Rainbow painted rocks

Rainbow color order

A rainbow runs red, orange, yellow, green, blue, then purple, with red on the outside of the arch. On a small rock, three to five bands read better than six; the classic short version is red, yellow and green, or red, orange, yellow, green and blue.

Rainbow painted rocks, step by step

1. No. 01Easy

   Rainbow arch with clouds

   Level

   Easy

   Tips

   Medium

   Colors

   Blue, red, yellow, green, white

   Rock

   Smooth, palm size

   1. Base coat the rock sky blue and let it dry.
   2. Paint the outer red arch.
   3. Add yellow just inside it, then green, letting each band dry first.
   4. Paint a white cloud at each end so the arches start and stop neatly.

   Markers for this design: a medium and an extra fine marker from the paint pens for rock painting list.

2. No. 02Easy

   Striped rainbow stone

   Swap the black and white bands in the sketch for straight rainbow stripes around the rock.

   Level

   Easy

   Tips

   Medium, broad

   Colors

   Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple

   Rock

   Long oval

   1. Base coat white so colors stay bright.
   2. Paint a red band around one end of the rock.
   3. Add orange, yellow, green, blue and purple bands in order.
   4. Outline the joins with thin white lines if the edges wobble.

   Markers for this design: a broad or medium marker for the base coat (or acrylic craft paint), then a fine tip for details.

3. No. 03Medium

   Rainbow and pot of gold

   Level

   Medium

   Tips

   Medium, extra fine

   Colors

   Blue, red, yellow, green, black, gold

   Rock

   Wide, flat

   1. Base coat blue.
   2. Paint a rainbow arch starting at the top left.
   3. Paint a black pot where the rainbow ends.
   4. Pile yellow or gold coin circles on the pot and outline them.

   Markers for this design: a medium and an extra fine marker from the paint pens for rock painting list. More on St Patrick’s Day painted rocks.

4. No. 04Easy

   Rainbow heart

   Use the heart from the sketch and fill it with rainbow stripes.

   Level

   Easy

   Tips

   Medium, fine

   Colors

   Any base, rainbow colors, white

   Rock

   Smooth, palm size

   1. Base coat a solid color.
   2. Draw a heart outline in pencil.
   3. Fill the heart with diagonal rainbow stripes.
   4. Ring the heart with white dots.

   Markers for this design: a medium and an extra fine marker from the paint pens for rock painting list.

A rainbow rock row

Paint six stones, one per color, and set them in a line on a step, a windowsill or along a path. For a garden border, paint each stone solid, then letter one word per stone in white (“you are my sunshine” spread over five rocks, for example). Kids enjoy sorting the row into the right order, and a rainbow row makes a simple classroom color lesson.

Keeping rainbow bands clean

• Outside in. Paint the biggest arch first, then work inward, so each band has an edge to follow.
• Dry between colors. Wet yellow next to wet red turns orange at the edge.
• Light colors need white. Yellow and light blue look dull on dark stone; base coat white first or give them two coats.
• Clean the tip. If a pen tip picks up another color, scribble on scrap paper until the color runs clean.
• Clouds hide ends. Fluffy white clouds cover the messiest part, where bands begin and end.

Real rainbow rocks

Some rocks are rainbow striped by nature. Vinicunca, the Rainbow Mountain in the Andes of southeastern Peru, gets its bands from different minerals: red from iron-bearing clays, white from quartz-rich sandstone, green from clays rich in ferromagnesian minerals and mustard yellow from sandstones rich in sulfurous minerals (Wikipedia). A painted stone is a much smaller tribute.

More rock painting ideas

Rainbows are great first rocks: see easy rock painting ideas for more, and kindness rock painting ideas for messages to pair with them. Every theme is on the rock painting ideas hub.

Last reviewed 2026-10-14. Specs and availability change; check the listing before you buy.