Japanese Artist Gives Life To Rocks By Painting Adorable and Realistic Animals

Akie Nakata is unlike any other artists in the world. She uses stones and turns them into paintings that feature adorable animals. Interestingly, her works are something that you can hold in the palm of your hand. She is definitely a unique one.

Born in Japan, Akie carefully chooses the natural shapes of each stone she comes across. For her, the best stones are the ones that can perfectly capture their own destined characters. Her love for collecting stones started when she was still a child.

Her first encounter was when she was walking along a river bank.

There, she noticed a rock that somehow resembles a rabbit.

Since then, the self-taught artist has grown fond of drawing life to each stone she stumbles upon.

She was quoted saying:

Stones have their own intentions, and I consider my encounters with them as cues […] to go ahead and paint what I see on them.

Interestingly, the process of completing the work is quite detailed.

For instance, she makes sure that the positioning of the backbone is in the right place.

She also weighs if the character she is going to paint will “force something that disagrees with the natural shape of the stone.”

From there, she paints the characters using acrylic paint.

Explaining her work, she said:

To me, completing a piece of work is not about how much detail I draw, but whether I feel the life in the stone.

Check out some of Akie’s work in the compilation below. Let us know which ones are your favorites (though we can say you will love all of them!).

#1. Raccoon.

#2. Golden Retriever

#3. Koala

#4. Snow Owl

#5. Baby Owl

#6. Baby and Mommy Elephant

#7. Hippo

#8. Lone Wolf

#9. Laying Himalayan Cat

#10. Eagle Owl

#11. Green Iguana

#12. Young Lion

#13. Possum Family

#14. Wings of Affection

#15. Baby Red-Eared Slider

#16. Japanese Chin Dog

#17. Himalayan Cat

#18. Polar Bear

#19. Leopard

#20. Long Haired Tortoiseshell Cat

#21. Dendrobates

#22. Owl Friends

#23. Tuxedo Cat

#24. Chinese Pond Turtle

#25. Somali Cat

#26. Crocodile

27. My Teddy

#28. Ancient Wolves Love

Who would have thought that stones can be a great tool for art, no? Well, if you want to see more of Akie’s stone paintings, better head to her Facebook page.