A mountain of creative fun for rock artists!

Rock animals are fun, unique little works of art. The "canvas" is free. And with this book, they're so easy to make.

These step-by-step projects show aspiring rock artists how to create their own rock ladybugs, turtles, rabbits, kittens, foxes, owls and other critters.

Each project includes:

• simple, beginning-to-end directions—from picking the right rock to painting the finishing details
• a list of materials, including paint colors
• several photos of the finished piece from different angles
• a black and white pattern to copy onto the rock

Over ten years ago, accomplished wildlife artist Lin Wellford began painting animals on rocks as a hobby. Today, she sells her creations in galleries and through a thriving mail-order business.

Introduction
How to Paint a Ladybug
How to Paint a Snake
How to Paint a Stone Turtle
How to Paint a Rock Rabbit
How to Paint a Calico Kitten
How to Paint a Gray Persian
How to Paint a Yellow-Striped Tabby Cat
How to Paint a Raccoon
How to Paint a Stone Fawn
How to Paint Fox Rocks
How to Paint Stoney Owls
Expand Your Horizons: A Gallery of Stone Animals

Painting More Animals on Rocks
Painting Houses, Cottages and Towns on Rocks
Painting Flowers on Rocks
Painting More Animals on Rocks

"Art has undergone countless evolutions since man executed those first paintings on cave walls. Modern artists can choose from a dizzying array of mediums and methods. At the same time, the use of natural, nonmanufactured materials has growing appeal in this age of ecological awareness.

Stone painting represents the perfect marriage of old and new. Technological advances have given us tough, inexpensive acrylic paints and finishes. And weathered rocks can be found all over the world. They are, in fact, so common and plentiful that they are considered by most people to be of little or no value. But for me, collecting stones to paint is like a treasure hunt.

I stumbled onto the art of stone painting by accident after years of doing pen and inks and watercolors. Like many selling artists, I was frustrated by the tidy sums I had tied up in inventory between sales. It seemed the costs of matting, framing and glassing my work were always on the rise.

Shortly after moving to the Ozark Mountains of northwest Arkansas, I picked up a stone the size and shape of a baking potato at a local creek. It looked so much like a rabbit that I felt moved to take it home and give it eyes, ears and a fluffy cotton tail. From the moment I placed tiny white sparkles in the eyes, I was hooked. The transformation from a dull creek rock into a wild rabbit, one that actually seemed to be looking back at me, was almost magical.

Over the past fifteen years I have painted thousands of stone animals. My menagerie has expanded to include creatures as diverse as reptiles, birds and practically anything with a fur coat.

Along the way I've shared my enthusiasm for this unique medium with others. With a little guidance, people of all ages and levels of ability can also experience the magic of 'bringing stones to life'.

I hope this book will inspire anyone with an artistic bent to give the exciting and fulfilling medium of stone painting a try."
—Lin Wellford

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