Even though the COVID-19 pandemic caused her to be furloughed from her job at Napa’s Southside Café, Angela Barner did not need to start a new hobby to pass the time.
She already has one: Rock painting.
Barner loves to paint small rocks and leave them all around Napa for anyone to find and take home. “It’s relaxing,” she said. These days, “It’s therapy.” Barner said she’s been into painting rocks since the
Napa Rocks Facebook group launched a few years ago. That group is a collection of other creatives like Barner who paint and then scatter their mini artworks around Napa for all to enjoy.
“It became so fun, I just couldn’t stop,” she said. Over the years, she’s painted thousands of rocks in a variety of colors and images. Barner’s rocks have been embellished with her now-signature chickens, smiley faces, doughnuts, motivational phrases, holiday images and more.
Recently, Barner created her own rock garden from which her neighbors could select one. “I was painting so many rocks during this shelter-in-place and I was getting overwhelmed with rocks,” she admitted. Putting out a large painted flower pot, she placed dozens of her painted rocks for neighbors to take home.
“It’s been really well received in my little community.” Barner said she didn’t want to disclose which street she lives on, but it’s for people age 55 and older. “They just love it,” she said of her neighbors. “It’s been a good way to get (the rocks) out there for other people to enjoy.”
Even though each one is hand-painted, “I don’t have a problem letting them go.”
Barner said she uses regular acrylic paint, like the kind you can get from Walmart or Target. Even though she’s been on a painting binge, she’s not going to run out, said Barner. “When this first started, I went and stocked up on a lot of paint” to be prepared for shortages or store closures. Each rock is first painted white. It makes the colors “pop,” she explained. After layers are painted on and dried, she coats with a clear varnish for protection. To keep busy, she paints multiple rocks at a time. This isn’t her first “rogue” rock collection.
Recently, she painted dozen of smiley face rocks, went to the Trancas Crossing park, drew a giant smiley face with chalk on the ground and put those smile face rocks inside it. It was like a pop-up rock garden, she said. “That one was probably one of my favorites. I’m sure it got some smiles.” When she started her neighborhood rock garden, she wrapped each rock in plastic, but now that the weather is better, they’re presented unwrapped. Regardless, rocks are “isolated” for two days to prevent spreading any germs or virus. Barner said she doesn’t consider herself an artist.
“Creative maybe, but not an artist,” she said. “I’ve never taken any art classes. I mean, I’ve come a long way in the past few years,” she said, talking about some of her earlier rock works. Barner said she’s always been crafty. For example, when her kids were in school, she volunteered for classroom and school projects. “My mom was always very creative and I think I picked that up from her. And having the internet these days doesn’t hurt. You can copy an idea and put your own spin on it.”
Some of her rock fans have urged her to sell her rocks, but “I would never,” said Barner. “That’s not why I do it.”
She just likes random acts of kindness. “I like to give people a little smile for the day, especially now. Everyone can use some brightness in their day,” she said.
Napa Valley Register
