I am ready for spring. The snow is finally gone and I can go outside and enjoy the glorious sunshine. I started some of my normal spring cleaning routine. I got the leaf blower out and cleaned off the front and back porch. Then I got out the patio furniture pillows from storage. Finally, I cleaned out my rock garden a bit and decided it was time for sun painted rocks. I wanted to brighten up the rock garden and perhaps give away a few as kindness rocks.
Supply List for my Sun Painted Rocks
• Smooth, flat Rocks
• Acrylic Paint, Assorted Colors
• Paintbrushes of assorted sizes
• Acrylic Paint Markers, Assorted Colors
• Acrylic sealer, spray or paint on
• Other supplies: table cloth, paper plate, pencil
If you’re looking for some suggestions for what paint pens for rock painting to use, I reviewed some of my favorites here: 8 Paint Pens for Rock Painting – What I Use
Choosing and Priming Your Sun Painted Rocks
When choosing a rock for a project, keep in mind that the size and shape matter. I would not want to paint The Empire State Building on a tiny pebble. I normally purchase rocks at Hobby Lobby or on Amazon. Purchased rocks tend to be flatter and bigger than what I find out on a stroll in the park. But I live in Oklahoma, we are not exactly known for having an abundance of rocks.
The rocks I chose were about 2 to 3 inches long and had a flat surface. I will often put a primer coat of paint on the rock before painting the design. A primer coat helps to fill in holes, it provides coverage when your rock is a darker color and will help the paint for your design adhere to the rock better. I chose not to use a primer coat on these. I am using some dark gray rocks that were not porous, so I did not feel it was necessary.
Here is some more information on priming rocks if you would like to read further. How to prepare rocks for rock painting?
Sun Painted Rocks Design 1: You Are My Sunshine
I am going to keep the first rock nice and simple. This is a design that I would love to hide for a kindness rocks project. It is easy for all ages and is sure to bring a smile to the finder’s face.
I started by priming this rock a turquoise blue. You could do any color you wanted, but I am sticking with a sky color to contrast my sun. I drew my design on with pencil; a straight line across the rock, half-circle almost exactly in the middle, the sun’s rays, and the wording “You are my sunshine.”
Let’s continue working on this rock one color at a time. I started with a yellow paint marker. If you have never used a paint marker before, they are a great rock painting tool. I love the control I get with a marker and that the colors dry quickly. Using the yellow, colored in the sun, the long line, and half of the sun’s rays.
I finished up the rock using an orange paint marker. The orange was used on the rest of the rays and the wording.
Nice and simple. An artist of any age or ability could create this rock.
Sun Painted Rocks Design 2: Color Blocked Sun
Let’s up the difficulty a bit. This rock makes use of different shapes to create a bright happy sun. I primed the rock with two coats of white acrylic paint. Then I drew my design with a pencil. Don’t worry about pencil lines, the paint will cover them. I find it easier to draw after I have primed my rock, the pencil lines are easy to erase. Make sure you draw an even number of triangle shapes for this one. It is OK to draw your lines down and make the rays go off of the side of the rock. If you are using a thicker rock, this will give you some depth.
I am sticking with the orange and yellow paint markers. Seems a good choice for sun rocks. I like starting with the lighter color, the yellow. I painted the center circle and every other triangle. Then I colored in the remaining triangles with orange.
Using a black paint marker, I went to work on the details. I outlined all of the shapes, added lines to all of the rays and put a sentiment in the center “Shine Bright”.
There you go! A little bit harder than the first one. Let’s up the difficulty a bit more.
Sun Painted Rocks Design 3: Parallel Lines
I love using parallel lines to create an image. This technique can really make your sun stand out. For this scene, the sun is shining just above the ocean. I primed the rock with two coats of white acrylic paint. Then I used a pencil to draw my design. I started at the bottom and worked up. For the ocean, all of the lines are parallel but wavy. I made five sections. Then, I drew the sun as concentric half rings. I made six sections for the sun. For the rays, I drew lines coming out of the sun and ended up with 12 sections.
I also went light to dark with five shades of blue paint. I used paint marker for this entire project, but you could easily use thin brushes and tubes of paint if that is easier for you.
Then, I worked on the concentric circles of the sun. The center was my palest peach, I went to yellows, oranges, and finally red. Using the same colors, I painted the sun’s rays. The center rays were the same shade of red.
For the detail work, I traced all of the borderlines with a black paint marker.
This technique is simple but yields big results.
Sun Painted Rocks Design 4: Purple Mountain’s Majesty
I have had the pleasure of visiting America the Beautiful Park in Colorado Springs. Katherine Lee’s song was inspired by her trip up Pike’s Peak in 1883. I love her description of the “Purple Mountain’s Majesty” and that is what inspired this painted rock.
Although I am planning to paint over the entire rock, I primed it using two coats of white acrylic paint. Then I drew the scene with pencil; a simple shoreline, three overlapping mountaintops, and the sun in the background.
I colored each section with a single shade. For the water, I used a turquoise blue, green for the ground, light purple mountains, and a deep yellow sky.
I used a white paint marker to “smear” in some white paint into the ocean and the tops of the mountains. For my smearing paint, I placed a few dots in the area I wanted the white, and then I spread the paint using my finger, or you could use a thin paintbrush.
I also smeared some gray paint on the mountains, under the white snow caps.
To finish the rock, I used a black paint marker to outline the water, ground, mountains, and sun.
This one might me one of my favorites.
Sun Painted Rocks – Sealing the Rocks
I decided to seal the sun rocks using a spray acrylic sealer from ModPodge. I made sure to do this step outside. Spray sealer can give off some strong fumes and you don’t want to have that linger inside the house. I set the rocks on a protective surface so I didn’t get the sealer everywhere. Using a paper plate or plastic table cloth works perfectly for this step. I sprayed a light coat of sealer and let it dry. Be sure to follow the package instructions on your sealer.
More Inspiration for Sun Painted Rocks
Crazy Laura has a fun and easy sun stone she shares along with other summer rocks.
Best Summer Painted Rocks
I found this sun and moon rock in an article about kindness rocks. I love the way the two images blend together.
Spokane Inlander Coeur d’Alene rock-painting community shares gifts of unexpected kindness all over town
Top Take-Aways for my Sun Painted Rocks
1. Parallel lines have a big impact on a project. They do not have to be perfectly straight. Experiment with some wavy lines.
2. Start simple and work your way up in difficulty. Even the most basic rocks are masterpieces since they were created by you.
3. Where do you find inspiration for painted rocks? Sometimes the lyrics of a song can give you an amazing idea.
Happy painting!