I allow myself to call this an original, even the arrangement of the scene is inspired by Bobs episode 'Red Sunset' (S9E3).
Ever since I recreate a lot of Bill Alexander episodes, especially the episode Sunset IV, I began to like paintings with a strong red hue. So I decided to try something in that direction and create a sky on fire. Bill plays a lot more with light/shadow contrast, and I made use of what I learned from him in this scene.
The whole painting was created in two sessions. First wet on wet I painted the basic idea of what I wanted (see the second photo, this shows the point where I stopped wet on wet) and once it has been dry I went over with more details for the final version. In this second session I spent a lot of time in developing stronger highlight and shadow contrast. This is something I think I learned recently.
One year ago I would never touched a painting again once I signed it, but now I go over most of my pictures once they are dry. Here is is very easy to create further contrast and/or details. But one has to be very careful to not overdo. A picture can be easily ruined here.
Overall I think I spent about 8 hours to finish this picture, but I think it was worth it.
I would like to create more original pictures, but this would mean I couldn't paint that frequently (normally I do 2 paintings per week) because they take a lot of time.
This is oils on canvas panel 20 x 28 in (50 x 70 cm)
I hope you enjoy one of my rare originals.
Many thanks Dirk, Grüße nach Deutschland! :)
Gut das du als Künstler wieder in der Community bist ! 😎
Danke Dirk, die Community hier ist wirklich sehr motivierend!
Hmmm, suddenly feel excluded.....what gives? Really nice painting Tom!
Wow, beautiful.
Many thanks Terry :) Sorry it wasn't our purpose to exclude you. Just a few German spoken greetings ;)
Thanks a lot Umagaan for your feedback :)
Gosh Tom, I want to be as good as you one day! This is incredibly beautiful. I do like your updated version so much more. You gave it realism. You also added "life" in your cabins. That sky is magnificent.
Now, you give me permission to go ahead and retouch some of early paintings. Although, my husband would be probably be upset with me. Like you thought before, he thinks that once it it signed, it's untouchable. I now see how beneficial this can be.
How long have you been painting for? I wish you could teach me a thing or two!
Thanks a lot Nancy.
I think the main secret is practice, practice and practice. Painting to me is getting a feeling for the materials and the more I practice the more self confidence I get.
I paint since August 2019 and my first paintings were really bad :) I was always interested in art especially in drawing and painting. But I never picked up a brush before. First I started with watercolor. In my opinion this medium helped me a lot to really learn painting. I think this is due to the fact that it allows less mistakes and it is much harder to put yourself into control, especially wet in wet. Also in watercolor the golden rule was: Once it is signed never touch it again.
Later on I started with acrylics. with this medium I followed Bob Ross tutorials. With more or less success. I still paint with acrylics but only rarely. (some paintings I did last Autumn with them will follow)
Finally in April 2020 I moved to oils, but in my first two years (2020 & 2021) I only painted about 25 oil pictures. At that time still watercolors was my primary medium. But last year I started to aso follow Bill Alexander. And with him and Bob together I really started to like oils. I practised a lot and still have so much to learn. But also from Bill I have the idea to let it dry and go over it for highlights and details. Since then I often do it with some paintings, especially with buildings.
I am not sure what I can teach you ;) For sure not liner brush work, LOL
All my respect to you for starting with watercolor!!! I heard Bob in the "Old country mill" episode talking about it and how challenging it is since he is trying to get a watercolor effect to his background with oils.
I may have to start doing some of Bill Alexander's tutorials to expand my skills. He will probably be able to teach me a thing or two!
I will def do rework on my dry paintings. And you would be surprise what you could teach me. I do have lots of questions at times when I paint and before I can figure it out, it will take me lots of scraping sessions! lol! I would def like to take some lessons. I live 45 mins away from the Bob Ross gallery/workshop of New Smyrna Beach, FL. Maybe I should get some classes with Nic Hankins.
Thank you for sharing so much! 😊
Well Nancy it is not that bad to paint in watercolor. It teaches you a lot and there is a saying: If you can paint in watercolor you can paint in every other medium.
I think this is true, because starting with acrylics and oils was much easier then.
Regarding Bill Alexander. First I thought Bob is the much better painter than Bill is.
But now I think Bob has made the better tutorials but Bill was the much better painter (this is my personal opinion, I hope I do not offend any Bob Ross fans) because he is much more flexible and could do still lifes as well as portraits etc.. And he was a professional artist for almost 50 years.
With Bills tutorials you learn much more different stuff. Try it.
And if you need any support, please feel always free to reach out for me. I try to help whenever I can.
This is beautiful Tom and as soon as I saw it BA came to mind. Great painting!
Gorgeous painting! The sky is indeed on fire! Excellent detail work
U SCORED HERE T! GREAT FIREY SKY.
Thanks Brian. Indeed you are right, Bill did a lot of paintings with similar skies and with a red hue. I love them and I painted much more in this style. More to come soon. :)
Thanks Sandy. I spent a lot of time on the details ;)
Thanks Pietro, I know you like fire in the sky :D
Beautiful! I love the play of light and dark throughout and the strength of the colors of the sky. Going over it again when dry was a great idea. Excellent work with your buildings as well :)
This is gorgeous! At first glance I thought it was inspired by a Bill Alexander painting. The look is much more of his style than Bob's. I also love his very fiery looking landscapes! Love the idea of two cabins and they look terrific. I like that you posted both versions of before and after the final highlights for us to see the difference. In the beginning of painting I tried to do everything in one session, but some paintings are better to leave and add more once dry, so I am glad you shared that.
Thanks a lot Daniel. Glad you like it.
Thank you Pam. Let’s say it is somehow inspired by both. I absolutely agree with you. It is a dangerous thing to go over a painting, but sometimes a painting really improves. And some should not be touched. It is all experience.
Holy cow!! This is amazing work!
Many thanks for your support Brian!
Woooooow this is just breathtaking. I just wanna sit on the banks of that lake with my coffee. And enjoy watching that stunning sky!
Many thanks for your feedback Sherina!
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Hey Tom , this is unbelievable!!! Unglaublich top gemacht . 😎