MY STONES & PROCESS

All of the beach stones that I paint and sell are collected during my beach-combing excursions along New England shorelines, both in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. I get my inspiration for color combinations and designs while on my daily morning walks with my dog, from the colors on a wind sock, the vibrant hues I see in a flower bed, the house and shutters of a home or a neighbor's laundry hanging on the line. Other times it might be from the colors of a skirt or scarf I see someone wearing or from my own rugs or home decor. I also get them from the media player skins I watch while listening to my favorite music on my laptop. Color is everywhere, the options are endless, you only need to look. 

Each of my pieces, depending on the size and intricacy of the design, takes anywhere from two to four hours, or sometimes several days if many paint layers are required, for the most vibrant appearance. Anything with a lot of tiny dots, like the Christmas ornaments, and especially the Faberge egg design, are the most arduous, and eye-crossing, to create. I take all of that into consideration when setting prices. I usually have five to six pieces going at once, all in various stages of completeness. 

Besides acrylic paints and sealers, I also use toothpicks, an eyeliner smudger, the fat end of a large sewing needle, fireplace matchstick heads, the rounded tip of my synthetic paint brushes, a pencil eraser head, wooden BBQ sticks and an old cookie sheet and glass plate are my paint palette and color mixer. I truly believe you do not have to spend a ton of money to create art; I am big on recycling (I waste very little paint and I even use recycled/used paper to print my shipping labels) and re-purposing household items, so I use whatever is at hand, and/or cheap, and I mix colors very sparingly so I do not waste them. 

All of my painted rocks are coated several times in an acrylic sealer to protect the paints and designs. By applying many layers, the stones have a shiny, smooth surface, making them look more like ceramic pieces rather than once-rough beach stones. I have actually dropped mine one or two times and each time I forget it is a rock, expecting it to shatter into a million pieces. The extra layers also protect each stone from easy chipping, color fading and allows it to endure outdoor elements.