Hey everyone...new here (though I've been lurking for at least a year, I think), and pretty new to painting of any kind.
Over the years, I've tried to paint with all medias, and my results have always been mud. Just no, ya know?
I grew up with Bob on PBS in the 80s and 90s, and always wanted to paint like Bob said I could. The jury is still out on whether or not Bob lied to me.
If my television is on, it's either showing American football (Who Dat!), Hamilton on Disney+, or Bob Ross' YouTube channel. Bob gets the most screen time in my house.
Anyway, to the point of my post.
I finally (finally!) attempted to paint with Bob last night. While my final result is a disaster, I'm still kinda happy, because it looks like "something". Hopefully, with a lot of practice, questions and answers, and advice, I can improve. Then, again, maybe not.
So, for starters, this is an attempt at S21E10 Blue Winter. 11x14 canvas, W&N level 2 oils, $4-6 brushes. None from BRI...waiting on those paints and brushes to arrive via Amazon.
From start to finish, I think I did everything wrong, but for the life of me, I cannot figure out why it wasn't working.
I had to make my own liquid white, which I may not have done properly. My sky didn't blend and fade at all...and I brushed and brushed and brushed trying to fade it some. My clouds, oh, my poor clouds! They essentially just blended with the sky, and when I tried to blend cloud bottoms and fluff the clouds, they went flat and streaky, and look like a slow shutter speed captured a very fast moving whitish UFO.
My mountains also didn't blend to fade...I scraped and scraped and still ended up with a dark blob. My highlights wouldn't pull and break...either I ended up with glaciers or nothing at all!
My misty areas looked like mud splatter. My snow just wouldn't be snow. My trees look like aliens. I used linseed oil to try to thin down the paint so it would stick. It still wouldn't do what I wanted it to do!
The giant center "tree" was because nothing in the middle would work right, I couldn't get the pond to form at all...and all of the colors just kept mudding together.
Essentially, I am asking for "Help!", advice and any criticism you may have. And, of course, let me know if you laugh hysterically...I find that amusing. My mother had tears streaming down her cheeks when she saw it!
Oh! How long do oils take to dry to touch (I've read anywhere from one week to six months), and what are your best methods for keeping brushes in good, working condition (after one painting, my brushes look like they've been through the mill - I used Mona Lisa cleaner and conditioner on them)?
https://flic.kr/p/2mairLt
https://flic.kr/p/2mairLt

Oh, and @Felix, thank you for having such a wonderful resource here!

PS I cannot seem to get the image on the post, nor can I seem to get the link to work...if you copy and paste the link, it will work though!

From one Hamilton addict to another: Welcome to TwoInchBrush.com! 🙂

From your description I was expecting an absolute mess of a painting. But I have to say yours doesn't look as bad as you are making it out to be! Looks like you've got a good eye for selecting the right color hue and value, all that's needed is a little practice with the brush and the amount of paint you use.

But I'm sure soon one of the members here that are much better painters than I am can help you out with some tips on how to solve your paint problems 🙂

ALotofHappyAccidents I agree with Felix, it isn’t as bad as you think it is. My first ever painting 6 months ago was the same but like you, I was so happy that it actually looked like something. (Check out my Frozen Solitude attempt if you want a laugh).

You’ve now got that under your belt and with some more practise, you’ll see you’ll come on leaps and bounds - stick with it.

I am absolutely no expert and don’t purport to be but I’ve been where you feel you are. I really think you’ll notice a big difference once you have the Bob paints and tools. I’d also highly recommend the brush cleaning bucket/mesh and beater rack - made a big difference for me.

I’ve struggled with highlighting trees/brushes and a lovely 2” member recommended searching Diane Andre on YouTube. She has some excellent hour long tutorials where she really goes into the detail of how to use the tools, load them with paint, etc. Definitely worth a watch.

Stick with it and I look forward to seeing more from you soon.

      That's not terrible at all for a first painting in the method. The first one I did, though a decent painter in other techniques, was abominable. Some of this I blame the instructor for (played-out brushes, skimping on paints and thinner), but mostly I underestimated just how much of the technique is kinesthetic. Easy to pick up and have a little success with, but, like anything, hard to master without repetition. That being said (paraphrasing Napoleon), Encore, encore, toujours encore !

        Thanks, guys!

        @Felix Hamilton is wonderful! I love studying the American Revolutionary time period, and while the musical altered history for entertainment value and time constraints, holy moly is it good! I also love how it has made so many people interested in both history and theatre!
        Anyway, I'm not surprised you mentioned how much paint I used...I was wondering if I perhaps used too much. I was trying to mimick what it appeared Bob was doing/using...but, well, you saw how that turned out...

