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WEDNESDAY SNAPSHOT - TOP 20 prettiest rocks for this EASTER 28
A Showcase of the Most Adorable Easter Rock
Designs Worth Trying
One of the reasons I love this time of the year is that it gives us, the rock artists, the chance to create and paint the prettiest designs in the brightest colours!
I did a bit of "Easter rock hunting" in some of the most significant rock art groups on Facebook (RockStreet Collective included), as well as Instagram and Pinterest, and here is a selection of some of the most adorable rocks I could find:
Collage of Easter rocks selected on Pinterest (check link for individual artists)
Here are some more designs you might feel inspired to try too:
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PRETTIEST EASTER BUNNIES
Collage of Easter painted rocks by Kh Ang | Sue Huson | Misty Day | Tracy Joy |
A wonderful display of Easter bunny rocks to melt your heart:
Painted rocks Easter bunnies by Lidia Zingerle of RockStreet Collective
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EASTER IN THE MOST JOYFUL COLOURS
Collage of Easter painted rocks by Carie Schoen | Em Made This | Carrie Hart Sharp |
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INSPIRATIONAL EASTER ICONS
Collage of Easter painted rocks by Magdalena Neycheva | Sue Huson | Christine Onward |
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MOST EXQUISITE DESIGNS
Easter painted rocks by Lefteris Kanetis | Liam Houlroyd | Isabelle Tamini Esposito |
My selection of these rocks was, by no means, based on "quality", "artists' reputation", or financial reward. Some of the rocks were posted on RockStreet Collective by the artists themselves over the last weeks, some rocks have been "heating up" on the Rock Street Pinterest account and some have just smiled at me on Instagram.
I wish you all days with sunshine and family fun. Happy Easter!
Easter bunny painted rock by Kathy Whitney Conlin | Instagram | Facebook |
Disclaimer: Credit was given to all artists who painted the rocks featured in this article. If you intend to use any of these ideas for your rocks, please do contact the artist and avoid copyright infringements. For more questions you can send me an email at rock_street@yahoo.com
This is an article written by Christine Onward . If you want to be the next artist featured on our blog, please drop a message on rock_street@yahoo.com.
WHAT'S YOUR BLUE? 15
Christine Onward talking about symbols of the blue colour in rock painting
Colours allow artists to express their ideas and reveal their inner self. For every rock painter colours not only evoke a certain mood, elicit a certain response from the viewers, but also work subliminally to create and send a particular message.
But what are the messages, moods, and inner responses elicited by the blue colour in rock painting?
BLUE art on rocks by Christine Onward. For sale HERE
Today’s article presents a number of different approaches to the use of blue in rock painting. Rocks were selected from the approximately 200 painted rocks posted by the artists of RockStreet Collective to honour our most recent BLUE rock event.
Why do we use the BLUE colour when we paint on rocks?
*BLUE is used to suggest INNOCENCE and elicit CALM
Naïve art on rocks by artists Sussi Louise Smith | Pamela Campbell | Christine Onward
*With BLUE you can create sensations of FREEDOM and EXPANSIVENESS
Ocean theme in rock painting, different approaches by artists Kishan Patel | Leilani Holverson | Susanne Jensen
*BLUE is a universally soothing colour. Many artists embrace a blue palette to elicit CALM and MINDFULNESS
Mandala world in BLUE by artists Rachel Mitchell | Debby Hurst | Elena Marisol Gomez
*Beauty of nature and its fantastic livings are often represented with the use of BLUE
A world of BLUE birds by artists Judy Smith | Aberline Attwood | 陳 泳澖 |
*Light BLUE is associated with TRANQUILITY and HEALING
Soft BLUES to heal the soul- by artists Yvette Biedermann | Pascale Chevalier | Ralph Macias |
*You may use blue when creating art for those young at heart to elicit SINCERITY and HAPPY MOODS
Joyful art for the child in us by artists Christel de Laroche | Alex Jade | Danijela Milosevic
*BLUE invites you to MELANCHOLY and RECOLLECTION
BLUE dot art in rock painting by artists Lisa Orlans | Emily Clark | Sandra Silva |
*Oriental cultures have used BLUE to express PIETY and STRENGTH
The exotic world of the BLUE rocks by artists Yuk-moy Tan Tapia | Megan Wilhite | Shruti Rachael David |
*Use BLUE to suggest PURITY and CONFIDENCE
The wonderful realm of wearable art on rocks by artists Lysa Mignot | Annalisa Cacciatore | Valeria Avossa |
*All these symbols often intermingle to create calm and purity. If you want to join the art world of healing the mind and body, you can start by using BLUE
Fantastic decorative art on rocks by artists Jessica Pederson Stumpf | Misty Day | Diana Lamb |
In art, colours have endless meanings and significance which translates into rock painting. If you remember, a few weeks ago we looked at some examples of RED symbolism in rock painting. See article HERE.
