Mt. Rainier. Painting #49. A Reddit Oil Painting Challenge Accepted.
Date Painted: July 4, 2018
Size: 16 x 20 canvas
Take a gentle stroll through the quiet morning mist, where Mt. Rainier watches over still waters and the sunlight tiptoes across sleepy peaks. Mt. Rainier painting is painting #49. It is another original and the 6th painting in a row that wasn’t a Bob Ross replica.
Let’s Get Started
This post is about my original oil painting, Mt. Rainier. 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, Bob Ross episode, or other artist tutorial 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 or something similar. Next, I will expound a bit about my process. 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 49th overall oil painting.
The Inspiration
The inspiration for this piece came from a photo shared by a Reddit user on the Happy Trees subreddit. They tossed out as a challenge to Bob Ross-style painters to produce a Mt. Rainier painting using the classic wet on wet technique. I couldn’t resist. Challenge accepted. This painting is the result.
Here is the reference photo used.
Materials Needed
Mediums
Colors
- Alizarin Crimson
- Bright Red
- Cadmium Yellow
- Dark Sienna
- Indian Yellow
- Midnight Black
- Phthalo Blue
- Phthalo Green
- Prussian Blue
- Sap Green
- Titanium Hwite
- Van Dyke Brown
- Yellow Ochre
Equipment
Tips and Tricks
Below are a few tips for applying the Bob Ross technique to create an oil painting of a real place such as Mt. Rainier.
Mountains
You can use the knife technique to carve out the shape of your mountain but don’t limit yourself to colors that Bob uses on his show. He only has a limited time. Use whatever colors are necessary to achieve the color and texture of your reference’s highlights and shadow. You can also add layers. Sometimes mountains have subtle or soft transitions between highlight and shadow. You can soften those with a blender brush or very lightly with the two inch brush.
Reflections
There’s not much too this. While mirroring the subject can be tricky, achieving the reflection look is quite simple. Once you have it down, use Bob’s classic reflection technique of lightly brushing down with the two inch brush then lightly brush.
Sun Behind the Trees
It’s a neat trick to add glow, but if you want crisp contrast, let your foreground layers dry first. That way the light pops without smudging into the shrubs
Foreground Shrubbery
Channel your “happy little trees” energy—but shrink it down. Tiny dabs and short upward strokes keep it dense and believable. Use muted greens and skip the pure yellow highlights unless the light calls for it.
Notes From the Easel
The mountain itself was painted using the same layered approach I used for Kodiak Spring. Rather than applying a simple highlight and shadow, I worked back and forth with several layers, gradually shaping the composition to feel more true to the reference. Getting the highlights just right added complexity—and made matching them in the reflection even trickier. Mirroring deliberate detail in reverse was no easy feat.
Before adding the morning glow of the sun, I let the painting dry for about a week. Once dry enough to work over, I brought in that soft light. In hindsight, I could’ve blended a second tone to push the orange glow even further, but I didn’t want to risk overworking it. The dryness of the base layer gave me the freedom to move the new color around more fluidly.
I think it my Mt. Rainier painting turned our all right. Instagram seemed to like it. It was a fun painting. This piece has since found a new home, but its story remains one of my favorite creative challenges. What do you think? Leave me a comment below to let me know what you think or if you have any questions.
Happy painting!