Bob Ross

What the painting shows

The painting is still lying on a desk in the studio, surrounded by tubes of oil paint, a palette, a jar of brushes, a fan brush, a tape measure and figures made of building bricks. It shows a calm mountain landscape at sunset, painted as an exercise using the method of Bob Ross, the famous American TV painter from The Joy of Painting.

The sky moves from cool purples and greys at the top, through billowing lavender clouds, to a warm peach and pink glow above the horizon. In the middle of the composition rises a purple mountain range with snowy peaks, with a band of dark forest at its foot. Beyond it lies a lake in shades of turquoise and blue, with white reflections of light on the water.

On the left, a cluster of slender spruces stands on a small spit of land, and on the right rises a green, grassy bank with taller spruces. The dark trees in the foreground form a natural frame that leads the eye into the picture, towards the bright mountains.

Technique and style

A horizontal oil painting on canvas, painted wet-on-wet in a single session. The sky and water were made by blending paint into a wet base with a large brush, the mountains were applied with a palette knife, and the spruces were stamped with a fan brush, exactly as Bob Ross taught. It is the kind of exercise that teaches beginners aerial perspective and how to build depth with colour.

At a glance

• Medium: oil paint
• Surface: canvas
• Orientation: landscape (horizontal)
• Dominant colours: purple, lavender, peach, turquoise, dark green
• Subjects: Bob Ross, mountain landscape, sunset, lake, spruce trees, wet-on-wet technique

Fun fact

Bob Ross did not invent the technique he became famous for. He learned it from the German painter Bill Alexander, who had his own TV show, The Magic of Oil Painting, before Ross. When the student became more famous than the teacher, Alexander felt betrayed and said publicly that Ross had "used" him.

Want a similar painting?

The Fart studio paints commissioned artwork: portraits of people and pets, landscapes and absurd scenes like this one. You can order a similar piece featuring Bob Ross, mountain landscape, sunset, starring your own pet, a loved one or your favourite place. Just describe your idea in the contact form and attach a photo.