Selfie with Uncle

What the painting shows

The painting shows a classic Bob Ross style seascape: tall, snow-covered mountain peaks in white and blue rise above the horizon, surrounded by white, billowing clouds in a navy sky. The sea is deep cobalt, and the waves rise and break with a pale green, light-filled crest. In the middle of the bay a rusty brown rock sticks out of the water, with waves crashing around it in white foam.

In the foreground there is a sandy orange-gold beach with a line of white foam. On the left, on a grassy cliff, grows a tree with spreading branches and clumps of green needles, with dark conifers behind it.

A dark human silhouette hangs from a rope on a branch of the tree, and a second silhouette stands on the grass beneath it. The title "Selfie with Uncle" and the caption "A hanged man with a mustache" are an example of very dark humour: an idyllic landscape, straight out of a TV painting show, hides a macabre detail you do not notice at first glance.

Technique and style

A horizontal oil painting on canvas, painted wet-on-wet: the mountains are applied with a palette knife, the waves are built with light strokes over a dark base, and the clouds are blended with a soft brush. The figures are small and flat, deliberately blended into the landscape. It is a parody of Bob Ross's "happy little trees", combining kitsch, pastiche and black humour.

At a glance

• Medium: oil paint
• Surface: canvas
• Orientation: landscape (horizontal)
• Dominant colours: cobalt blue, white, pale green, rusty brown, golden sand
• Subjects: seascape, mountains, waves, beach, tree, hanged man, black humour, Bob Ross

Fun fact

The first photographic selfie is generally credited to Robert Cornelius, an American chemist and lamp maker from Philadelphia, in 1839. Because the exposure took several minutes, Cornelius removed the lens cap, ran into the frame, sat still, then went back and covered the lens. On the back of the photo he wrote: "The first light picture ever taken. 1839."

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 seascape, mountains, waves, starring your own pet, a loved one or your favourite place. Just describe your idea in the contact form and attach a photo.