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Bob Ross

S

Sonorous

Oct 1, 2003
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Denton, TX
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#1
I think Bob Ross was the greatest human who ever lived.

Many people talk about how great of an artist he was but he really wasn't that good, he just used some simple techniques effectively. Of course I'm only judging this from the 30 minute compositions I've seen him do on his old show, "The Joy of Painting". Though that is also what everyone else bases their opinion on, so it's fair. I'm sure his personal work was marvelous.

What's more important is that there never was a man who loved life more than Bob did. While he would be painting, we would be chatting away to the audience like he personally knew each and every one of them. He would often have small woodland creatures, such as baby flying squirrels, that he would show off and play with.

Damn, I would have loved to meet that guy.
 
#10
But the funniest thing I have heard about him is that, in all of his painting shows, ever, they never once showed the first and most important step of his technique.

Before he started one of his paintings he would cover the whole canvas with a coat of white paint that would stay wet. This allowed him to manipulate the layers of paint he put on top of the white paint. If you tried to do exactly as you saw him do, but without using the undercoat it wouldn't work. You would just get a big smeared mess.

And they never ever explained it on the show. Now THAT is a good long running prank. :eyebrow:
 
#12
Bard2dbone said:
But the funniest thing I have heard about him is that, in all of his painting shows, ever, they never once showed the first and most important step of his technique.

Before he started one of his paintings he would cover the whole canvas with a coat of white paint that would stay wet. This allowed him to manipulate the layers of paint he put on top of the white paint. If you tried to do exactly as you saw him do, but without using the undercoat it wouldn't work. You would just get a big smeared mess.

And they never ever explained it on the show. Now THAT is a good long running prank. :eyebrow:
Click to expand...

Where'd you hear that from exactly? Painting over a wet ground only works to make a painting sloppy and hard to control, and an undercoat of white would mix in with the colors placed on top of it, making them chalky and quite frankly a big mess.

Not a good artist in the big scheme of things, but a great painter at painting the types of paintings he wanted to make, and always happy. He gave the vibe of being a great guy.
 
#16
I don't think it would stay wet. That would probably smudge everything and lighten the colors, unless it was a different kind of paint or something.

Bob Ross is a cool guy. I don't know if his paintings were the greatest, but he was definitely an amazing artist who could create very amazing stuff. Sometimes it's not what you do, but how you do it. Bob had that style and ease of painting, and he really connected with the viewer.
 
#18
Bard2dbone said:
But the funniest thing I have heard about him is that, in all of his painting shows, ever, they never once showed the first and most important step of his technique.

Before he started one of his paintings he would cover the whole canvas with a coat of white paint that would stay wet. This allowed him to manipulate the layers of paint he put on top of the white paint. If you tried to do exactly as you saw him do, but without using the undercoat it wouldn't work. You would just get a big smeared mess.

And they never ever explained it on the show. Now THAT is a good long running prank. :eyebrow:
Click to expand...

It's not white paint. I believe you're thinking of gouache.

Then again, I probably have no clue what I'm talking about. I guarantee it.
 
#20
Sonorous said:
It's not white paint. I believe you're thinking of gouache.

Then again, I probably have no clue what I'm talking about. I guarantee it.
Click to expand...

Gouache is an opaque watercolor-like paint. I think you mean Gesso, which is a (usually) white ground many people paint on, but you wait for it to be completely dry first.
 

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