Seattle artist Peregrine Church of Rainworks discovered a readily available spray that allowed him to stencil invisible signs and images on the sidewalk and walls, that would magically appear when it rained. It’s a beautiful effect that we’ve discovered we can do ourselves.


Rainguard is a super hydrophobic nano liquid and water-repellent that you can spray on to a wide range of materials, from fabrics, leather, canvas and wood to concrete and brick. It dries clear and will cause liquids to roll right off. Hence, rain, “rolls right off” Church’s invisible artwork; as the surrounding material gets wet, it shows up as a different color.

We love knowing of these possibilities for “invisible” graffiti and signage, done with a simple bottle of spray…

 Peregrine Church Peregrine Church

…AND some stencils, which can be cut out of sheet plastic. (Tthe stencils could be found materials that create a graphic like pegboard which would make for an array of polka dots.)

Peregrine Church Peregrine Church

We’re wondering what would happen if we used Rainguard  like a can of spray paint for graffiti. Wouldn’t it achieve the same classic sprayed-on graffiti look? (Perhaps something for Improvised Life guerillas to try…) Wouldn’t it be interesting if a “person” appeared when it rained….?

Andreas Feininger Andreas Feininger

Eventually the coating will wear away so your graffiti has built-in zen-like impermanence.

We like that we can also use Rainguard to weatherproof shoes and fabric.

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