Waterside Way. Oil Painting #5. Plenty of Happy Accidents!
Waterside Way
Date Painted: January 3, 2017
Size: 16 x 20 canvas
“Any time you learn, you gain.” -Bob Ross
I’m just gonna come right out and say it. This is not my favorite painting. I may even go out on a limb and say it could be my worst ever oil painting. A lot of happy accidents were had! But that’s just, like, MY opinion. Do you agree? It’s okay. You can say it.
The Bob Ross quote above was made for this painting. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t HATE it. It’s just not my favorite and I learned a lot from this oil painting of a wilderness path leading you to the side of a still lake in a setting that is accented with an abundance of trees. I was still playing with my new Christmas gift for the fifth day in a row and was on my last canvas.
Now that the negativity is out of the way, let’s get to why this is not my favorite and how to avoid the mistakes, happy accidents that I had.
Let’s Get Started
This post is about my version of Waterside Way by Bob Ross. First, I’ll talk about the inspiration for this painting. When I talk about inspiration in this blog, it will normally be why I chose a certain subject or Bob Ross episode to follow. Then, I will go over the colors and equipment I used and that you will need if you want to try your hand at it. Next, I will expound a bit about my process and how to paint Waterside Way even if you are a beginner and new to oil painting with Bob Ross. Finally, I’ll wrap up with some lessons that I learned from painting this picture and things I could have done better or wished I had known. So join me on this trip down memory lane as I recap my fifth oil painting.
The Inspiration
The inspiration for this piece was Joy of Painting episode S8E4. It was my first oil painting that I didn’t put in a mountain.
I chose to do this one because I wanted to attempt a multi-colored sky, try different types of trees, and get some foliage highlight practice. If you just want to have fun putting a bunch of paint on the canvas, this painting is for you!
Materials Required
Here are the colors and equipment I used. Everything needed to do this painting comes with the Bob Ross Master Paint Set, with the exception of a few extra colors.
Whether you want to continue on your journey after painting your first masterpiece from the Bob Ross Master Kit DVD or painting for the first time, here are the colors and equipment you will need for this painting. The kit includes everything you need to paint this oil painting in particular as well as many other spectacular Bob Ross masterpieces. Getting this kit will eliminate the anxiety of buying the right brushes made of the right materials or the right oil paints with correct firmness or pigment ratios. Everything you need is there and ready to go.
Colors (included in the master kit)
- Alizarin Crimson
- Bright Red
- Cadmium Yellow
- Midnight Black
- Phthalo Blue
- Sap Green
- Titanium Hwite
- Van Dyke Brown
- Don’t forget the Liquid Hwite!
Additional Colors (not included in the kit)
Equipment
There are a few colors Bob uses that are not included in the kit so I couldn’t use them. In most areas of the painting, you can barely tell so they’re not crucial to the composition of this painting. The reason I list them under a separate heading is because I completed this painting without those. They are listed as additional colors that you need to get if you want to paint it just like Bob Ross.
For example, he uses the other yellow colors for the foliage highlights. As an alternative, you can use varying amounts of the Cadmium yellow mixed with Sap green. Use a little bit of bright red and cad yellow to give you some orange variations. This foliage could definitely use some color variation.
The big difference here is that Bob uses Indian yellow in the sky. I did not because I didn’t have that color at the time. If I recall, I think I tried sort of making my own Indian yellow by adding the lightest of touches of Alizarin Crimson to the Cad yellow.
Bob also uses a different brush in this episode. It’s a newer one in his Bob Ross brand of brushes. He uses the new round brush which doesn’t come in the kit so of course I didn’t use it. You can improvise like this throughout many Bob Ross episodes.
Additional Items to Get Started
If this is your first time oil painting, you’ll need a few essential items. The Bob Ross kit doesn’t include everything you need to get started painting. It does include all the brushes and paint you need but in order to paint your own masterpieces you’ll need a few more things. I have you covered however.
Canvas
Stretched canvas is optimal here. You can paint on many surfaces but if you’re just getting started, I advise you to go with a basic stretched canvas. Most already come ready to paint on right out of the packaging. Above all, avoid canvas boards with this technique.
Easel
You’ll want a sturdy easel to hold your painting surface. The kit I mentioned above does include a carrying case which I used as a makeshift easel. Beware if you do this, however. The canvas is not secure. You could also lay the canvas flat on a desk or table. With that being said, you don’t require an easel but it sure makes life easier!
Palette
The kit I keep mentioning over and over? There’s a reason. It really is a great starter kit to kick start your new oil painting hobby. You’ll need something to squeeze your paint onto. The kit comes with a small wooden palette. You can squeeze the paint directly onto it. However, if you want to keep your palette clean and smooth, you can put some palette paper on it. If you don’t have the kit, you can use paper plates or a piece of glass or Plexiglas. However, I highly suggest not using paper plates. Use a hard flat surface. Therefore, a nice large palette will be useful.
