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A Visit to Italy - The Amazing Marilena Sostero Talking about Her Passion for Creating Art on Rocks 13

A beautiful day in Ancona, Italy. Photo by artist Marilena Sostero

Greetings to everyone from Italy!

My name is Marilena Sostero and I live in a beautiful city by the sea, called Ancona.

For many years I have passionately painted using oil techniques. I also loved making portraits in crayons and charcoal. Later I approached the art of rock painting, with much love and fun.

The most exciting thing about rock painting is how you can change a stone or a little pebble found by chance, into a small artwork that so many people love!

 I love to find rocks in the shape of a cottage or a mushroom, which nobody appreciates ,  and turn them into beautiful pieces of art.

Mixed media by Marilena Sostero | I sassi di Marilena |  Instagram | for sale Here

My great passion is to paint stones of every form, but my true love is to reproduce the ancient houses with the flowers lurking on the walls. I love to create these houses without painting the walls with colours, but using only shadows to create the depth. Then I add the flowers and trunks that climb around the windows with synthetic paste. I do not draw almost anything in pencil, but I rely on the brush using black colour to letting my imagination carry me on.

Here is one of the works I never wanted to sell, because it embodies the best I want to achieve.

Artwork painted rock by Marilena Sostero | I sassi di Marilena |  Instagram |

If I were to give a piece of advice to someone who has just started painting I would say:
Always observe with great attention all the beautiful things that are around us … and never miss the joy of creating, like any baby would do.

Se dovessi dare un consiglio a qualcuno che ha appena iniziato a dipingere, direi: Osservare sempre con grande attenzione tutte le cose belle che vediamo intorno a noi… e non perdere mai la gioia di creare come farebbe un bambino.

Painted rocks by Marilena Sostero | I sassi di Marilena |  Instagram | 

I would like to thank you all for your attention and wish you best of luck with your painting in the future.

My best regards and appreciation, Hugo and Marilena

Vorrei ringraziare tutti voi per la vostra attenzione e augurarvi buona fortuna con la vostra pittura in futuro.

I miei migliori saluti e apprezzamenti, Hugo e Marilena

The Amazing Painted Rocks of Brazil - This Week's Artist, Débora Penachione 8

HISTORIA DE UNA PIEDRA - THE HISTORY OF A STONE - by rock artist Loli Gambin 10

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 by: Christine 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 6

THIRD ROCK FROM THE SUN by Tony Flurscheim 26

Tony Flurscheim talking this week about his first encounter with painted rocks and therapeutic benefits of rock painting

When I first saw Christine Onward’s work on the net I could sense something creative and unique there. And the universe conspires at times to arrange things…

She happened to live almost next door to where I holiday each year. At Diamond Beach, a 5 hour drive north of Sydney. We meet up for a series of rocks for my sister’s Reiki Practice Waves of Energy and order some other general pieces.

Sunrise in Diamond Beach | Photo by Tony Flurscheim | Facebook | Instagram

I can still remember our first meeting with Christine at the little café in Blackhead, nearby Diamond Beach. They have great pies there all the time. My brother-in-law is normally a placid man of few words. He was in awe when shown the rocks! He literally stood up, looked alive for a change, picked up one piece and just said: I want this one!

 It came to me just then: Rock Art must bring out extraordinary drawing talents and create Healing Powers as well.

I bought some rocks and the following week I went to Canberra, our nation’s capital, to visit my friend in a nursing home. He has Alzheimer’s. I wanted to give him a rock as a gift. I handed it to him. You should have seen the look on his face! 

It lit up. Full of life. He connected with the rock. He touched it, felt it, and quickly put it in his pocket.

Photo and rocks painted by Christine Onward | The Stunner Boutique

And one more twist of fate: Months later my friend in Canberra lost the rock I gave to him. It happened that Christine was also in Canberra for a brief stay. I contacted her and had her do up another piece, with my friend’s name on the back of the rock.

I have since been told he’s very happy, and the rock is his constant companion.

The third rock from the sun. It does have mysterious ways of Healing. And a big thank you, Christine for making that happen.

An interesting find | Photo by Tony Flurscheim | Facebook | Instagram

- Tony Flurscheim – Sydney, Australia