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WHY NOT USE A LITTLE RED?

WHY NOT USE A LITTLE RED? 9

Christine Onward talking about the symbolism of red and its use in creating art on rocks 

Red appears to be the colour that artists have been using the most in their art works. It is suggested that the value of a piece of art will increase dramatically just by using red in its composition. Recent studies also suggest that at least 77% of the art works in history have used predominantly the red colour.

But why is red so highly appraised in the world of art? And how is this preference for red reflected in the art rock painting?

Here are a few of the most significant explanations I found when it comes to using red in rock painting. To exemplify I used a number of rocks by the artists of RockStreet Collective, recently  posted in the group.

poppies painted rocks artists of RockStreet Collective

Photo collage by artist | Lysa Mignot |  of RockStreet Collective (artists tagged in group cover photo)

Probably the most common suggestion for the use of red in art is love. Being such an intense, “hot” color, artists have used red to convey emotions such as passion, happiness, or intense love.

But how do you represent love on a painted rock?

You may use the symbol of love heart

love heart mandala painted rock Valentine's Day red gift for her  red love heart painted stone interior decoration gift for her 

Red painted rocks with love hears by | Karin Getaz | Kathy McLoughlin | Christine Onward 

 

Flowers painted on rocks in red may also elicit feelings of love: 

 rose painted rock interior rustic red decoration valentine's day  poppy red flower painted rock beautiful decoration red love Lysa Mignot   red flowers painted rock love decoration Pamela Campbell

Rocks by | Angel Martinez Garcia | Lysa Mignot | Pamela Campbell |

 

Red is believed to make you happy

ladybirds painted rocks red garden decorations basket happy decor  love heart painted rock flowers garden decoration ladybug love romance  frogs red garden decoration painted rocks happy children

Happy painted rocks by | Gaby Avila | Dawn Harper  | Kim Koch |

 

Red is such a powerful eye-catching colour that can make us quickly attracted to what we see. This is probably why, for outstanding designs, artists are prone to using red more than any other colours of the spectrum.

 decoupage flowers red decoration romantic decor paperweight  owl painted rock interior decoration outstanding art  rustic aboriginal art red decoration interior design bookend

Rocks interior decorations by | Angel Martinez Garcia | Lysa Mignot | Christine Onward |

 

Red is used to reflect beauty in nature , as seen in the feathers of these fascinating birds:

  flamingo red bird painted rock rockstreet collective  peacock painted rock paperweight red poppies interior decoration   red bird garden decoration parrot chinese artist

Red and birds, painted rocks by | Tanya Nikolaevskaya | Christine Onward | 陳 泳澖 |

 

Red is also suggested to enhance strength, confidence and optimism. Here are some outstanding decorations using different hues of red:

mandala red dots painted rocks meditation nature energy  painted rock red mandala rockstreet collective  red mandala swirl painted rock magic karin getaz

Painted rocks by | Henriett Jäckl Pauline Parker Karin Getaz |

 

And some more red? How about romantic landscapes with a red sky at dawn?

sunset sunrise red sky birds affirmation painted rock romantic breathe

Painted rock by | Christine Onward |

I will conclude here, although the story could continue with no end. Red painted rocks can make for a wonderful piece of decoration. Being a powerful colour which triggers intense emotions such as love, passion, happiness, the colour that attracts attention and makes every piece of art more desirable. There is no reason why you shouldn't try it for yourself.

***If you think your red work of art stands out from the crowd, feel free to post your rock in RockStreet Collective.  We celebrate RED week on our Instagram account starting from 4th to 10th of June.  There will be two artist winners every day!! Winning rocks will be featured on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and website. Looking forward to meeting you too.

