I grew up in Christchurch, New Zealand, and occasionally visited The Christchurch Art Gallery. In the viewing room to the left of the entrance hall there was an especially memorable painting. Every now and then I come across a piece of art which takes my breath away, and this was one of the first.
When I say ‘memorable’, I don’t remember what this artwork was called or who painted it; the painting itself was memorable, for its hyperrealistic riverbank of greywacke. Each and every stone had been individually rendered. The entire canvas was covered in greywacke rocks, the iconic rock of New Zealand’s Canterbury plains. I couldn’t believe someone had taken the time to paint each and every stone so lovingly.
Much more recently, I was about to sit down and painting a cliff face and rocky riverbed. At first I wasn’t having much luck, so I tried to find examples of how other illustrators had handled it over the years. When you’re looking for a specific thing it’s always difficult to find.
After a few false starts I ended up with a perfectly serviceable cliff face and dry riverbed.
But now, every time I see beautiful rocks in art, I wish I’d already collected some for quick reference.
Below are some illustrations of my favourite rocks, boulders, paving stones, cliff faces, stone walls and everything related.
Watercolour makes for an especially good medium for painting rocks.
We’re often told that water takes on the colour of the sky. Well, so do rocks.
Sometimes artists choose to give the impression of a rock-filled landscape by drawing just a few then leaving the viewer to guess the rest. In other illustrations, the rocks are highly decorative and almost a character in their own right.
Painting wet rocks isn’t all that different from painting metal.
Paving, Cobblestones, Stone Roads and Paths
Harold N. AndersonA scene from Edward Gorey’s 1968 book “The Other Statue”Warwick Goble (British illustrator of children’s books) 1862 – 1943 Cinderella Trying On Her Glass Slipper By The HearthIllustration for The Sleeping Beauty showing the Good Fairy departing from the christening of the Princess in a carriage harnessed with dragons. Painted by British illustrator Richard Doyle, 1863The Story of Siegfried illustrated by Howard Pyle (American, 1853-1911)Vida Gábor (Hungarian 1937-2007) ‘The Goldmine ‘
Those paved paths above are impressive, but if those stones are wet, now you’ve got a picture where the stones are the star.
The Storytellers illustration by Ted Lewin Sun room designed by Hazel Dell Brown, 1930 Edmund Dulac (French illustrator) 1882 – 1953 Portrait of a Woman Eleonora 1907Arthur Rackham rocksThe Iliad and the Odyssey, A Giant Golden Book – Illustrated by Alice and Martin Provensen Sandra Dieckmann Quiet Evening 1899, Theodor KittelsenNash, John Northcote; Rocks and Water; Roebuck Collection; http://www.artuk.org/artworks/rocks-and-water-9922John Singer Sargent’s ‘Simplon Pass,’ (1911)
Quirky charm infuses this tale of Old Rock’s life story, which is much more exciting than you’d expect.
Old Rock has been sitting in the same spot in the pine forest for as long as anyone can remember. Spotted Beetle, Tall Pine, and Hummingbird think just sitting there must be boring, but they are in for a wonderful surprise.
Fabulous tales of adventurous travel, exotic scenery, entertaining neighbors, and more from Old Rock’s life prove it has been anything but boring.
Great storytellers come in all shapes, sizes, and ages, and Old Rock’s stories are sure to inspire questions that lead to wonderful conversations about the past and the natural world.
