Leo's Leisure Site
.::  Home  |  Cars  |  Rockets  |  MultiCopter  |  Planes  |  Computers  |  Electronics  |  Misc  |  Painting  |  Fotos  ::.

Painting Bob Ross Style

The Adventure - My first ever painting

- 02 October, 2006 -

I have always been fascinated watching Bob Ross on TV and how in a very short time he turned out those amazing paintings of beautiful landscapes. It reminded me at times of sceneries when I used to live in Canada.
It didn't take long for me to decide to give it a shot and try painting myself. So I ordered a Bob Ross Paint Set on the internet.

This is my first attempt to paint. It looks easier enough on television so I thought I'd give it a try.

Painting Bob Ross style is done with the wet on wet technique. I went by the instructions found on the DVD which were included in the Bob Ross Master Paint Set.

Initially I just wanted to practice my first ever strokes with an oil filled paint brush. So I purchased a small canvas 30x40cm (11.8"x15.7") in medium grain just to save paint before I would start with the real stuff.

Well... after 3 1/2 hours on a Sunday evening this "test" painting found it's completion:


Painted after Bob Ross's motiv "Mountain Summit"

This is a small painting just to try the materials. I am planning to go for bigger once I learn the basics in a better way.

I know I need allot more practice but before everyone starts criticising me on the crooked tree.
The tree grew that way, honest... Water erosion had worn away the land causing it to fall into the water thus causing the tree to tilt. Well, that's my excuse. Let's just say the picture has some character now *smile*

While I was painting I thought it would be nice to document each step so I made a picture during the process.


Note: The sparkles in the picture are caused by the camera flash!

Although only my first painting here are some things I learned right off the bat and want to avoid on my next project:

  • My first big mistake was right at the beginning as I had left too much white underground paint on the canvas. This made blending the sky and applying all successive paint layers very difficult as the paint would mix together immediately. Therefore be sure to apply very very little of the Liquid White (or Black or Clear) on the canvas. After application be sure to remove any excess paint with a paper towel.
  • Too often I put too much paint on the brush. This caused paint blobs instead of small paint dots which made detailing impossible. The best example in the painting are the limbs of the tilting tree.
  • I used a too small of a canvas with the size brushes I had. This made detailing quiet difficult e.g. treetops small bushes. Therefore if you use a smaller canvas you must likewise reduce the brush sizes to aid in details in your painting.

The Adventure continues - My next project

- 08 October, 2006 -

This is my second attempt to paint a Bob Ross style picture. Using an even smaller canvas made it more difficult to paint details with the big brushes I'm using. Also it was evident that before starting to paint you should know what you want to do as you have to figure out which layers you're going to put on the canvas first. This problem became clear when I did both sides of the humps and got off track with the objects. I Also need to practice showing objects with more depth. On the other hand I think I got the mountains figured out.


My own portrait which I call "Fantasy Alps"

Montage of pictures made during the painting process:


Note: The sparkles in the picture are caused by the camera flash!

Canvas size is 20 x 50 cm (7.8" x 19.7") in medium grain. Still too small but I need to practice some more.

The following colors were used:

  • Titanium White
  • Phthalo Blue
  • Midnight Black
  • Alizarin Crimson
  • Van Dyck Brown
  • Sap Green
  • Cadmium Yellow
  • Light Red

Please comment on my Guest Book if you have any thoughts on the subject. Thanks.
.::  Home  |  History  |  Guestbook  |  Links  |  Data privacy  |  Contact  ::.
Tuesday 8th October 2024 - 20:32:43 CET