My name is Gary Bandzmer; I've been hand-painting stones for about 15 years; collecting them for about 20 years.
I pick up stones (habitually!) wherever I go - typically on walks or hikes around the scenic Pacific Northwest in Coastal British Columbia.
I began painting stones partly as a balancing act, to get my mind away from Computer-Land, where, as a web-designer, videographer, musician and graphic artist, I spend many long hours! 
Another reason was to develop my long-lost creative skills as a painter, which have been on hold since I did abstract finger-painting in kindergarten.
After about 2 years of development, I began giving away the stones as gifts, then, at Christmas last year, selling them as gift items as well. People seem to enjoy them. They have an innate nature all of their own: they raditate a joy and presence to whoever looks at them.
I work on my rocks in "batches" - I call them "families" - perhaps 6 to 12 at a time. Some stones require a lot of contemplation and their design evolves slowy; others speak strongly, and their name and form arrives very quickly. Rocks also have varied "terrain" - skin, shape, angles or roundness. I began painting only round rocks with a smooth exterior; now I delight in finding angular, eccentric Rock Beings, and it's a fun challenge to find a "Joseph's Coat of Many Colors" that suits them.
My Hand-Painted Stones speak to me of Creativity, Joy, Lightness, Patience, and Clarity. I get a tremendous lift out of creating them, giving them away, and soon, offering them for sale at Craft Markets and Online.
Thanks for your interest in my Miniature Asteroids from the Land of Colored Dreams!