GUSTAF TENGGREN for PinocchioThe Young Traveller In Space by Arthur C Clarke 1934Shoda Kakyuyu Ryokuin 1930sHoward Russell Butler – Zion National ParkHoward Russell Butler – Zion National ParkGrand Canyon National Park, Arizona (1938) National Park Service PosterLADY FILMY FERN or The Voyage of the Window Box (early 1930s and 1980) Edward BawdenWaterless Mountain 1932 by LAURA Adams ARMER Newbery Award Young Adult Literature Navajo BoyWaterless Mountain 1932 by LAURA Adams ARMER Newbery Award Young Adult Literature Navajo BoyEyvind Earle (1916-2000) American artist, author and illustrator, noted for his contribution to the background illustration and styling of Disney animated films in the 1950sJoseph Mallord William Turner – Mt St Gothard 1806-07Francis Danby – Liensfiord, Norway, Calm c.1835 William Collins – Returning from the Haunts of the Seafowl 1833Eagle Feather illustrator Viktor Britvin 1990DER ROTE VOGEL FELIX (1975) Marie Sarraz rocksBinz auf Rügen, 1901H. R. Van Dongen (1920 – 2010) 1954 cover illustration The Big Rain for Astounding Science Fiction magazine.Donald Teague 1942Stories by Firelight by Shirley HughesBernadette Watts (English, b.1942) – The Enchanted NightingaleWilliam Keith (1838 – 1911) Yosemite, Sentinel Rock, 1872Joseph Feher (1908-1987) for Yosemite and United Air LinesBy Peter Kľúčik for unpublished edition of The HobbitBy Peter Kľúčik for unpublished edition of The HobbitBy Peter Kľúčik for unpublished edition of The HobbitBy Peter Kľúčik for unpublished edition of The HobbitBy Peter Kľúčik for unpublished edition of The HobbitBy Peter Kľúčik for unpublished edition of The HobbitBy Peter Kľúčik for unpublished edition of The HobbitRoberto InnocentiFrom The Hobbit (1976) Mikhail Belomlinsky (b.1934). Unlike Peter Kľúčik‘s example of the bridge above, in which every stone is a feature, Belomlinsky gives us the suggestion of bricks by detailing some of the outlines and ostensibly leaving the others in shadow. Austrian artist Heinrich Lefler (1863-1919)advertisement in the back of Volume VIII of The Yellow Book, for a new imprint by the publisher John LaneVincent van Gogh – (1853 – 1890) The Prison Courtyard, 1890William Nicholson painted Sydney and Beatrice Webb (founders of the LSE) at their country house, Passfield Corner, in Liphook, Hampshire between March and June 1928Carel Weight (1908-1997)Penguin Books 1896 Graham Greene – A Gun for Sale 1963 cover art by Paul HogarthTrina Schart Hyman 1977 illustration for The Sleeping BeautyTrina Schart Hyman 1977 illustration for The Sleeping BeautyTrina Schart Hyman 1977 illustration for The Sleeping BeautyFrank Tenney Johnson, A Light In The Night, 1936 cowboyAnna Palm de Rosa (1859–1924) – Högklint CliffMERGEN EN ZIJN VRIENDEN (1974) Gennadi Pavlishin rocks
STONE WALLS AND BRICKS IN THE MIDDLE DISTANCE
‘Summer Gardens, Great Bardfield’ (1940) Kenneth RowntreeAndy WarholEllen Tebbits by Louis Darling for a Beverly Cleary bookAnton Pieck (1895-1987), Dutch painter and illustratorWilliam Heath Robinson (English, 1872-1944). “They reached the house where the light was burning.” An illustration from the story “Little Tom Thumb” from the book “Old-Time Stories by Charles Perrault” translated from the French by A. E. Johnson, with illustrations by W. Heath Robinson. Published by Dodd, Mead and Company, New York, 1921.Anton Pieck (1895-1987) 1951 Illustration from ′Geertgen van Leyden to Sint Jans by Jan VerheyenCinderella and her Friends (A Little Golden Book) 1950Frederick Cayley Robinson (1862-1927)1949 February, cover by George Giusti stoneThe ogre was frightful to behold by Gustaf TenngrenAnton Pieck (Dutch 1895-1987) Illustration of three men playing cards by a graveyardDaniel Ridgway Knight (1839–1924) – A Haltfrom Ty’s One Man BandNew Yorker May 3rd, 1969 Art Print by Ronald Searle stoneMichael Deas US release advance poster (1977) for Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes (1972)Jill Barklem Brambley Hedge, The High HillsCaptives by N. C. Wyeth from The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper. NY Scribner’s, 1919Anton Pieck (1895 – 1987) 1935 illustration for Franz Schubert by Lou van StrienFrank Henry Mason, Yorkshire Coast, 1937Leslie Ragan, 1949Gustav Tengren, PinocchioFrom Kipling’s A Song of the English. Illustrated by W. Heath RobinsonFrom Kipling’s A Song of the English. Illustrated by W. Heath RobinsonFrom Kipling’s A Song of the English. Illustrated by W. Heath RobinsonFrank Godwin (1889 – 1959) 1921 illustration for The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. The sky is the star of this environment. Even so, the rock occupies a significant amount of the canvas and must be interesting.Carry On – 1932 Norman Rockwellunused artwork for The Fog, illustration by Kenard PakFritz Hegenbart (German painter and illustrator) 1884 – 1962, Quelle des Unheils (Source Of The Doom), c1902N.C. Wyeth illustrations from The Anthology of Children’s Literature, Kraken (1940). Golden Age Comic Book Stories. The greenish rocks are quite rounded and almost look like creatures themselves.Maxfield ParrishMaxfield Parrish, Poet’s Dream, 1901 , Created to illustrate John Milton’s poem L’AllegroKodomo no kuni (“Children’s Land”), 1922–30Postcard by Tove Jansson (1914-2001)Pan American – South Seas Travel Poster – art by Paul George Lawler – c 1938The Christmas Legend by Gustav Tenggren
I’m tempted to collect only those examples of beautifully coloured rock, where the environment affects the beautiful colour. But sometimes rock is just gray. In the artwork below, the viewers eye is drawn to the spot of warm colour, to the woman holding the lantern. The night-time rocks do not compete.