If interested to be a part of our world rock painting family, you are most welcome to post your creations in our group RockStreet Collective. The BLUE rock event is still happening until the 21st of July when the winning artist (featured on our Instagram account) will be invited to an exclusive interview on this website.
More artful blue rocks for sale Here
I will conclude my short description of uses of BLUE in rock painting here. The most amazing creation I wanted to introduce to you to celebrate the BLUE rock event is that of 5 year old Zarya, Elena Marisol Gomez's little daughter. I’m sure you’ll love her blue ocean, the sky with white clouds, the green beach, and the tomato bush in the corner.
Here ends RockStreet Collectives's BLUE rock showcase. I hope you had a peaceful BLUE holiday to the eyes :)
The beautiful BLUE rock of Zarya
PAGES OF REFLECTION – what it takes to become an ARTIST (LESSON 1) 29
Dear reader, wherever you may be, whatever language you speak, whichever stage in life you are, I hope you are an admirer of art.
This is because I plan to make the next few blog articles into a reflective journal about my experience of living and creating art. And as inconsistent as I am in general, I am pretty confident that this time I can give my stories continuity and meaningfulness not just for me, but for you too.
Today's LESSON 1
How do you grow into a reputable artist without any expertise or previous experience?
This is a question that keeps on bothering me every time I find yet another successful artist on Instagram. It looks as if every great artist of our days has some sort of previous art-related education, hours and hours of guided advice, work with a purpose, and of course, the TALENT.
For instance, check on wonderful Yvette Coppersmith:
-Archibald Prize, 2018
-studied at the Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne, Australia.
-more than 21 years of experimenting with styles and subjects
-painting self-portraits since the age of 17
Painting by Australian artist Yvette Coppersmith, winner of the Archibald Prize 2018
How does MY art journey ever come close to such a glorious artist?
I bet you too keep on ruminating about the same thing as me: Maybe it’s not even worth it. Maybe it’s yet another waste of time…
But this morning I finished painting this:
"After the Dark", by Christine Onward (all rights reserved). For sale HERE
Right through the open blinds a few sun rays started coming in. I watched them dancing merrily on the colours of the painting. That whole world, right there in the paper, was coming to life right in front of me… I was witnessing a miracle.
I had created a world that was a reflection of myself. Somewhere in this world someone like me will find themselves in this story, as much as I did. Maybe more in my painting than in other people’s paintings. Maybe I get to make them smile. And that’s the best accomplishment I can achieve.
My lesson for today is this:
Every story you create has you in it, your adventures, your memories, your sadness, your heart. Someone will surely connect with it. If not today, they will surely show up tomorrow.
The more stories there are, the more people will connect with your art. Just keep on creating. Reward will come.
Loving these stories? Here is a beautiful story from my childhood : Surreal Night in Transylvania
More outstanding products from my latest surreal paintings are HERE
PAINTING WALGETT IN SUNRISE SONGS, STORY BY CHRISTINE ONWARD 20
Welcome to a new series of outback stories promised to you a long time ago but repeatedly delayed due to my obstinate perfectionism (or procrastination,equally true). After a year of struggles and too high expectations from my side, I decided to let thoughts flow by freely and memories write by themselves in the way they want. I hope they eventually make sense to a point where I will be excited to tell the next episode and you will be eager to return and read it.
