Day 28 of the '29 Faces' Challenge, and Now For Something Completely Different: UNpainted Rocks....

UNpainted Rock People, in the Raw.....

Day 28 of the '29 Faces of February' art blog Challenge!  We are finally here, the second-to-last day of February -- who can believe it all ends tomorrow......?

Aside from being Day 28 today, it was also Tuesday, which happens to be my busiest day of the week.   Today was no exception, as I was out of the house for most of it.  So while I wasn't able to spend a lot of time in my studio today, I do have some Faces I took photos of tonight to share that I'm hoping will be of interest to many of you.....

As most of you must know by now, I love painting what I call "Rock People" -- the little faces and figures and such like that I spy hiding within the natural bumps, cracks and crevices of ordinary rocks.  I'm always on the lookout for these especially characteristic rocks wherever I happen to be.  Only, in my dozen or so years of searching however, I've come to realise just how rare and extraordinary they actually are.  By far most of the time, a rock turns out to be just that....a plain old, ordinary rock.  But I'm going to share with you here two rocks I have that are as yet UNpainted, just to demonstrate to anyone what these rocks look like in the 'raw' as I find them.....

The first one is a chunk of what I'm guessing to be limestone (yes, I took ONE course in Geology in college).  I think it's a pretty incredible find because it has not one, but TWO faces that are very clearly and obviously carved into the stone, by Mother Nature herself.   Everybody I show this one to is always pretty astonished -- the faces are simply THAT apparent, for all to see (here's hoping my photography tonight doesn't fail me!).  Note especially  that unlike all the other rocks I've featured, this rock is completely UNPAINTED -- I used only a bit of graphite pencil this afternoon along some of the cracks and edges of the rock just to help distinguish the features for the sake of photography:

Meet the 'Old Man/Old Woman'.... 

Two Faces clearly carved into the rock, one on each side.

Do you see them too?  The 'Old Woman' on the right, and the 'Old Man' on the left....?

Here with slightly different lighting....

Let's take a closer look at the Old Woman shall we...?

Just look at that eye socket and nose.  And that beautifully unmistakable CHIN...!

So much character, and in a rock!

She has a lovely jawline and hairline too -- really, can you describe this as anything other than Nature's Sculpture....?

 And now, let's take a look at her companion, the 'Old Man'.....

Nostrils, eyes, mouth -- it's all there. And dont' you love his pensive expression....!

A very sumptuous lipline.  Please tell me you see it too!

A little on the tipsy side, I'm making this rock stand upright for optimal pics:

This angle shows off his sculpted nose pretty well....

I see them as an old married couple, bonded one to the other, for all eternity....

A truly amazing find, in my humble opinion....

Pretty remarkable, no?  So special in fact, that though I discovered this rock ages ago, in the decade or so that it's been in my possession, I've never been able to bring myself to actually paint it.  And don't know if I ever shall.  They just seem so perfect in themselves, y'know....?  I like to tongue-in-cheekly refer to what I do as 'liberating' the Rock People -- but really, when it comes down to it, these two don't need any 'help'  from me....

And now for fun, another very special 'raw' rock, that was 'hiding in plain site' on me, for who knows how long....

Meet, 'Elly'....

"Elly', the wee elephant rock....

'Elly' the Elephant was (re)discovered only recently.  Let me explain.... As you can probably imagine, I'm pocketing rocks all the time to bring home.  Even though precious few rocks actually contain these perfect wee figure that I'm constantly searching for, I'm still always on the lookout for them should they cross my path.  Even when in doubt, with nothing immediately jumping out at me on a rock, if it happens to be shapely...?  My gut compulsion is to bring it home anyway.  As such, I've amassed quite a large 'reject' rock pile in my yard, to be incorporated into my garden landscaping.  Well it was only a few months ago, one day in late fall, when I was raking some leaves off our patio.  I felt a rock tumbling under my rake, caught up as it was in some leaves I was raking, and so I reached down to pick it up and toss it back onto its pile.  Only as I did so, I was stunned to look down and see an elephant face pop right out at me...!  It was especially stunning, because, being outside and all, it meant that this particular fellow had at some point been formerly REJECTED by me, possibly years ago.    How I missed seeing this little guy before is beyond me, because it's as plain to me now as the nose on my face!  (Or the trunk on an elephant, whatever metaphor you care to use).  I guess it just goes to show you, when in doubt, don't throw it out....!  (and it makes me want to revisit ALL my yard rocks again, just to see what else I've missed!).....

Elephant Face!  Her Left Side....

Her Right Side....

She looks a little like a wee shy baby to me -- with her ears and trunk all really apparent....

Remember, raw rock here, unpainted -- but can't you see her too...?

So here's hoping you enjoyed my especially Special faces for Day 28 of the Challenge....!  (and for any newcomers, here is my usual blurbie about my painted rock art....):

Typically, a rock... is just a rock. But sometimes, when luck smiles upon me, very special ones reveal themselves. Then I 'see' Rock People, little figures hidden within the naturally formed bumps, corners and crevices of ordinary stones -- Nature's very own sculpture. With the help of a bit of paint, I enjoy 'liberating' these unique wee folk for others to enjoy as well.....  

 (To see more of my painted rocks, click on the 'Painted Rocks' label for this post -- as well as visiting my Painted Rock Gallery on EBSQ)....