From Egypt and Its Monuments (1908) Jules Guerin (1866-1910)
In the illustration below, we know that the walls of the booth are made of metal and that the ground is made of tarmac. We know this from life experience, but Dohanos also renders the textures slightly differently. He’s used a grungy splat to decorate the surface of the road, but streaks of subtle reflected light for the metal.
By Stevan Dohanos (1907-1994)–‘Stop and Pay the Toll’ f. Saturday Evening Post cover April 7, 1956
The statue of the old man in the foreground left of the painting by Boris Godunov is a good reference for how to depict old stonework covered in moss.
Illustration for Boris Godunov (1913) by Leon Bakst (1866-1924)
WORKING WITH BLACK AND WHITE ONLY
What if you only have black and white to work with? Hatching is key. In the black and white illustration below, Charles Robinson emphasises the atmospheric perspective. The rocky arch of the foreground is black with white detail; the stonework further away is white with black detail. It’s not a great photo of the artwork, but useful as an example of how to depict a stony surface using only linework, no greyscale, no colour.
A Child’s Garden Of Verses, the very first book illustrated by Charles Robinson, 1896.Fritz Hegenbart (German painter and illustrator) 1884 – 1962 Im Streben (In The Pursuite) c1902. This etching makes use of the same technique for aerial perspective, with what looks like white on black for the foreground rock, and black on white for the distant rock.Paul Landacre, Tuonela, 1934 rocksThe Story of Siegfried illustrated by Howard Pyle (American, 1853-1911)
Below is another linework example. Each and every cobblestone of the road has been individually rendered, grounding the artwork for the viewer. The stone walls of the buildings are rendered in graduated flecks; white flecks on black where shadow dominates, and the reverse where there is light.
Bernie Wrightson, pen and ink illustration, 1983 She died on the first approach of cold weatherMasury Versus Sky 1936 Arnold WiltzCarlos Neve ‘The Tortola of Ajusco’ 1915Carlos Neve ‘The Tortola of Ajusco’ 1915Eric Ravilious, Coastal Defences, 1940. Scene below Newhaven Fort, close to Newhaven Harbour in East Sussex concrete
HIGHLY STYLISED
Charles Keeping 1960 From the educational book How they were built: Roads Charles Keeping 1960 From the educational book How they were built: Roads Charles Keeping 1960 From the educational book How they were built: Roads Charles Keeping 1960 From the educational book How they were built: Roads Charles Keeping 1960 From the educational book How they were built: Roads
I've never quite been the same since I learned about trovants. These are rocks, actual rocks, that not only 'grow' but MULTIPLY. pic.twitter.com/T3LmD97ncg
CONTEMPORARY FICTION SET IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND (2023)
On paper, things look fine. Sam Dennon recently inherited significant wealth from his uncle. As a respected architect, Sam spends his days thinking about the family needs and rich lives of his clients. But privately? Even his enduring love of amateur astronomy is on the wane. Sam has built a sustainable-architecture display home for himself but hasn’t yet moved into it, preferring to sleep in his cocoon of a campervan. Although they never announced it publicly, Sam’s wife and business partner ended their marriage years ago due to lack of intimacy, leaving Sam with the sense he is irreparably broken.
Now his beloved uncle has died. An intensifying fear manifests as health anxiety, with night terrors from a half-remembered early childhood event. To assuage the loneliness, Sam embarks on a Personal Happiness Project:
