Bob Ross

There was a series of him painting, think it was last year, I did enjoy watching him, the way he produced those rugged snowy mountains was impressive. Obviously, many people found his way of painting achievable, whatever makes you happy, I say, go for it. I too have a fan brush and find it useful for a light rough under wash for a ploughed field.

Just watched an interesting documentary about the life of TV painter Bob Ross and how son Steve didn’t benefit from the business Bob had built after he died. Worth a look if you have Netflix.  Love or hate his work, he comes across as a really nice character. 

Now I've watched this one and I have to say I really got positive impressions from this movie, now I'm inspired to create something new, thanks for the recommendation. Moreover, I want to add that in fact bob was not a big fan of gambling, because it was illegal and it was hard to find a suitable place, I am actually glad that I live I have access to the internet, because with the help of this source https://casinosanalyzer.com/online-casinos/mifinity I managed to find a lot of platforms where I could play and more specifically various payment methods, such as mifinity.

We can find inspiration in all sorts of things, but better to be inspired by a good painter if you can find one.  With Ross, people follow his process - it's nearly always interesting to watch someone paint - may be charmed by his personality, but then fail to look at the end product.   I've seen all too many Bob Ross clones, paintings of his perpetual mountain, seascapes with that Ross wave curl, so typical of him, so unlikely to be found in nature, representations of an Alaska which the copy painters never visited.  His Alaskan paintings are among his better works, because he clearly loved the place: but most of his work is just stippling on very shaky drawings, and using a paint that looks like three-quarters gel, plus lethal amounts of solvent. But I know I'm wasting my breath here - there are Bob afficionados, who think him a god; I do try to save would-be disciples from joining the Ross cult every now and then, though: a soothing voice and encouraging manner are not always as entrancing as they might seem.

Bob Ross is indeed an iconic figure in the world of art, known for his calm and soothing demeanor as he painted "happy little trees" on his television show, "The Joy of Painting." His paintings and instructional style have left a lasting impact on many aspiring artists. The documentary you mentioned, "Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed," sheds light on the complexities surrounding Bob Ross's life and the business he built. It explores his rise to fame, the business deals that transpired behind the scenes, and how his legacy has been managed posthumously. Regardless of one's personal feelings about his art, Bob Ross's personality and approach to teaching art have endeared him to a wide audience. He is often celebrated for his positive and encouraging attitude, which has inspired countless people to take up painting. It's always fascinating to delve into the lives of influential figures like Bob Ross, and documentaries like this provide valuable insights into their stories. Thanks for sharing the recommendation!

It was Bob Ross who got me back into painting, four years ago. It was quite mysterious too. One of The Joy of Painting series started recording on our TV. I watched one and enjoyed it, so I thanked my wife for recording them for me, but she said it wasn't her doing! There's nobody else in the house either. It's the Big Mac of painting styles, but I used to like one now and then - they're both satisfying in their own way - and he's introduced a lot of people to painting and deserves a lot of credit for that. And his paintings have their own beauty and charm, if a tad too many log cabins. I have a Bob Ross calendar on my bedside cabinet, with a painting for (nearly) every day of the year. He introduced me to the fan brush too as he did for others, I see from the comments. Anyway, I paint with acrylics, so I can't really use his style properly, but I've adapted some of his techniques into my own developing style and they work fairly well. For anyone interested, here are some tips. 1. I wet the canvas with a mixture of water, white (or black) paint and drying retarder, in roughly equal measure. It works well in colder conditions, but not so well in summer. 2. For painting mountains, I use Bob's technique, usually with the same style of palette knife he used or with a fan brush or 1.5" house painting brush. It works quite well, but there are two problems, which I've found partial solutions to: 2. a) Snow capped peaks need a different technique, because acrylic paint (or the stuff I've used anyway) doesn't break the way his thick oil paints do. So what I do it is daub, impasto style, black or dark brown paint near the mountain peaks where I think rocky outcrops would be. Then I wait a few hours for them to dry, or continue with the rest of the painting, while the canvas is wet. Once they have dried, I scrape white paint over them with a palette knife. It's quite effective. 2.b) The misty effect at the base of the mountains he likes is hard to achieve with acrylics, so I either avoid it, or use very light strokes with a dry house-painting brush. I haven't mastered it though. 3.  Tree foliage and bushes as he did them are hard to do with acrylics and a big brush. I have to wait for each layer to dry before I do the next. 4. His famous fir trees are harder to do with acrylics too, as the paint doesn't seem to spread on the canvas quite like his did (perhaps it's the higher surface tension of water). I use a fan brush for them, but I do them are slowly and carefully and in a more traditional way. A filbert brush is good for smaller fir trees, but larger ones are a problem with his technique. 5. Areas of water can be done fairly easily using his technique with acrylic paints. As long as the canvas is still wet the results are similar to his and his vertical-then-horizontal strokes with a large dry brush give the same watery sheen. I find his technique of making a shoreline with a palette knife works poorly though. Better to use a small brush and do it carefully.  6. Skies can be done using his technique. The 'fluffing up' technique doesn't work as well but it doesn't make a lot of difference overall. I've done some decent skies using his technique and the smoothing at the end works well with acrylics.  7. An old house painting brush (horsehair) is good for painting long grass on a dark background, using his technique of pressing the brush onto the canvas. It takes a little practice though. 8. His forest scenes starting with a black canvas work well with acrylics. I just paint vertical streaks of bright colour, then wait for them to dry and paint in the trees and foreground. I haven't tried waves or log cabins using his techniques, so I can't comment there, but I hope these tips are of use to some of you.  I doubt if I'd be painting at all if I hadn't watched some of his old TV series. Other than adapting some of his techniques I don't copy his style, but he's given me a few more arrows in my quiver and I think I'm a better painter for having come across his work. When the mood takes me I occasionally like to do a quick painting using his style. I can't rattle one out in 30 minutes like him, more like an hour or two. But that's fairly quick for me and the results are decent. That soothing voice is unforgettable too! 

