I had the opportunity to interview Rachel Mitchell, the creator/owner of Rachel’s Rocks. You may have seen her beautiful painted rocks posted on Facebook groups, Pinterest, Etsy and now Youtube. Rachel lives in Canada with her family and travels 7 hours roundtrip to find rocks at Lake Superior shorelines. Which means every rock must count! She uses several brands of acrylic paint as such Deco Art, Folkart, and Apple Barrel to create her amazing painted rocks. Rachel was not an experienced painter when she began painting on rocks, she has discovered her skills by practicing and doing! I was blown away by her talent by transforming ordinary rocks into works of art. She agreed to give my readers and her Rachel’s Rocks fans some insight on her process of rock painting.
Here We Go!
First of all, tell me a little about your background and how you got started rock painting?
“I am self-taught, I started painting while I was on maternity leave and my son was home from school for the summer. I have always been creative, but I was singing, never painting or drawing.”
Walk me through the step-by-step process that you go through when designing a rock?
“I get inspired easily, from everywhere. I usually don’t sketch my ideas out. I just start painting what my heart desires.”
What’s your workspace setup like?
“I have a desk in my bedroom and it’s covered in my paint and tools. I love it! My kids and husband jump into bed and watch movies with me while I paint.”
What’s your best time-saving short-cut or rock painting hack?
“I always have the idea of what I’m painting, then get the colors I am going to use out, then get all the tools I will need, a clean glass of water for paint brushes. And Coffee, Netflix, and youtube so I can listen to music or movies while I paint.”
What inspires your creativity?
“Everything! There are so many fantastic artists out there on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook. I love everything colorful. I get a lot of inspiration from tattoos I see that are just gorgeous.”
How have you grown your business, Rachel’s Rocks from an idea of where it is now?
“A huge amount of work. I taught myself to paint while my kids were sleeping. Not a lot of sleep for me over the past 5 years…LOL. Practicing and never giving up. No matter how hard some of the custom painting requests was, some that I completed in the past still shocks me.”
What advice would you give to my beginner rock painting readers?
“Have fun. Find your style. Your techniques. Your tools. Whatever makes your heart sing…do that. And just enjoy it. I find painting extremely therapeutic.”
Is there anything else you’d like to add that might be interesting to readers and fans?
“What keeps me going is my very first event I brought my rocks to, to sell, about 4 years ago. I didn’t do very well in sales. But, this one lady who had to be in her later 70s to early 80s, she started are my creations for quite some time. She took a very long look at each one. Then looked up at me and said “your rocks make me smile, thank you” and that when I decided I will never stop. If all I do is make someone smile, that’s all I need.”
Where can people find your rocks?
Rachel’s Rocks on Facebook, Etsy, Pinterest, and Youtube.
You can also see Rachel’s tutorials and other Youtube tutorials here.
I hope you enjoyed getting to know Rachel like I have. Stay tuned for more updates on Rachel’s Rocks and more inspirational interviews in the future. In the meantime, be sure to visit my Beginner’s Guide page to learn more about rock painting!