lop-earred rabbit.
More rabbits:
Note: If you live in/around Winnipeg and happen to see the above Siamese cat anywhere, I would appreciate knowing about it. That rock was stolen from my yard either the night of July 7, or the morning of July 8, 2005, along with a tabby cat (tabby subsequently recovered). The cat is signed on the bottom “D.A.Carriere”, dated 2003, numbered C12 and weighs a bit over 6 pounds.
Grey and yellow tabbies in varying sizes.
(Second picture with 2 cats on 1 rock.)
More tabbies, including a ginger one. And Spot.
SALTWATER:
1. Emperor Angel, Pomacanthus imperator
2. Australian Copperband Butterfly, Chelmon rostratus
3. Coral Beauty, Centropyge bispinosus
LEFT: Pond (highly overstocked for its size),
painted on the flatter underside of a round concrete sidewalk block.
RIGHT: "Installed" outside June 5, 2004.
This project is at the cottage, on Lake Manitoba.
It is something my mom has wanted.
Can you guess what it is going to be?
The first 2 rocks were too big and heavy for even a strong man to lift.
Our young men had to pry them from shore onto a wheelbarrow,
then it took 3 of them to set the wheelbarrow upright.
The rocks were brought to the lot and dumped out,
and here is where they will stay.
I have to do my painting outdoors, without the aid of my magnifying glass!
Work in progress - to give some size perspective,
as well as show off my fancy paintin' duds.
September 25, 2004 - Finally, he's finished!
This is Manipogo, the "Loch Ness Monster" of Lake Manitoba;
and the first rock that's entirely my design.
Caladium and pansies.
Primroses and daffodils.
Wild Violets - the first rock flower I designed myself. I painted this
from a picture of my own violets. The center picture is a close-up of
a real bloom and the picture on the right is my painted copy.
The houses use wood filler for chimneys and dormer windows and other miscellaneous features. I like the dormer windows; it's hard for me to make a house without one.
February, 2004 - This was my first structure, a tudor-style house.
A 'regular' house (Victorian style). I impressed myself with being
able to make the lace curtains in the windows.
A haunted house. OOOoooh, scary!
A farm house. The back side seemed too plain, so I painted in some
flowers. The tall ones are supposed to be hollyhocks,
which I think turned out pretty good.
First picture shows front and right side.
Second picture shows back and left side.
I am quite happy with my porch/balcony & balustrades.
Some gnome houses, for putting in planters.
They're small compared to my other houses.
The biggest one is only 4 inches across.
This rock had a slanted crevice just perfect for a staircase.
My town will need some stores. I painted this on a rough-edged brick.
It was too long for a single store, so I 'divided' it into two.
Another brick, made into an apartment building/deli and some
more retail establishments. As I'm an avid floaty pen collector, I decided
such a store was essential in my town. If you're wondering about the door on
the Floaty Emporium, the 'owner' decided to paint around it to
resemble a slant top twist & click pen.
LEFT - This was perfect for an A-frame house,
except it had a portion sticking out in front.
I think I took care of that quite well.
I even put koi in the pond (insert).
I really like this house. I want to live here.
RIGHT - A barn. The sign on the barn roof says, "Crabby Steve's",
which is in reference to a dance barn my parents used to go to when they were
growing up in the Interlake.
LEFT: Future pets. There are 4 (5-gallon) pails filled with rocks, too.
RIGHT: This is my painting workstation. I have pretty bad eyesight, so I do a lot of the work through the magnifying glass/light. I use DecoArt Patio paints. I find a single base coat doesn't cover enough, usually I put on 2 or 3. I like to use very fine brushes, mostly a 10/0 liner for the detailing. Each piece is finished with 2 layers of exterior gloss.
I like to use cut up heavy-duty vinyl shower curtain liner squares (the cheapest alternative) for paint pallets, then when there's no room left (both sides), I can just throw them out. Constantly washing out a real pallet was too tedious. I bought those plastic cylinders (plumbing supplies) for drying, as there is some painting on the underside, as well. They also work great for glossing. I can turn the rocks around like on a Lazy Susan while I brush, without having to touch them.
