lanrocks.com

Today I want to talk about paintbrushes. Rock painters go through a lot of brushes. I can help you make yours last a bit longer.

First, let's talk about what kind to use. I love the Plaid brand brushes. They cost about $2 each. I especially love their 10/0 liner and 10/0 round for my detail work. I use their multi-pack of assorted width nylon... Read More

Today I realized I need a gift for someone special, and I came up with a good idea. My son's friend Bonnie is a really sweet person. And she's very Irish. She collects a lot of Ireland-related items. I painted a special fish for her. It's white, and the stone has a beautifully raised pectoral fin outline. So I gave it a nice scattering of green... Read More

Okay, I'm a bit stuck on Dr. Seuss, but it's a very good obsession. At least it's a happy one! Today I painted two more rocks in that theme...One is a fish in a bowl from Cat In The Hat, and the other is Two Fish from the book cover, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish. They can be seen or purchased at www.lanrocks.biz.

The other painting from... Read More

Yesterday they were an idea, today they are for sale in my online store. That's a very cool thought. And it happened. I painted "Blue Fish", from the cover of One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish. And "One Tired Turtle On A Tuttle-Tuttle Tree", and they turned out quite nicely. They have been added to the Dr. Seuss category in my online store,

I was thinking today about how much I loved Dr. Seuss as a kid, and how much I love Dr. Seuss as an adult. I am 44, and I am proud to admit that I still take Mr. Giesel's books out of the library. Of course, my all-time favorite is One Fish Two Fish. Maybe that's why I adore fish art so much...

Several years ago, I painted the cover art from that... Read More

Okay, it's past 8:30 on Saturday evening and Buffalo is bracing for Stormageddon. It certainly is snowing. and it's acyually quite pretty with all the Christmas lights glowing out there. I guess it's supposed to be a bit different than this tomorrow, but we'll see. Buffalonians are notorious skeptics when a storm is forecast. We don't want to be... Read More

Today I just completed a set of really nice daisy fish. There are seven in the set, and two of them are free standing pieces. I really like it when they don't need a plate stand or picture stand to stay upright. Typically, though, the stand-alone pieces are heavier than the flat stones, and they are more expensive to ship.

The poinsettia fish is a... Read More

Hi there. This is a gorgeous day in Buffalo. We got some nice heavy, packy snow that's perfect for making snowmen. So when I'm done telling you what's going on, that is what I'll be doing next.

Another bit of news...My daughter was born in January of 1994. She has a congnital amputation of her left hand. She has had to go to a rehab center at the... Read More

Since we're getting pretty close to Christmas, I just want to let you know that I have some new designs in my store. In my fish painted rocks, there are some really cute holly print fish, and one cute little fish which is covered with peppermint candies! How festive! I think I still have time to do a gingerbread house, too. You can check them out... Read More

I just found out today that for about a month, my checkout system at my online store (www.lanrocks.biz) was disabled by accident. I want to extend my sincere apology to all the nice people who tried to purchase painted rock art from me, and got stuck at the end of the process. It must have been very frustrating. It is all fixed now.

I had a bunch... Read More

A couple nights ago my teenage son was driving his friend home from our house. I was along for the ride , since my son has a permit and cannot drive without me. (I could start a blog just about that) Okay, so we're taking Brett home. Brett's mom does a lot of gardening and landscaping around their home. She happens to have something in her yard... Read More

Well, sometimes a painting project doesn't go as well as I expected. Accidents happen, you know. And they happen a lot in the world of art. I'm not saying that all of them are bad, either. Some pretty cool stuff has come from accidens. Take for instance, a song by Bruce Springteen, Thunder Road. A truly gorgeous song! But did you know there was an... Read More

One time I was asked to teach a rock painting class at a children's museum in my town. I was a fairly new rock painter then. I was mainly doing floral painted rocks and fish painted rocks. I jumped at the chance to teach what I knew then. Even though it wasn't all that much.

So I went to that children's museum with my handled tray of acrylic paints,... Read More

Today I am going to discuss some of the most frequently asked questions from my customers. Okay, here they are.

Q: Where do you find all those rocks?

A: All kinds of places! For rounded, thick, bowl shapes, I hike the creek beds in my area.There are many areas where public access is allowed. I bring a durable canvas bag. I don't like buckets... Read More

It's the time of the year when we all start searching for the perfect gifts for our family and friends. I hope you don't fall into the same gift giving routine that I am prone to...you see, even though I am a creative artist, I can't help falling into the dreaded Christmas Present Rut. Chocolates for the mail carrier. Stationery for the dance... Read More

Just last night I thought about a painted rock fish with a rainbow on it. And before long, there were 6 of them on my table.

I have never considered rainbows as a fish art design until now. But I thought about how much people love rainbows, and what a cool cheerful gift it would be.

Then I realized that it would also be a really nice gift for rainbow... Read More