A Walk in the Woods and More Practice Paintings

July 5, 2018

It’s late January 2017. I had been painting for about a month now. I was having so much fun I couldn’t stop! The only problem was that I was running out of room to put my paintings. I also ran out of canvases and had to order more. While I was waiting, I had a couple of 8 x 10 canvases that came with a previous order. I was bitten by the painting bug and couldn’t stop so I used those canvases to practice some techniques, starting with “A Walk in the Woods”.

Materials

Everything needed to do this painting comes with the Bob Ross Master Paint Set.

Colors

Equipment

A Walk in the Woods

With the first 8 x 10 canvas I had, I decided to use it to practice different types of trees. So I followed Bob Ross’s first ever Joy of Painting episode “A Walk in the Woods”. It was fun but there really wasn’t enough room to accomplish what I wanted. However, I scratched that painting itch just a little bit.

Practice “A Walk in the Woods”
Painted on February 6, 2017
8 x 10 canvas

Basic Seascape

With the other canvas I decided to try a little beach scene to see how I would be at it. To do it, I followed along with an artist named Rachel Karlson who I found when The Joy of Painting FB page did their weekly Certified Ross Instructor, or CRI, Friday on Twitch. It seemed like a simple enough project so I did it on a small canvas just to try it out. Didn’t turn out too bad and it’s hanging on the wall in our guest bathroom.

Practice Beach Scene
Painted on January 28, 2017
8 x 10 canvas

These two paintings are probably my first ones I did with the purpose of practicing.

More Practice

After completing my first original painting without a photo reference, I was feeling a bit confident. I wanted to keep getting better and learn new things, new techniques, and new art knowledge. People had asked me about adding extra things to my paintings such as wild life or hockey players in my winter scenes, (I play hockey and have a lot of hockey friends.)

During this time frame it was early spring in England which meant increasing temperatures. It also meant a lot of walking the dog along the town’s river walkways. While on these long walks with my buddy Brady, I took on the scenery a little bit more intently than I normally would. I took more photos . I wanted to try to paint some of the local scenery like I had before but using some additional techniques. The town I lived in at the time, Thetford, is the name sake of the nearby forest which is pretty scenic itself and contains a lot of deer. So within the span of a week, I did 4 mini paintings to practice these things.

Other Brushes Used

For the practice paintings below, I used some much smaller brushes I bought in a kit. Nothing fancy. Same Bob Ross oil paint but different brushes.

River Walk

With this first one I did something that loosely resembled some of the scenery I encountered on my walks. Here I used some of the Kevin Hill techniques I employed in Clear Autumn Day. It was done on a 11 x 14 inch canvas so it was a tad too small to add additional elements that I wanted. Unexpectedly, this painting actually sold.

Meadow Deer

This little piece here was done on some art paper. The only purpose was to see if I could add a little deer to a scene. So I put in a quick, basic background first. Then I drew in the shape of a deer (I had to use a reference pic), filled it in with the dark color, then added highlights. It was too small of a subject to add any major detail but I think it came out okay. What do you think?

Forest Deer

This next one is basically the same thing except the deer is slightly bigger, I added some trees, and a little squirrel that I wanted to practice with. Way too small for too much detail.

Meadow Brook Deer

This final one was done on a small 8 x 10 inch canvas. Painting on art paper is very different from painting on a canvas. I wanted to see if this practice carried over onto a canvas.

Gulf of Mexico Sunset

Several months later I moved from England to Florida. I had started running on the beach and took up surf fishing. After work or a day of fishing I would catch some amazing sunsets. I knew I had to learn how to paint them. This one was a practice piece. I think I got the sky right but I didn’t quite get the water color right. I learned though and my next seascape turned out way better.

practice beach — **Gulf Sunset**
8×10 Canvas

I haven’t added any wildlife to my paintings since these pieces however I did add a couple hockey players to one I did later on. I may have to have another practice session soon with wildlife and start adding these little elements to my paintings in the future.

If you’re an aspiring painter or artist, the only way to get better is to practice. Let go of your fears and just have a go. The worst thing that happens is that you learn from it. Thoughts? Questions? Leave a comment below. Check out my social media channels and pop into my shop.

Happy Painting!