The journey I wanted to write (and paint) about took place a year ago in the outback Australia, more precisely in the northern part of NSW. It lasted 7 weeks and it was a blast!
For a person coming from the green pristine Carpathian Mountains of Eastern Europe, working in the bare fields of the far-far-away Australia was undoubtedly a challenge I was prepared to face. The huge emptiness of space, the scorching temperatures, the summer's dead bushes, and the desperation to survive of all living things had such a huge impact on who I was to become!
To honour the occasion, I decided to lay each meaningful experience of the outback in a painting. I wanted to add together the old me and my world as it was before back in Romania, the astonishing colours of Australia, its depth of landscapes, the victory of living- all in a series of paintings, celebrating me – the me I had become.
"Walgett-Sunrise Songs", painting by Christine Onward . More details Here
FIRST TIME IN WALGETT
Walgett on the map, 650 km away from Sydney, right at the gate of the Australian outback
We arrived in Walgett late in the night. The drive to the town had been slow and challenging. 100 km on dirt road, the dark night around us, kangaroos jumping back and forth ahead of us, and a GPS with personality only made the trip seem to last forever.
We made it to Walgett after midnight. Streets were dark and quiet, not a single man passing by. Shops had iron grills at windows and lights were off. Even the motel entrance had iron gates, secured with a big lock for which we had to recall a long code and still debate the numbers an hour later in the dark.
Dinner was quite frugal: cold chips from an early breakfast at the petrol station, wrapped in an oily paper and tasting like old jelly, some cheese, too sour from the heat, and the usual beer, to help us fall asleep.
Baby Caesar spending the night with us in a NO DOGS room (who can swear he is a dog though, most of the times he behaves like a human)
I slept that night in Walgett with the windows open to let the scents of the eucalyptus trees come inside. A bird kept shouting sad songs in the empty night, kept talking to me, and I let the sadness sink inside, because there was no escape, only the red road, over and over again until the end of my days...
THE SUNRISE SONGS
Photo taken close to Walgett - dirt road on the way to the property of Mungunya
Morning; 5 o’clock rise. I can still feel the taste of eucalyptus essences on the lips and bird's sad song in the ears.
Shirt on, boots on, cap on, insect repellent and a lot of sunscreen spread to whatever spot left uncovered. Bags back in the trunk, work instruments in the ute; time for one more long drive in the unknown.
I panic and I want to cry, as I always do when I think of unknown.
“It's just an adventure, I say, and who doesn’t like adventures”…
And off we are, this yet ANOTHER day...
The flowing artesian waters of Mungunya
Right outside the town of Walgett I opened eyes on a big sun rising from the bushes. Few cows grazing quietly under a tree, doves’ songs coming to life from all around the bushes… and suddenly I feel I am part of it. I do belong. And there is nothing in the world that can take this moment away from me: the place where I first belonged.
Living the life of the outback: unspoiled beauty and endless reds
On the radio a song starts. I want to imagine it as a sign for me, and for everyone else who was welcoming the day in song of birds and golden rays of sunrise: Only a fool breaks his own heart…
The start of a new day with Walgett left behind
THE PAINTING
Naive art, painting by Christine Onward | Facebook | Instagram |. More details are Here.
I ripped through the bare red of the desert to let the magic of the moment come to life: the day when I BELONGED.
I added flowers in the empty trees of Walgett, and I added leaves with golden dots to shine happily in the sun.
The red dust, I turned it into lands of merry colours and joyful patterns, the way I knew them to be like back home in the Carpathian Mountains.
And all the sunrise songs and happiness of living, I gathered them together in this fantastic bird with golden feathers.
There is always a victory in us, we only need to find it.
After all… only a fool…
Embracing life in meaningful ways - exceptional artist LIONA HOTTA talking about her artistic journey and the launch of an exciting new on-line learning opportunity 34
Dear friends,
Today's article will take you on a journey into the life of a once rebel "undisciplined" child who grew up to be an exceptional mandala artist praised for her talent all around the word.
As you all know, Liona Hotta's extraordinary art distinguishes itself from others' for its sensual explosion of colours, perfection of shapes, and the vibrant positive energy it contains. I hope you enjoy seeing part of her creations depicted in marvelous photographs throughout the article.