Well, that's good - if he inspired people to take up brushes.  So did Nancy Kominski, and so did Bill, William, Wilhem Alexander.  None of which conceal the fact that Bob Ross was a decent man and a god-awful painter. That wouldn't actually matter; a bad painter can inspire people far better than they might be to take up painting.  The problem lay with the Bob Ross method: because it didn't teach people to paint in oils; it taught them to paint like Bob Ross, right down to his choice of hackneyed subjects. But, as I said, wasting my breath.  If you love him you love him, and I don't despise him - but do deplore his method. 

Nancy Kominsky, Robert! Now there’s a flash from the past! Daytime tv when it was welcomed ( babies asleep). I’d forgotten - she started me off on oils! Meticulously copied scenes, stage by stage. But now I think about it….was it tv? I know I had her book.

Do you want to do a feature about her in the inspiration thread Marjorie , I will add her name if you  would like to ad I will be updating the list this week .  PS how about one on Bob Ross by  Robert . 

Ah well, if we're talking about 'starting to paint', I'll confess I fell upon Frank Clarke on You Tube.  He showed that anyone could do a watercolour landscape, and so the very first time I put paint to paper, was one of his, "Have, some, more, fun" or Horizon, Sky, Middle & Foreground. I did 3 or 4 of his during lockdown before I took my first class.  Sadly he died this late December I think, but he was great persuader that, yes, you *can* paint. With Bob Ross, I watched it for a week on BBC4 then decided it was the same picture everytime. I look forward to Roberts inspiration thread. :-). I was surprised to see Ross's very first on-screen painting up for auction recently. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/21/bob-ross-first-tv-painting-sale-a-walk-in-the-woods

Norrette I will ad Frank Clark to the list , would you be willing to do a short introduction .

Up for sale at $10M but it wasn’t sold at the time of the article. No surprise there then… his first work that was recorded for TV, but nothing changed much over the years… his style or content I’m referring to here - same old twee snow laden landscapes with fir trees and log cabins! Stippled thick impasto leaves on his fir trees and so on… But there is no denying his popularity and followers, and clearly our pol colleague Bill has benefited from watching his series. I know of many more as well. I can, and often do, complete an oil sketch in 30 minutes or so, a 40 x 50cm size canvas board in my case, I prefer the rigidity of board. I’ve no doubt that many more of us on this website could do the same, perhaps even do so on a regular basis, particularly when painting plein air! Difference is, my methods are based around the traditional and recognised tried and tested painting techniques and materials that I learned at college, (not that you have to be college trained, I’m not suggesting that), and I’m working from actual landscapes in the main. It’s just as easy to learn to paint my way, as it is to paint Bob’s way, so I’d like a half hour weekly slot on Channel 4 to prove my point! Fat chance of that of course.

Like Norrette, my introduction to painting came through Frank Clarke. In WHSmiths one day I picked up his book called "Paintbox", opened to the first page and saw the words "Anyone can paint". I put it back saying "Yeh, right!!". A few weeks later, my wife, seeking a stocking filler for Xmas, bought me the book, a very basic set of watercolours and a couple of cheap brushes.  After Xmas I set out to prove Frank wrong. To my astonishment, within hours I was producing things that looked like paintings .... very poor, but far exceeding anything I thought I'd be able to do. I was hooked!!! On my website I refer to this experience by way of trying to encourage others to at least have a go, and in my art forum, it is amazing how many members say they started their art journey with one of Franks books.