        @Emchop My BR paints and brushes came last night, along with my new BR cleaning bucket and screen...my devil beating rack should be here tomorrow! I must admit, though, I am leery of using/abusing my BR brushes until I have a better understanding of how to care for them without destroying them! I will definitely look up Diane Andre - I need all the help I cam get! Haha

        @Ian_Adkins Poor instructors can be quite discouraging and disheartening...I know from experience years (and years!) ago. I also completely agree with you that repetition can be the only way to get better at this. Bob makes it look so easy, like nothing! I am thinking that a lot of the techniques and brush strokes used take a decent amount of practice to get used to, and, of course, practice to find the right amount of pressure to use depending on what is being painted at that moment.

        Since I have now spent quite a bit of money (my wallet is crying!), I know I will keep up with it as much as my job and pets allow. I'm trying to find a decent location in my home where I can put the paintings to dry (where the pets, pet hair and cat litter dust won't ruin them!). I'll admit, I completely neglected to look into that aspect of the art prior to deciding to give it a go!

          A start is always a good start and a journey always starts with a first step - well done for giving it a go - and its not a bad start either by the way. I'm sure that the next one will improve given the right equipment and paints are now on hand. And yes you have chosen an excellent website developed by and through Felix's leadership and others' contributions to help you. There is a wealth of information and experience here.

          Bob's 5 easiest paintings for beginners are listed on the first page of the Blog page of 2"B as well.

          If you haven't found it yet, Bob has a great 1 hour training video - 'Grandeur of Summer' - that can be found on the 'Getting Started' page on this site. He also has a 'Bob Ross 3-hour Workshop' CD available (do Google search) in which he demonstrates in detail how to do each of the major features in his paintings and also covers most of the common mistakes that people make and how to fix and get them right - an excellent resource and worth the money. Mine arrived a few weeks ago.

          Above all else - keep going - ask all the questions you have (there are no dumb ones as we've all been there) and all the best.

          Cheers and Happy painting.

          I think it comes down to just a little more practice. If you plan to do Bob's paintings I definitely recommend you get his brushes (at the minimum). I also use his paints but you don't absolutely have too. The brushes will make your life so much easier. They let you get the same effects Bob does by doing very little.

          I also encourage you to re watch Bob's episodes. I've learned a lot by watching all 31 seasons. And definitely keep uploading your paintings. We all here enjoy interacting with one another.

          Thanks, @Mgiese84!
          I have Bob's brushes now, though I'm hesitant to use them yet...I want to learn proper brush care (and make sure I'm doing it right) before I ruin those brushes! I don't have extra money for hobbies unless I get overtime at work (and all of the bills are paid!), so I have to be careful with what I have.
          Bob's YouTube channel is nearly always what's playing on my TV. I'm on season 14, again. I'm finding that since I did my first two paintings in the last week, I'm paying much closer attention to what Bob is actually doing, rather than vaguely smiling to myself and thinking how amazing Bob was.
          I am so ready to attempt another painting, but I have yet to locate a suitable place in my home, away from pets and kitty litter dust, to have the paintings dry. I'm thinking I'll end up cleaning out my small walk-in closet.

          ALotofHappyAccidents try to get LED lights with light temperature of 4500K. Direct light in the white ceiling so it dispersed down and helps you to avoid glare when you paint. Those lights are quite expensive like 15 dollars per bulb. But they are important, especially if you relocate into a closet.

            ALotofHappyAccidents I hear ya on finding a spot to store them while they dry. I'm fortunate I have a lower garage at my house with a great deal of storage. Only advice I have on cleaning your brushes is don't use water on them. All I do is thoroughly clean them with your thinner. I've done over 100 paintings with them and they still pretty much look like new.

              8 days later

              My first brushes were from the dollar bin at Harbor Freight 😃. Don't get hung up on the tools. BR's style is more about technique than tools. That was one of the point about using a house painters brush in the beginning 🙂

              The paint is really hit and miss nowadays. The stuff Bob used "in the day" is different than what we have today with his name on it. THo' I've read they changed vendors again so maybe it's better? I started using Blick's house brand of oil paint and some Michael's branded student paint. It all worked.. just not as easily as BR made it look. Again, as I've learned, it's more about technique. Now I use Gamblin and Winsor paints for BR style. I love Rembrandt's paint but it's really too creamy for the BR style without a very smooth and deft hand.

              Linseed oil is good stuff! Don't use thinner to thin paint. I know BR did but honestly, it makes things harder. I've moved into stand oil and some other more esoteric thinners ( think Lavender) and are quite happy with them. But not recommended for starting out. linseed is a great place to start. Get an artist brand, not the painters big box stuff.

              I do clean my brushes with water but .. and this is important, I use a brush reconditioner when I do. And it's not every time. Maybe once every few months. 90% of the time, I use baby oil to clean the brushes when I'm done painting for a while. I will use thinner if I'm going to get right back to painting later on in the next day or two.

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