[Beginner's Guide] Because maybe you were watching "The Joy of Painting" and you're feeling inspired, but you don't know where to start.
Hi! I'm certainly glad you could join us today. What I thought we'd do today is have a fantastic little beginner's guide, and really set up a resource for new artists who are looking to paint along with Bob Ross and experience "The Joy of Painting". Let's get started.
I recommend that everyone who has never painted before should first watch "Grandeur of Summer" between the 4 and 10 minute marks. Here, Bob Ross explains exactly what each tool is and how to set up a white canvas. Even if you choose not to do that painting, it is invaluable information.
Picking a Starting Point
| Episode | Title | #Colors | Brushes | Complexity (1-5) | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VHS | Grandeur of Summer | 13 | 1" Flat, 2" Flat, Fan, Liner, Knife | 1 | Youtube |
| S07E11 | Grey Winter | 3 | 2" Flat, Round, Fan | 1 | Youtube |
| S06E10 | Country Life | 10 | 2" Flat, Knife , Liner | 2 | Youtube |
| S02E04 | Shades of Grey | 3 | 2" Flat, Fan, Knife, 1" Flat | 3 | Youtube |
| S06E07 | Arctic Beauty | 10 | 2" Flat, Fan, Knife, 3" Flat, Liner | 4 | Youtube |
| S21E03 | Royal Majesty | 10 | 2" Flat, Fan, Knife, 3" Flat, Liner | 5 | Youtube |
I'm measuring complexity using the number of colors, the number of tools, the set-up, and my own experience with these paintings. I have personally completed each of these 6 episodes (and many others), and found them to be fairly representative of their respective difficulty levels. I'm not just guessing based on pictures, but your results may still vary.
Unless you choose to do "Grandeur of Summer" (he really capitalizes on that extra 30min), episodes with mountains and/or waterfalls tend to be 3s or harder. Try a few things that look more basic until you get a feel for the medium. I strongly suggest you avoid "Black Canvas" paintings until you have done a few white canvas ones. Color shows up differently on a black canvas based on the opacity of the paint- it's just not worth worrying about until you get the hang of his style.
Gearing Up
Find an episode (or here, if the link breaks again) that you want to do first. Watch it completely, and then get the materials that he used for that painting. Good paint will have a bigger influence on the results than good brushes. Once you know how he composes that episode's painting, you can paint along with him, pausing as needed.
Basic Tools:
- 18"x24" Stretched, Double Primed, Canvas (but any similar aspect ratio will work). I use this for practicing
- Pallet Knife
- 2" Flat (a typical firm bristled brush)
- Fan Brush (firm bristled)
- Script Liner brush (soft synthetic hair)
- Bucket / Trash Can
- Odorless Mineral Spirits (the transparent kind, not the milky "environmentally friendly" kind)
- Pallet (Paper plates work fine)
- Paper Towels
- DROP CLOTH
- OLD CLOTHES
Other Useful Tools:
- Linseed Oil (how to choose your oils)
- 1" Flat/Glaze (soft Synthetic, used for "3 hairs and some air" blending)
- 1" Flat (a typical firm bristled brush)
- Round Brush (larger, check Bob Ross's website)
- #4 Filbert Brush (Hard Bristle, rarely used)
- Black Gesso / White Gesso
Most Common Paint Colors:
- Phthalo Blue
- Sap Green
- Van Dyke Brown
- Dark (Burnt) Sienna
- Yellow Ocher
- Cadmium Yellow Pale Hue
- Alizarin (Permanent Red) Crimson
- Titanium White
- "Liquid/Magic White"
And to a lesser extent:
- Phthalo Green
- Indian Yellow
- Burnt Umber
- Black
- Bright (Cadmium) Red Hue
- "Liquid/Magic Clear"
My own personal preference for tools and paint.
^ Almost everything on that list can be found at Michael's, Joann Fabrics, or Lowe's Home Improvement. Be sure to check for coupons if you choose to buy from a brick and mortar. Joann's and Michaels match each other's coupons and prices.
If you feel compelled to buy Bob Ross brand paint and brushes (expensive, but good), I hear that Hobby Lobby carries them. Michaels and Joanns do not. Lots of artists recommend hog's hair brushes and hate nylon brushes. I don't have a strong preference, but be aware that some people do.
Preparing a White Canvas
I think the biggest tip that I can give you for actually painting is to be careful with using too much "liquid white". Usually when Bob Ross starts a painting, he already has covered the 18"x24" double primed (gesso) canvas with a very thin coat of this white paint. If you have a canvas that is "too wet" (i.e. too much liquid white), almost none of the techniques will work.
When you use liquid white, you will almost always need to wipe off the canvas with a paper towel. Gently and evenly. Most beginners skip that step because it isn't really mentioned in most of the videos with a few exceptions. So long as you aren't scrubbing the canvas dry, it should keep what it needs for this style to be successful.
Here is an step-by-step video walk-through of a basic cloudy blue sky. It goes from a completely dry canvas to and ends with clouds (watch with annotations). Don't be mean, it's my first video and I really wanted to do it in a single take.
Preparing a Black Canvas
Either buy a black canvas or evenly coat a white one with at least one coat of black gesso. I, personally, don't like to paint the edges with black gesso.
If he uses a liquid clear (he'll tell you), apply it the same way you would apply liquid white- SPARINGLY. I use a linseed oil in place of liquid clear as a cost-cutting measure, and have experienced no ill effects.
Scrub in a transparent paint color as needed, starting with the brightest colors, ending with the darker ones. Yellow > Red > Blue > Green > Brown. This step is a lot easier with liquid clear / oil on the canvas, but it usually isn't necessary. If you aren't sure what colors are transparent enough for this method, try a little bit of paint on a corner of the canvas. If it looks black-ish, it's good enough.
Next, blend the colors together with "little x strokes", then take a clean dry brush and slowly go across the canvas in one direction horizontally, then one direction vertically. Make sure you have coated all of the places you need paint, because you can't go back once you start putting in bright opaque colors. Don't leave any clumps of color. Remember: this is supposed to be a very thin coat of paint.
Generic tips:
Thin paint sticks to thick paint. Similar terminology you may read is "Fat over lean". Same idea: Fat paint (that has a lot of stuff in it) with stick to lean paint (that is straight from the tube). Worth mentioning.
If you mess up, you can literally just scrape off the part you don't like, then try again. Be careful, you might need to reapply that super thin coat of liquid white. Sometimes it's easier to scrub a canvas and start over than to fix a cloud. Check out the episode "Happy Little Accidents" for more discussion about fixing a painting that isn't coming out.
If a painting is dry, you can still put color on top of it. Wet-on-dry is definitely a thing. This has the added benefit of allowing you to gently remove new layers of wet paint without doing (much) damage to the under-layers.
Just have fun. Don't throw away your first painting, no matter how much you may think it sucks.
If anyone has any comments or suggestions for this post, please let me know!
From all of us here, I'd like to wish you happy painting... And God bless you, my friend.
Posted Nov 4, 2015, 8:19 PM UTC · edited