Painting ideas for the month of September

Virgo
Element: Earth
Ruling Planet: Mercury
Spirit Color: Silver
Lucky Gem: Peridot
Flower: Sunflower & marigold

September Art Journal Prompts & Ideas for Collage

Sometimes you’ll want to make a collage but have NO idea what to collage about. A good way to jump start the creation process is by using a prompt! For this prompt list, I’ve focused on things that can be translated visually, e.g. colors or images or both. Here you’ll find ideas for colors, subject images, and themes to use in your collages in September.

Table of Contents

Digital Collage Example

Follow along as I make a digital collage using ideas from this post:

I make all my collages using Canva, a browser-based image editing website. You can make your collages however you feel most comfortable– even in traditional paper style, if you want!

Birthstone Color Palette

The birthstone for September is Sapphire. Typically the blue version is what comes to mind for that specific birthstone (and that’s what I’ll use for this inspiration post), but sapphires actually come in many different colors besides blue.

Sapphires traditionally symbolize sincerity, truth, faithfulness and nobility.

Here’s a color palette inspired by sapphires:

Tip: Upload this color palette into your image editing software to use it as a base for picking colors!

September Rock Painting Challenge

Need some inspiration, ideas and helpful hints for your rock painting this month? We’re here to help, so you spend less time thinking and more time painting! Challenge yourself to try one design each day this month, and then share your creations on Berks County Rocks on Facebook.

For the Book Lovers

September is Library Card Sign Up Month, and September 6 is National Read a Book Day, so why not paint a rock to go with one of these ideas:

1. A character from your favorite book
2. A quote from a book
3. A stack of books

Honey Month

The purpose of Honey Month in the United States is to promote the beekeeping industry and the importance of honey as a natural and benefical sweetener. Some ideas to help spread the word about Honey Month are:

1. A bouquet of flowers
2. A bee with a nice saying like
   Bee Kind
   Bee Nice
   Bee Helpful
3. Flowers with bees
4. A cup of tea with a honey jar
5. Winnie the Pooh and his honey pot

Suicide Prevention

September 10 is Suicide Prevention Day. According to the World Suicide Prevention Day brochure, “Every life lost represents someone’s partner, child, parent, friend or colleague. For each suicide approximately 135 people suffer intense grief or are otherwise affected. This amounts to 108 million people per year who are profoundly impacted by suicidal behaviour.” Here are some ways to let others know you care:

1. Paint rocks with the Suicide Prevention Hotline number on them.
2. Semi-colons – A semi-colon is used in a story when an author could have finished their sentence, but chose to use a semi-colon and continue instead. It has now become recognized as a symbol for suicide awareness. The author is you, and the semicolon is your life.
3. Two simple words: You Matter! “You matter. In this moment, in this place, regardless of your last name, your status on the team, the letter at the top of the exam. Trust in tomorrow, believe in the story, and hear me now: you matter. ” — Dean Sikes, Founder of You Matter, a campaign to eradicate hopelessness.

The End of Summer

Summer will be coming to an end, give one last hoorah with these ideas:

1. S’mores or a campfire
2. Flip-flops
3. A beach scene
4. Something fun you did this summer
5. A smiley face with sunglasses
6. Ice cream

Football

Football season is here, and while we may root for the Eagles in our household, of course you can paint whatever you want. Here are some ideas:

1. A football field
2. A football
3. Your favorite team’s logo
4. The mascot of your favorite team
5. A football helmet

Fall

As I mentioned earlier, summer is ending, but that means fall is here! Try your hand at painting these fall favorites on a rock:

1. Pumpkin Spice Latte (or just a coffee mug will do)
2. Apple tree
3. Tractor or Hayride
4. Leaves

Oley Fair

Stop by the Oley Fair, which will be going on from September 19-21. This year the theme of the fair is, “Sweet Treats, Good Eats. Only at the Oley Fair!” They even encourage friendly, neighborly competition for a variety of categories including, you guessed it, rock painting! If you live in or attend any of these locations, you can even enter your creation to try to win a cash prize: Alsace, Amity, Earl, Exeter, Oley, Pike, Rockland, Ruscombmanor, BCTC East Student/Employee, OVSD Employee, 4-H Member. Here are some ideas to create rocks to celebrate the 73rd Annual Oley Valley Community Fair:

1. A blue ribbon
2. A pumpkin – in honor of their largest pumpkin contest
3. Farm animal (pig, goat, rooster, cow, etc.)
4. A tasty treat you can find at the fair – apple cider, cherry pie, chocolate cake, milkshake, etc.

Click on the calendar to print out our daily inspiration below and try your hand at creating these rocks this month. Don’t forget to paint on the back #BerksCountyRocks! Have fun!

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