the rockery

Hi again! Wow it’s been a while. SO much has happened since my last post, I graduated high school, started my academic career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, accomplished so much, and made so many new friends! Unfortunately along the way, painting got sidelined due to the chaos of day-to-day life. But I recently realized that if someone loves something, they *will* find a way to make time for it, it’s only a matter of priorities. I love to paint, and I want to improve, so I decided to put it back on the priority list.

This transitions perfectly into introducing my favorite new project, “The Rockery”! As you have seen, I love to jazzify unconventional things, and my most recent obsessions has been rocks. I take rocks from around campus, paint a fun picture, message, scene or whatever my heart desires on them, and then put it back in their original spots for people to find! It always makes me smile as I walk past and see them around, and I hope I can bring a smile to other’s faces too.

Now, “The Rockery” isn’t just about me playing Picasso with rocks. It’s about spreading good vibes and connecting with people through art. I’ve always thought art has this magical way of bringing people together without words, and my goal for these painted rocks is just that.

If you’re at UNC, or happen to visit, let me know if you spot these around campus!

Consider this post a virtual gallery, I’ll use it as a dumping ground for all my new rock updates : )

With love,

Riva

The very first one…when I first got to campus, I was obviously looking for new friends. One night, I snagged a rock from outside my dorm, painted the famous Old Well on it, and put it back outside my dorm, complete with my number on the top. To my surprise, a lot of texts flooded in complimenting my rock, but best of all, one of my very close friends now is someone I met through this rock.

boo : )

The first night of halloweekend, silly me got really sick and couldn’t do anything traditionally “fun” such as dressing up or going out. I painted this cute rock instead, inspired by one of my all-time favorite paintings, The Starry Night (inspiration found on Pinterest).