What Is A Good Paint To Use On Rocks For Outside In A Garden

Painting Rocks - Supplies, Guide and Best Practices for Painting Rock

Painting rocks is easier than it looks and it's also quite addicting once you get started. It can be difficult to figure out the best supplies and techniques so I thought I'd create a guide based on my experience. For years I sold my painted stones on Etsy, but now I prefer to share what I've learned so that others can enjoy painting rocks as much as I do. This post has a lot of great ways to get started painting rocks. You'll also want to check out my Rock Art Handbook that's available now on Amazon for Pre-Order.

THE BEST ROCK PAINTING SUPPLIES (affiliate links are provided for your convenience)

1. ROCKS– The number one question I get is "where can I find smooth rocks." Here are a few different places to find rocks, but first take a little walk around the neighborhood, you may by surprised what you find. Avoid buying rocks that have a wax film over them to make them shiny. This makes it difficult for paint or markers to adhere to the rock.

Amazon has some great rocks for painting:
- Capcouriers white rocks
- Capcouriers smooth rocks
- Smooth rocks for painting
Landscaping supply stores, stone yards and stone depots often sell river rock rock in bulk. Make sure to bring a bucket!!
Home Depot and Lowes garden centers will often have smooth river rocks in the garden section.
Stores such as Michaels Craft Stores, Walmart and The Dollar Store often have smaller rocks available.

Painting Rocks - Supplies, Guide and Best Practices for Painting Rock

2. PAINT – The best paint to use on rocks is acrylic paint. See my recommendation below for my favorite brand.

Liquitex Basics Acrylic Paint – Love this thick paint that's very vibrant
Mont Marte Acrylic Paint
ARTEZA Acrylic Paint – this is a great option for a variety of colors.
Artecho Acrylic Paint
Martha Stewart Acrylic paint is by far my favorite acrylic paint to use on rocks. I've found that this brand is not only bright but the paints are thicker so they are easier to apply and require less coats. You can find it at Michaels craft stores.
Folk Art Multi-Purpose Acrylic Paints are another favorite. I love the bright colors and thick consistency. The paint goes on smooth.

Best Supplies for Painting Rocks

Supplies and Guide for Painting Rocks

3. BRUSHES – The key to painting details on your rocks is small brush sizes. Below are some of my favorites. You don't need to spend a fortune on your brushes, the most important factor is keeping the brush size small. Supplies and Guide for Painting Rocks

I love this set of brushes. Even though they say they are for watercolors, I've found they are the best brushes for painting rocks with acrylic paint. I also usually have several of the 000 size brushes from the same brand always on hand.
Here's another great set of watercolor brushes that has a variety of sizes perfect for painting details on your rocks.

4. MARKERS AND PENS– Another great option for decorating rocks, especially if you struggle with painting are paint pens and markers. Click here for a complete list of markers and pens for doodling on rocks along with tips and techniques. Below are just a few favorites. Supplies and Guide for Painting Rocks

Paint Markers – my absolutely favorite brand of paint markers are Posca Paint pens with extra fine pen tips. These paint markers also come in natural pastel colors as well. They are shown in the pic above.
Another great paint pen option are Tooli-Art Acrylic paint pens shown below for the Halloween rocks. They come in both extra-fine and medium tip.

I also really love these paint markers by Artistro. The fine tips make them wonderful for detailed drawings and doodles.

Paint Markers for Rocks As you can see these Artistro paint markers are extremely vibrant as well! Best supplies for painting on rocks

Markers – If you want to doodle on your rocks using regular markers these Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pens are my favorite. Shown in the pic below. You can see all the different ways I use them in this post. You will need to paint a white acrylic base on your stones if you are using these markers.
Pens for Outlining – For creating black outline around finished designs, I love these Micron Pens. I like having a variety of sizes for different thicknesses. You just need to be sure the paint is completely dry before using the pen or else you risk ruining the tip of your pen with paint.

Best Supplies for Rock Painting — Image via Seriously Daisies. See more of her pretty rocks on her Instagram page.

Chalk markers are such a great option for rocks, especially when crafting with kids. Here are two great options Fun Chalk Liquid Chalk Markers and OOLY Chalkables Liquid Chalk Markers. NOTE: For the Fun Chalk markers you will most likely need to paint a white acrylic base on your stone first, unless your rock is already a light color.
Chalk Crayons – These chalk crayons are another great option when doing rock crafts with kids. You can use them to draw directly onto the rock. See the pic above for reference.

5. SEALANT – When it comes to sealing rocks I prefer to keep the matte natural look of the rock as I usually don't cover the rock completely with paint. I mostly use this favorite spray sealant by Design Masters. This spray sealant will work no matter what you use to decorate rocks. And it will not smear your design as sometimes other sealants might. If you want a glass-like glossy finish, you will love this gloss spray sealant option!

OTHER SUPPLIES

You can read more about other supplies I love for painting rocks in this post about doodling on rocks and this post about creative ways to decorate rocks.

PREPPING ROCKS FOR PAINTING

Before you get started painting rocks you're probably wondering if you need to do something to your rocks first to prep them. I've read lots of different techniques for prepping rocks but I've found that you really don't need to do anything. For the thousands of rocks that I've painted I simply wash the rocks outside with a house and let them dry and I've never had any problems with decorating them using the supplies I prefer. It's possible you may need to prep them differently if you are using different supplies. But isn't it easier to keep it simple if you can!

Best Supplies for Rock Painting

Get My Rock Painting Book

Looking for more rock art inspiration? Check out my new book, The Rock Art Handbook! It has over 30 different rock art tutorials featuring dot painting, marbling, embellishments, decoupaging and much more. In the book I go in-depth on different art supplies that you can use on rocks and provide a ton of tutorials to get your creativity flowing.

. Rock Art Handbook - The best supplies and tutorials for decorating rocks

Are you ready to start painting rocks? Make sure you check out all of my other rocks posts for more ideas. Also I'd love to see what you're creating. Come find my on Facebook or Instagram and share your beautiful creations.