You Can Do Anything Here: Step-by-step Watercolor Painting Guide

You Can Do Anything Here--

The only prerequisite is that it makes you happy.

Painting in the beloved style of Bob Ross provides an opportunity to relax and unwind from a stressful day, while creating something beautiful and meaningful that can be shared with friends and family.

Bob Ross’s style of painting isn’t typical. In oil painting, one waits between layers to let them dry before putting on more layers. Bob Ross however, uses a wet-on-wet style, which is painting on top of layers before drying to create more textures, and to make a quicker painting. Painting in watercolors and following along with his tutorials gives painters the freedom and control of oil paints.

Bob Ross uses simple techniques, making it easy for viewers to follow along. Here are a few tips to guide you should you tune in to an episode of Bob Ross’s Joy of Painting.

1. Gather your supplies To make a Bob Ross painting in watercolors, you’ll need a few simple supplies. Here’s what you’ll need:

Painting pans, tubes, or liquid watercolors — primary colors are all that’s needed, but a variety pack will give more options; Watercolor brushes — size 2 and size 6 straight brushes, size 4 fan brush, and size 2 and 5 round brushes (sizes can be substituted); (Optional) Highlighter white gouache paint — in water colors, it can be hard to use white, as it’s very transparent, so using gouache (an opaque paint that acts similar to watercolors) will help with highlights; Watercolor paper — paper designed specifically for watercolors is preferable, as other paper cannot hold the water and will fall apart; 2 small glasses of clean water and a towel — one glass to mix with the paint, another glass to clean brushes; last, you’ll need a towel to dry brushes.

2. Plan your painting Now it’s time to choose which Bob Ross tutorial to follow along. The pictures are from painting along with Season 31, episode 1 - “Reflections of Calm.”

To have a smoother painting experience, choosing and mixing colors beforehand is key. Especially for watercolors, the best time to add more colors and blend is when the paper is wet. The paint can be reactivated in case it dries before applying more. When this happens, it is important to cover the whole piece of paper with more water. When it is glossy but not pooling in corners, it is the right amount.

Bob Ross has a few different colors, and with watercolors it will

be easy to match them by mixing until it is a preferred shade. Watching the colors he has in the tutorial will help you plan what you need, as the colors are shown before he starts painting.

One of the amazing things about Bob Ross is that he doesn’t sketch before painting. In this way, all that needs to be done before starting, is to choose a tutorial, and keep in mind, “You can do anything here — the only prerequisite is that it makes you happy.” - Bob Ross

3. Begin with your background This starts with a sky, followed by adding more paint and blending enough for the sky to melt into a river or pond at the bottom. Bob Ross loves for mountains to be in the background, with mist slowly creating a transition to the foreground.

The technique he uses for the sky is “Criss Cross strokes,” where he goes back and forth in a small area with a brush in X strokes.

To paint mountains, Bob Ross uses a palette knife, scraping with a small roll of paint on the edge and using pressure to paint the tops of the mountains. He then uses a brush to blend the excess paint downward, toward the bushes or trees.

Next, he uses the palette knife with white or grey paint and scrapes down on one side to create an effect of snow.

In watercolors, it can be hard to mimic the use of a palette knife. To create this effect, use a brush and blend downward as normal for the mountains. For the highlights, use white gouache paint with a dry brush, and it will work the same way.

Don’t worry if you make a “mistake,” after all: “We don’t make mistakes. We just have happy accidents.” - Bob Ross

4. Paint your foreground The foreground often includes bushes, trees, cabins, and more. The technique that Bob Ross uses to paint trees is to take a fan brush and paint side to side while moving slowly down, tilting the fan brush right and left.

For bushes, he takes a large brush, and uses the ends of the bristles to dab on paint. Using different shades of yellow and green, this makes an effective texture for bushes.

Try different techniques, make a new world that makes you happy. As long as it makes you happy, it’s a great painting.

In the words of the amazing artist:

“You can do anything you want to do. This is your world.” - Bob Ross

5. Add your finishing touches Add highlights, shading, and anything you want that makes this your own painting. Now it’s time to sign your painting. Bob Ross uses a round brush to sign with his initials in red paint. However, you can make your own signature or logo with whatever color you like. After all, you just made a beautiful painting!

As Bob Ross wisely said, “It’s so important to do something every day that will make you happy.” What will you do today?

Article by Ebaadah Martinez-Jaka, Photos by Loudoun Community Press