How Liona started this amazingly inspiring career not only as a painter, but also as a musician, here is for you to find out.
Mandala art by Liona Hotta | Instagram | Facebook | Pinterest | YouTube |
Who is Liona Hotta and how did she grow up to be the artist she is today?
I like to think of myself as a person who wants to express herself through multiple forms of art.
Since very young I loved singing, painting and dancing. These arts were very present in our home, and although we were growing up in a demanding agricultural community, all members of my family were or are still practicing some form of art. It’s no wonder that I ended up marrying an artist (photographer) and now we share the love for that art too.
Artist LIONA HOTTA (photo credit to photographer Tomoyuki Hotta)
As a little girl I was a rebel. Since I was a non-diagnosed dyslexic, I had to go through hard times being called a brilliant but undisciplined child.
I continue to be very untidy and unorganized. I always listen to my feelings more than my brain. Time has taught me though that I needn't apologize for my carelessness and better continue to listen to my heart.
This coming June I will be celebrating my 50th birthday and I am truly happy with who I have become and with what I do.
Mandala art by Liona Hotta | Instagram | Facebook | Pinterest | YouTube |
Apart from painting I also perform as a singer. I am blessed with the companion of a number of talented artists who play with me in our concerts.
Over the last 3 years our band, Liona & Serena Strings has been immersing in a Sephardic music project, with which we traveled and performed all over Spain, in so many beautiful locations and theaters. This year we also had the pleasure and honor to travel and perform concerts in India (Kolkata, Delhi, Goa) and North Macedonia.
Liona and Serena Strings music band | Youtube | Website | (photo credit to Tomoyuki Hotta)
With such a busy singing career, and having to travel such long distances, how did you actually find time to start painting on rocks?
My romance with stone painting started when I was hosting intuitive vocal workshops.
I was looking for a way to make little personal presents for my students who were about to finish a course I was teaching. I decided to search for ideas on the magic internet and this is when I fell in love with mandala painting on little stones.
Mandala rock art by Liona Hotta | Instagram | Facebook | Pinterest | YouTube |
Has life changed for you in any ways since you started painting?
It did change tremendously.
At the beginning I was only painting at night. I immediately noticed that my sleep was improving as I was falling into it easily and peacefully.
Later, as I was making mandala-dotting part of my daily routine, I could see how it was also helping me relax and center.
Exquisite art by Liona Hotta | Instagram | Facebook | Pinterest | YouTube |
At first I was just counting dots. This came to me as a natural habit that originated in the need to assure symmetry while painting (I discovered I loved symmetry).
Soon I realized I was thinking of absolutely nothing while dotting - my mind was quiet for long minutes. It became my only meditation habit (oh, I’m such a restless person I could never sit and meditate like everyone else).
Later I began listening to music, practiced guided meditations and affirmations while painting. Pretty soon I noticed how my whole life was changing - I felt more centered, calm, and able to better handle life’s hassle and challenges. Today I can actually sit down and meditate like the rest of the people... what a joy!
Mandala art by Liona Hotta | Instagram | Facebook | Pinterest | YouTube |
Starting with the 1st of December I hear you are launching a series of courses on-line about dotting mandalas with a brush. Tell us more about this upcoming event.
My most recent project is the online course “How to dot your mandala with a BRUSH"
A while ago I realized that the international dotting community is divided into those who dot with dotting tools and those who dot with brushes (and lately there is a third group rising of cone dotters).
Somehow there is (in my opinion) a misconception about brush dotting that it is hard, complicated or “reserved” for the “more capable” artists.
Firstly, I don’t think it matters what we create art with: dotting tools, brushes, sticks, fingers.. art is art.
Secondly - it's all but wrong - dotting with a brush is easy. It’s a technique, you learn, you practice and you do it (just like about anything else in life).
This course is built to take you by the hand and step by step help you understand, practice, get confident and apply this technique. And I do not offer it as a replacement for dotting tools, but as an additional enriching way to add to your backpack of possibilities.