More RED rocks for sale Here.

keep calm and paint red rocks

 Painted rock by | Sara Stich |
 

 

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Discover the Fascinating Story of artist Karin Getaz - the Magic of Her Painted Rocks and Passion for Colours

Discover the Fascinating Story of artist Karin Getaz - the Magic of Her Painted Rocks and Passion for Colours 136

The extraordinary story of artist and rock painter Karin Getaz of Queensland, Australia. Astonishing collection of painted rocks, dot mandalas and modern art.
HISTORIA DE UNA PIEDRA - THE HISTORY OF A STONE - by rock artist Loli Gambin

HISTORIA DE UNA PIEDRA - THE HISTORY OF A STONE - by rock artist Loli Gambin 17

"The history of a painted rock" by formidable Spanish artist Loli Gambin of "Piedras para sonreir". A beautiful story about family love, birthday surprises and art on rocks both in Spanish and English.
RockStreet Collective's PAINTED ROCKS – the Halloween video

RockStreet Collective's PAINTED ROCKS – the Halloween video 17

 

 

How do you make a group of artists, all different in age, styles, culture, personalities and interests feel like home? How do you make the art on rocks not only the common language for everyone, but also a source of fun, relaxation, joy, interest and so on… Here is an idea I came up with recently.

 

Collage of artworks by: Carrie Hart Sharp | Johns Found Art  | Berna Figueredo | Maria Michela Troccolo - Oceanomare Stone painting, sassi dipinti | Lindsey Bridges Art  | April Anderson | Ernestina Gallina - Pietrevive 

 

I woke up on Sunday morning thinking I need to make a Halloween gift for my RockStreet Collective hub of friends. I searched through my rocks, thinking that a simple post with a spooky painted stone and nice Halloween wishes will suffice. Then I looked around, and noticed everyone was also posting spooky rocks. Just in the most incredible styles, and colours, and moods reflected in so many approaches from so many countries!

 

Collage of artworks by: Petra Groth | Nadejda Vladeva | Mike Fant - Mike's Art Glass  | Rachel's Rocks | Ruth Yong | Jey Kam  | Pamela Campbell | Gaby Avila 

 

So I thought I could just make a funny video with painted rocks, new or old, from our RockStreet Collective group of painters. At 9 in the morning I began downloading Halloween photos of painted rocks. By lunch time I had about 90 photos saved on my computer, each of them with the most interesting, colourful, scary, original etc. designs.

 

Collage of artworks by:  Eiji Shimamura | Erika Warren | Chaz Kohut | The Mad Lou Rocks | Sandra Suazo | Danijela Milosevic  | Sussi Louise Smith | Shyla Jannusch | Nicky Stones

 

As you might already know, making a video is not just a simple thing of putting pictures all together randomly just to see what comes up in the end. Most of the photos I had downloaded needed editing. On each photo I had to type its author’s name as well. I had to explain the ownership of each creation for everyone. It was meant to be equally fair for everyone :) . Sooo, about 90 photos to edit until dinner time!

 

Collage of artworks byChristine Onward | David Eric Leftwich | Lorraine Redlich | Liz Campanile Gibson | Marilena Sostero | Lyn Phillips | Annegret Ehrmann | Monica Maticiuc

 

At the end of the day I had 81 photos of 43 artists from around the world edited and ready to go into the RockStreet Collective Halloween celebratory video. I apologise to those artists of our Collective who didn’t make it to the video. If I missed any of your photos, it was not done on purpose.  

 And here is our video:

Halloween painted rocks by RockStreet Collective

I would like to thank all the artists whose works of art on rocks made up to such a wonderful, engaging little Halloween video. Since then I have received tens of thanks, wonderful words of gratitude, wonderful stories of life about how much this little attention from my side means to them… I also had some complaints that the video doesn’t play in some people’s countries. I think it might have been the song I used, “Abracadabra” by the Steve Miller Band, your country’s rights on the song, the device you are using, or just the misbehaving YouTube.

 

Collage of artworks by: Mónika Mészáros Kavicsfestés | Melinda's rock paintings | Spray PaintArt Veljo | Mariella Trigari | Michelle Sullivan Maddix  | Steenzoekertje Zoeken | Tami Hegwood

 

I will end my little Halloween video story here by thanking you all for bringing colour and joy in our lives every day. Painting on rocks does change lives – always for the better. And you make this happen.

With love,

Christine Onward of RockStreet Collective

Featured image by : Cynthia Snider
THIS WEEK'S INTERVIEW: IRYNA SWARTZ

THIS WEEK'S INTERVIEW: IRYNA SWARTZ 297

Rock artist Iryna Swartz reveals her painting journey and lessons learned along the way