Mountain Ridge. Painting #63

Mountain Ridge is painting #63 and painted during my 7th live stream on Twitch.

This painting was inspired by a photo I had saved at some point. I can’t remember where I got the photo but I had it in my “painting ideas” folder. For this stream, I wanted to get away from just following along with Bob Ross so I went through my folder and chose this one to paint.

Here is the reference photo.

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
• Don’t forget the Liquid Hwite!

Equipment

• 2 Inch Brush
• 1 Inch Brush
• #6 Fan Brush
• Large Palette Knife
• Script Liner Brush
• Filbert Brush
• Small Palette Knife
• #12 Filbert Brush Obviously not a Bob Ross standard brush. You could also use the Oval Brush

This was quite a fun painting to do. It was challenging for sure as well. What I like the most about it is how it almost looks like a photo at first glance. A few people have said that as well. When you hear those types of comments as an artist, it feelsgoodman. Of course it doesn’t look exactly like the reference photo but it doesn’t really need to. I wasn’t going for an exact replica. This one is hard to explain what I like about it. Must be the color.

The most challenging part about this painting was getting the different color shades of shadow right. Also getting the different highlight colors right was challenging. Actually, that may have been the second most challenging part. The most difficult part for me was putting in the hills in front of the mountain ridge. Trying to get the depth and different colors on the hills was hard. I used a few different brushes before I settled on the #12 Filbert brush. I found that did the best job of highlighting the foothills.

Since this is an original painting, I don’t have many specific tips to offer. However, if you’re painting mountains with different shades of highlight, don’t be afraid to add light layers on the mountains. For example, lay on a light brown with the knife then go over it ever so lightly with some white to add just a bit more pop.
The Bob Ross oval brush or a #12 filbert brush works great for adding highlights to a curvy type of area such as hills or round bushes.

When using reference photos to do a painting, don’t be a slave to the reference. It’s just a general guide. Take out of it or put into it what you want. At the end of the day, you’re not going to show the reference photo every time someone sees your painting so no one will know any different. The reference is just there to guide you for elements, perspective, and color. It’s a lot more relaxing when you let go a bit.

Here’s the time lapse video. If you have any questions, comments, or tips, leave it below.

Reminder. This painting is for sale in my Art Store.

Happy painting!