This is a 4 weeks course, with lessons dropping once a week, beginning with December 1st. All materials of the course are permanently available to signed up users. You will be provided with access to an only-member Facebook group for this course"s participants. We will have Q&A live sessions once a week during the course, and from time to time afterwards, when needed and required by the group members.
I have opened enrollment pre-sale of this course (follow link HERE) .
There is also an early bird price offer which will be kept open until Monday, November 18th. The course will begin on December 1st and last date to sign up is November 30th.
All details are in the course sales page. Please email me if you any have further questions in case I missed any of them on my social media (support@lionahotta.com). I’ll gladly write you back.
Sending you all love and light,
Liona Hotta
- Christine Onward
- Tags: artist course dot art dotting liona hotta mandalas meditation music online lessons photography serena strings spain Tomoyuki Hotta
I LIVE A LIFE OF COLOURS- ARTIST ALINA PRODAN TALKING ABOUT COLOURS OF CHILDHOOD AND THEIR IMPACT ON HER ART 117
Today I would like to introduce you to an astonishing artist whose work has never failed to amaze me every time I come across her amazing creations.
I love Alina Prodan not only for what she paints. I love her because she only speaks with her heart, and there is this humble kindness and warmth in her words that always makes me feel I'm with friends, that I'm at home.
The most beautiful thing she said to me was: "I wish we could also publish a few words in Romanian just for my mother, so she can read about me". And so I write:
Mama, aveti o fiica minunata, cu un har ceresc, si o inima de aur. Va felicit ca ati crescut un copil atat de bun si de inzestrat si mi-ati daruit o prietena cum rar se pot intalni intr-o viata. Imbratisari cu drag. (Mother, you have a wonderful daughter, with a gift from God and a heart made of gold. I want to congratulate you for raising a child so good and talented, and for giving me the rare opportunity to make such a great friend in my lifetime)
I hope you enjoy the story Alina wanted to talk about: the colours of her childhood and how they reflect in her art.
Yours, Christine Onward
Wonderful artworks by Alina Prodan | Facebook | Instagram |
I spent my childhood in a little village nearby the Carpathian Mountains in Romania. It was as beautiful as one can only imagine: little houses spreading along narrow roads, trees in every yard, forests nearby us, and the fields, green and yellow, vast and beautiful, as far as the eyes could see.
Each season in the village had its own unique glory, its own colours, smells and emotions attached; but it is the autumn colours that I carry with me all the time, their spectacular brightness and the multitude of colours everywhere around us.
Dot art by artist Alina Prodan | Facebook | Instagram |
My village colours had an enormous impact on who I grew up to be. Even now, the colours I choose for my mandalas come from those beautiful memories of autumn falling on us, the fields, the forests, the sky, or the clouds above us.
Exquisite mandala collection by artist Alina Prodan | Facebook | Instagram |
I’ve been painting since I was born. Most of my painting happened in my mind though, because I never had the courage to actually do it. I did enjoy watching art, visit museums, art galleries. That was all the art I would dare to involve myself into…
All these until 2 years ago when I took up painting mandalas on rocks and canvas.
Exquisite mandala collection by artist Alina Prodan | Facebook | Instagram |
For the last two years I have been painting mostly at night and during the weekends when I’m free from work. I love listening to music before and during painting. I like listening to Debussy – Arabesque and light incenses as part of my painting therapy. They help me calm down the noise of my thoughts and breathe again.
What astonishes me the most is how a colour can have such a powerful impact on us.
When I paint, my colour choices are influenced by my general mood to a great extent. I also consider the combinations of colours that are pleasing to the eye. The details of my designs are very elaborate, therefore every little line, every dot I lay has to be perfect. And all these because the energies I gather within my work have to spread charm, harmony and beauty to each and every one of you.
The stories are endless when it comes to colours and my art of cirlcles and dots. But I could sum them up in just these words: I LIVE A LIFE OF COLOURS. And you?
Toby, recently taking up painting, mostly on the indoor walls
- Christine Onward
- Tags: Alina Prodan art collection boho style Carpathians childhood colours dot art friend mandala meditation memories mother puppy Rock Street Romania spain therapy Toby Valencia