Odorless Paint Thinner
The only small drawback with oil painting is the solvents required. You need to clean your brushes and odorless paint thinner or odorless mineral spirits work the best. To keep it contained, you’ll need a bucket. The Bob Ross company has the perfect thing. This bucket and screen combo will keep your thinner contained and secure. Surely after you clean your two inch brush, you’ll want to beat the devil out of it! But you certainly don’t want to do that in your home. Bob comes through again with a brush beater rack. Put this inside a box or waste basket and you can beat the devil to your heart’s content!
How I Painted This Painting and Lessons Learned
Waterside Way was my fifth oil painting. I painted it on January 3, 2017. This post was first published in summer of 2018. Then I updated it in 2020 to add more substance and give you some more tips and encouragement to start painting. With all that being said, I have to go back and try to recall how I painted this one and the feelings associated with it. So let’s take it step by step.
Liquid White
How to apply liquid white. The first thing to do with any Bob Ross painting is to apply the liquid hwite. The trick is to not apply too much. I’ve been getting better with the liquid with each painting. However, I’m not quite sure if I added enough. Having the right amount of medium on the canvas will help lighten your value in the sky and aid in blending everything together. As you can see, my sky is not quite blended enough. We’ll talk about that soon.
I learned later that the best way to apply the liquid white is to dip your brush into the white then dab it all over the canvas. After you’ve dabbed it, then you start to spread it around. But, you don’t paint it on like you’re painting a fence. With this medium, you have to spread it around and scrub it in. Really get tough with it. Don’t worry, you’re not going to hurt your brush.
Make sure the medium is spread evenly. To do this, I use the light of the room or outdoors. For example, I look at the canvas at different angles to pick out dry spots. To check if you have applied the right amount, lightly press your fingers on different spots on the canvas. You should be able to see your fingerprint. If you can’t, then you’ve put too much on. Don’t worry. Simply take a paper towel and lightly wipe the canvas. The liquid white you need will remain on the surface.
Sky
The sky was one of the reasons I chose to follow this episode. I wanted to try my hand at the multi-colored sky. The sky has some nice colors in it but it’s clearly not blended well enough. In my opinion, it looks a little blotchy. I may have made the same mistake happy accident I did in Lost Lake (link). It also may have been that I wasn’t cautious enough or taking my time. Over the past few years, I’ve learned a few things. Avoid my sort of sky by following the tips below.
To avoid the white gaps that I have here, don’t be afraid to bring the different colors together on the canvas, with the exception of the blue and yellow.. In this case, start out with the yellow then move to the crimson. You’ll notice that Bob doesn’t even clean the brush before going into the crimson. That’s because the crimson is stronger and will over power the yellow eventually. The worst case is you get a bit of an orange tone, which looks nice. Use this to your advantage on the canvas. Use the crimson as a layer for the yellow against the blue. As you know, mixing yellow and blue will give you a green sky. We don’t want that. Or maybe you do. It’s your world after all.
Bonus Tip!
Here’s a tip from a previous painting you can use here. When applying the yellow part of this sky, paint in a slightly larger area than you intend to finish with. Then, when you go into the crimson, get right up on the edge of that yellow and overlap on the edge of that color. Then do the same thing with the blue. The blue should overpower the crimson leaving you a seamless transition of color. You should be able to do all this without cleaning the brush.
Trees/Bushes
The trees and bushes in this painting are not my best effort. It sort of looks like I mixed a little mud on the bushes and trees. That’s probably just my inexperience showing. Going back to this after a few years, the overall textures and form of the tree foliage isn’t all that bad.I think the best part of painting this was putting in the base color of all the foreground trees and foliage. You get to load up the brush with Van Dyke Brown and go to town! How much fun is that!?
Another cool trick you get to try here is a technique called double loading. That’s where you load the brush up with one color then only load it on one side with another. I think that’s another reason I wanted to attempt this painting.
Grassy Areas
I learned a lesson from painting grassy areas in Lost Lake. I tried to apply that lesson here but I went the other direction. In Lost Lake, I didn’t add enough shadow and contrast. In this one, I added a bit too much. The trick for painting grass is the way the brush is loaded. Pay close attention to the way Bob does it.
Additional Tips
The path is a simple feature but an exercise in perspective. Your path should be more narrow the further back in the painting it goes and become wider as it gets closer. If you make the path a bit too wide in certain parts, simply plant some grass or bushes with your brush. You have the power to do that. In this case, my grass seed didn’t grow towards the rear of the path.
Final Thoughts
Overall, this is a good painting to try. It’s a lot of fun and has some cool techniques to learn. The biggest problem I see with this painting is I think it lacks some color.
Art is highly subjective. Artists tend to be a bit hard on themselves. However, what I don’t like, you may love! Everyone sees something different. Is there anything here that you particularly like? I’d love to know. This one ended up as a gift to my step brother.
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Happy Painting!