Twin Peaks. Painting #65. Take Your Oil Painting Higher with Kevin Hill

Twin Peaks is painting #65! It is also the 8th time I painted something live on Twitch.

Inspiration

This painting is actually not from a Bob Ross episode. I did this one by painting with Kevin Hill and following one of his episodes on the PBS website. This is not the first time I’ve tried one of his. It’s only the second. The first time I tried a a painting with Kevin Hill piece was in Autumn Walk. I find his technique is just a level above Bob Ross so it’s almost like a natural progression for those wanting to move on from the Bob Ross technique and take their painting skills to the next level. Anyway, the reason I chose this one is because I wanted to practice a mountain that is more prominent in the foreground and with more detail. This was in preparation for an ambitious project I had planned. That will be in the next post.

You can follow along with Kevin yourself here.

Materials

Colors

• Alizarin Crimson
• Bright Red
• Cadmium Yellow
• Dark Sienna
• Indian Yellow
• Midnight Black
• Phthalo Blue
• 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

Tips and Lessons Learned

There are definitely similarities to Bob’s style, and overall I’m happy with how the mountains turned out. I didn’t quite hit Kevin’s level of detail, but I do like the contrast between the highlights and shadows. This piece taught me a few things that came in handy for the next one.

I also received some constructive feedback I’ll pass along in case you want to try this painting yourself:

Lightening the bottom of the tree line at the mountain’s base would’ve added more depth and separation.

When painting the grass in the left foreground, vary the curve of the land—don’t use the same angle with each tap.

There’s a bit of a disconnect between the mountain and the riverbank on the left. Adding a light hill layer or some distant trees can help bridge that gap and smooth out the perspective.

I’ll keep these tips in mind if I revisit this kind of composition.

Do you have any feedback or questions? Have you done a painting with Kevin? Leave them in the comments below. Check out the time lapse video below. Happy painting!