Bob Ross setup using water soluble paints - mhulse/mhulse.github.io GitHub Wiki
WATER-MIXABLE OILS: VIBRANT COLOURS, EASY-CLEANUP AND THEY NEEDN’T BE STICKY
Read this first:Documenting art supplies, tips and techniques one could use in order to replicate Bob Ross painting style using water soluable oil paints.
Tips
- In order to replicate Bob’s “wet on wet” technique, just add linseed oil to the titanium white and use that as a base.
- If you stick with the water mixable linseed oil medium, you can just use dish soap and water.
Paints
Brands
There are several major paint manufacturers of water-mixable oil paints:
- Grumbacher Max — nice, great colors, but can be stiff
- Holbien Duo — very nice, a bit more expensive
- Winsor & Newton Artisan — can be smelly, contains only “hue” colors, and has somewhat less pigment load, also can remain sticky when dry
- Royal Talens Cobra — newer brand, very nice buttery consistency, yet some colors are “off” such as the too-pale cadmium yellows and a too-strident French ultramarine
- Weber wOil
- Lukas Berlin
- Daniel Smith
- Reeves
Each brand seems to have its quirks. I use a mix of Max, Cobra, and Duo paints.
— Outdoor Painter: Working Out the Kinks of Water-Mixable Oils
- Note: “Hue” paints are cheaper than the non-hue paints! A hue indicates a color that is made up of different pigments than the original. Even being made up of different components, hues are very close to the true color.
Winsor & Newton Artisan
Bob Ross Brand | Winsor & Newton Brand |
---|---|
Alizarin Crimson | Permanent Alizarin Crimson |
Burnt Umber | Burnt Umber |
Cadmium Yellow | Cadmium Yellow Light |
Dark Sienna | Burnt Sienna |
Indian Yellow | Cadmium Yellow Hue |
Midnight Black | Ivory Black |
Permanent/Bright Red | Cadmium Red Hue |
Phthalo Blue | Phthalo Blue (Red Shade) |
Phthalo Green | Phthalo Green (Blue Shade) |
Prussian Blue | Prussian Blue |
Sap Green | Permanent Sap Green |
Titanium White | Titanium White |
Van Dyke Brown | Raw Umber |
Yellow Ochre | Yellow Ochre |
Medium: Artisan Water Mixable Oil Linseed Oil
Wishlist: Winsor & Newton Artisan Water Soluble Oil Paint Supplies via Dick Blick
Holbien Duo
Bob Ross Brand | Holbien Duo |
---|---|
Alizarin Crimson | Alizarin Crimson |
Burnt Umber | Burnt Umber |
Cadmium Yellow | Cadmium Yellow |
Dark Sienna | Burnt Sienna |
Indian Yellow | Indian Yellow |
Midnight Black | Ivory Black Hue |
Permanent/Bright Red | Cadmium Red |
Phthalo Blue | Phthalo Blue |
Phthalo Green | Phthalo Green |
Prussian Blue | Prussian Blue |
Sap Green | Sap Green |
Titanium White | Titanium White |
Van Dyke Brown | Raw Umber |
Yellow Ochre | Yellow Ochre |
Medium: Holbein Duo Aqua Linseed Oil
Wishlist: Holbein Duo Aqua Water Soluble Oil Paints
Brushes & Palette Knives
- Background, Size 2"
- Fan Blender, Size 6
- Script Liner, Size 2
- Painting Knife - 1" x 3 3/4"
- Painting Knife - 1 1/4" x 3 3/4"
Wishlist: Brushes & Palette Knives
Canvases
Bob Ross uses a standard 18" by 24" (3:4 ratio):
- 3" x 4"
- 6" x 8"
- 9" x 12"
- 12" x 16"
- 18" x 24"
- 30" x 40"
- 36" x 48"
Panel/canvas options
- 1/4 in. x 2 ft. x 4 ft. PureBond Mahogany Plywood Project Panel – Formaldehyde-free, patch-free, no toxic fumes, water-resistant, and Home Depot will cut it for you and deliver the panels to your home for free if you order more than $45 worth. You can oil paint directly on the panel without primer!
Easels
Note that these are easels and pochade boxes that I’ve found and appreciated:
- STRADA Easels
- New Wave u.go Pochade Box
- KLOPFENSTEIN Art Equipment MFG.
- Pacific Arc Easels
- Guerrilla Painter: Pochade Boxes
- LederEasel
- Artist Easels by Artristic
- LederEasel
- American Easel: Solid Oak Professional
- Soltek Easel 2.0 (not out yet, but could be a contender)
- COULTER EASEL
- Take It Easel
- The Daytripper
- En Plein Air Pro
Artist tutorial links
- Byron Pickering Art (the best for painting the sea)
- Richard Robinson Studio
- Andrew Tischler (great for learning about painting outdoors)
- Bill Cramer Art
- Janhendrik Dolsma
- Steve Atkinson Fine Art
- Bill Davidson
- Nial Adams
- Alexander Art - The Home of Bill Alexander
- The Swing Easel: Rotating One-Arm Easel
Thanks to Neale Quenzel for all of the above artist links!