Painting #49. Around 2 months ago, I had prepped a canvas with black acrylic, creating distant trees, with the intention of trying to create a painting with the illusion of distant evergreens on a mountain in the mist. It had been sitting up against my wall because I couldn't really figure out what I wanted to paint on there. A few days ago, the Bob Ross Youtube channel launched a new 'episode' hosted by Nic Hankins. I've always really liked Hankins' paintings and, coincidentally, his prepped canvas was exactly what I had done. So, I decided to follow along with what he made and this was the result. This painting was quite the challenge and took me around 3 hours to complete. I now believe that, much like my titanium white that initially wouldn't break because it was too soft, there is something wrong with my fan brushes. No matter what I've tried, I can't get my evergreens to look like Bob makes them. I also watch videos by other artists who use the Ross brand fan brushes and they seem to be able to make those evergreens with ease. My bristles are just so coarse that they will not stick together and some hairs just stick out all over the place and will not create smooth lines. When I try and make evergreens, it's just a mess. I'm convinced it isn't me this time. So, I've been forced to adopt the dracula style of making evergreens! It works really well and makes them look really detailed, but I'd love to try and make simple evergreens with fan brushes. The last bit of foliage I added to the larger trees in the foreground really solidifies my point. Is it possible that my fan brushes are just garbage and need to be replaced? Has anyone else experienced this issue? 18x24
My small brush is only for clouds nowadays and fog and smoke...
lightsnow your painting is amazing! you did great!
Yet another excellent painting from you Lightsnow! You are really mastering it!
Concerning fan brushes, I can inform you the following. I have Bob Ross brushes from Germany (bought with Amazon), so NOT made in USA. German customers also complained about the same issue, that the brushes are almost useless. It seems that a Chinese company makes these for Germany so the quality is inferior.
I have the same problem as you have and so I only use them for really hard work (lots of paint!) on the canvas. For the finer tunings, I use fan brushes that I bought from China (Aliexpress). They are much softer, also contain a lot of hair and are really pleasant to work with. Most of all, such brushes (different numbers) costs a lot less then one Bob R.
Keep in mind that you can also buy brushes that are too soft, so only to be used for watercolors and so. Hope this info helped you somewhat!
@ Sunnylady and Voy Kay - thank you both for your comments. Are there specific fan brushes on Aliexpress you would recommend? I found a pack of 6 fan brushes, different sizes, all pig bristle, for 7$ or so. I am hoping those will be better. Until I get those, I may use the 1 inch brush to make all future evergreens.
I will have a look at that and send you the link, no worries! Till soon!
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33031074576.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.27424c4dHh7FTb
That's what I ordered and they are VERY good! All depends on the supplier so be careful on taking on different ones!
Remember, these ARE softer yet just strong enough for Bob's fine work!
I was looking at similar brushes and was not sure if they will be suitable for the oil.
Are they thick enough or thin? It is not clear from the picture.
Also it is good to know as I was thinking how did you achieve those wonderful palm trees in your last seascapes. Now I know one of the components of your success. :) thanks for sharing!
Oh!! Super amazing painting here. I absolutely love love love it!!! It's just perfect. BRAVO!! 😍
Dear Sunnylady, those brushes are thin, yet reasonable solid. They are very suitable for evergreens, base and highlights, yet not for painting branches (I mostly use knife or filberts for that). Also for whiping a lot of snow, they are not very suitable for that.
It is true that, with thinned paint, these brushes make about the best palm tree leaves! You got my secret!!
Great work.Love the sky and distant trees.So many trees...But who's counting!You can never have too many of those wonderful giants!God bless.
Wow this is just stunning! Amazing foliage!
I have trouble using the bob ross fan brush for detailed evergreens as the bristles are just too course. I went and bought a few other fan brushes with much softer bristles and was able to control the evergreen leaves much better now. I would say try some different brushes as it makes all the difference.
Your painting came out very nice! Distant evergreens in back really come through!
Thank you to everyone for your kind words and for your advice. This is really helpful. I'll be purchasing a few fan brushes with more supple hair and see if that works.
This is a great painting.
oh dear Lord, this painting ... it's a-ma-zing !!
Amazing painting!
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I recognized this one immediately. I watched it and I liked it a lot!
My small fan brush worn out and cannot produce evergreens, bristles are disorganized and do not hold shape when I bend them. Bigger brush is better, but bigger brush is for huge evergreens only that happen once in a blue moon.