Creative Pen Alternatives For Rock Painting

Break away from the standard acrylic paint; try one of these artistic alternatives for rock painting. 

 

I know it may seem like a strange time to talk about rock painting but I really do have some logic behind it. 

Most of us have places to go and things to do at this time of the year. LOTS of things to do. Sure, we stress about the lack of parking spaces, the check-out lines winding down the aisle and the fact that it’s mid December and the tree isn’t up yet. BUT, most of us are happy in our busy bliss. Christmas isn’t a good time for EVERYONE though. While many of us are fortunate to have a home and loved ones to share the holiday with, some don’t. For some, Christmas is painful, often isolating and somewhat difficult to get through.

 

So . . . what does this have to do with painting rocks? 

 

Well, rocks can bring a smile when someone least expects it. The Kindness Rocks Project knows all about that. Perhaps you’ve heard . . . rock painting is a T H I N G – a big thing! And after you experience the delight of creating mini masterpieces of potential joy, you “hide” them for other people to find. You can add a special message on the rock just to remind people they are awesome and loved and important. At this time of the year, that bit of random kindness might be exactly what someone needs. That’s why I think the holidays are a perfect time to offer a little rock painting inspiration.

 

 

Now, let’s talk Art Pens!

So if you’ve made it this far, I’d say you’re ready for something new; an alternative to the standard paint and brush method of rock painting.

FOUR COOL ART PENS

There are a bazillion art pens out there but these are four of my favorite. None of these pens were created with the intention of painting on rocks – I mean, who knew it was going to be a thing!? With a little bit of technique and finesse though, these pens are fun and beautiful alternatives to the standard acrylic paint. To show you the differences between each pen’s finished look, I’ve colored the exact same image on rocks covered with white primer.

At this point, it is my duty to inform you that you will probably want all of these pens in your stocking. Just throwing that out there in case you’re on Santa’s ‘nice’ list this year. There are direct product links at the bottom of this post – just to help out the shopper elves in your life. 

 

OKAY . . . ready to ROCK your rock painting world?

 

No. 1: FABER-CASTELL GELATOS

With 55 mouth watering colors, these vibrant art crayons offer endless possibilities. Gelatos aren’t really a pen but rather a creamy, water-soluble pigment in a convenient twist-up stick. 

 

So the first thing I should mention about Gelatos is that they are chubby little sticks of wonderful. The wonderful part comes from their vibrancy but the chubby part poses a bit of problem on small scale images. I found two methods to apply the color onto smaller images on a rock. 

 

Option One:use a short nubby paint brush (I actually cut mine down). Dab the brush directly into the Gelato stick and rub into the area you are coloring.

Option Two: Rub the Gelato stick onto the shiny side of waxed paper OR, better yet, a Ranger Non Stick Craft Sheet. Dip a fine paint brush into a little water, rub it onto the smudge of Gelato and apply it to the image on the rock.

Both of these methods allow for beautiful blending of colors from similar color families. That, honestly is the main reason to use both the Gelatos and my next recommendation, the AquaStic. You can beautifully merge from deep pink to purple to red with little effort. 

 

 

 

Where the Gelatos (and the AquaStic) really shine are the ease at which you can blend colors on a LARGE scale. Think sunsets and silhouettes. This is truly one of the fastest ways to make a gorgeous painted rock. Like 10 minutes and voila!

 

 

No. 2: CRETACOLOR AQUASTIC

Cretacolor AquaStics are actually water-soluble oil pastels and their artistic uses are endless. They offer 80, highly pigmented colors which is, in itself, quite impressive. For rock painting, they work exactly like the Gelatos and blend effortlessly and beautifully.

 

My FAVORITE way to use the AquaStick on a rock is to dampen a paint brush with water and rub it directly onto the ‘crayon’. Of course, on large scale backgrounds, like the sunset, apply the AquaStic directly to the rock and use a dampened paint brush or make-up sponge to blend the colors.

 

No. 3: uni POSCA MARKERS

I’ve talked about the Posca Markers in previous posts but I include them here because of their awesome pen application. Basically, Posca Markers are like acrylic paint in a pen. In fact, I’ve heard you can refill them, once they run dry, with your regular acrylic paint. I haven’t tried this yet but I’m excited about the possibilities – and cost savings. 

 

 

The Posca pen paints solid color; almost cartoon-like or graphic art coloring. You can’t blend Posca colors directly on the rock. You can however puddle two colors on your craft sheet and blend them together to make a different color, which you apply with a paint brush. There are 55 Posca colors in total but unless you have access to an art supply store that sells them open stock, a set of 15 or 24 is your best bet. POSCA markers come in different sized nibs (pen tips) I only use the Fine and Extra Fine for rock painting as the nibs are quite large in relation to other art pens.

My absolute favorite way to paint rocks is to use a combination of the POSCA marker and my last art pen recommendation, the Faber-Castell PITT Pen.

No. 4: Faber-Castell PITT Artist Pen (B)

I LOVE this pen! Simply put, it is awesome. I only use the B nibs and they have a fantastic brush-like tip. The colors are beautiful; with over 50 to chose from. PITT pens are filled with pigmented India Ink and are waterproof (which is a plus for rock painting).

 

 

 The ink lays beautifully and never bleeds. On a rock, I would not say that the colors can ‘blend’; however, you can use colors in the same family to create dark and light accents. The PITT pen is somewhere in between the blending Gelato and the solid singular color of the Posca. I’ve recently seen the PITT Artist Pens in open stock at Michaels or you can purchase sets. 

As I mentioned above, my favorite way to ‘paint’ rocks right now is to color in the main colors with the POSCA and then add brighter color and accents with the PITT Artist Pens. The best thing about this method is it’s completely mobile. No mess or paint brushes or water; just a couple of primed rocks and my pens. 

Amazon Shopping Links

I promised you to provide direct links to the products I’ve recommended above but first, to please the powers of blogland – whomever they might be, I must first say this ….

 

and now, your Christmas stocking wish list:

There is not a good purchase option on Amazon for the Cretacolor AquaStic. I recommend Dick Blick for this product 

Faber-Castell Watercolor with Gelatos (a great starter set)

Uni POSCA Paint Marker Pen – Extra Fine Point – set of 12 

Uni Posca Paint Marker Pen – Fine Point – set of 15

Faber-Castell Pitt Artists Pen Set 6 Pastel

Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Brush Pens Basic 6-Pack

 

Simple Things Bring Out Smiles

I hope you enjoyed learning about new rock painting techniques. You know, I have to say I’ve gotten some strange looks and even the occasional smirk when I tell people about rock painting and The Kindness Rocks Project. I hear comments like,  “You have time to paint rocks?” and ” Yeah, I did that when I was a little kid.” But you know, I’m not an artist. Nothing I paint is ever going to sell or end up on someone’s wall BUT, I can paint a rock, make it as beautiful as I can, and then simply give it away with nothing expected in return. There is something so simply heart-warming about that. There’s no pressure – I mean, it’s a rock – right?!  But that rock might land in the right hands and make a difference to the right heart. I love that idea – and it gives me a perfectly good excuse to create. 

I hope you all find joyous reasons to create – whether for yourself or someone else.

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