Puerto Rico Sunset. Painting #92. Vibrant Tropical Seascape.
Date Painted: January 16, 2020
Size: 11″ x 14″ stretched canvas
Puerto Rico Sunset is painting #92. It is an original piece and was painted as a retirement gift for a co-worker. This person is originally from Puerto Rico. I did not follow along with a Joy of Painting episode but I did use some tips and techniques from various episodes of seascapes.
“Today I think we’ll do a happy little painting, bright and shiny and pretty, just something that’ll make you feel good.” – Bob Ross
Let’s Get Started
This post is about my original oil painting, Puerto Rico Sunset. 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 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 92nd overall oil painting.
The Inspiration
I was inspired to paint this piece by a photo shared by the recipient of this painting. As mentioned, they grew up in Puerto Rico. One day they shared a photo from their home area. I loved the colors in the photo so I decided to make it into a painting as a gift for them. They also happened to be retiring from a 30 year career in the U.S. Air Force.
Materials Used
Here are the colors and equipment I used. All of the colors are included with the Bob Ross Master Paint Set.
Colors
- Alizarin Crimson
- Bright Red
- Cadmium Yellow
- Indian Yellow
- Midnight Black
- Phthalo Blue
- Phthalo Green
- Prussian Blue
- Titanium Hwite
Mediums
Equipment
I’ll admit, the kit can get a bit pricey. So here is an alternative starter oil paint set. Windsor and Newton is a solid brand. The only thing is it doesn’t come with any brushes or instructions.
For a list of other items needed to paint or alternative art materials, visit my Getting Started page.
Before We Begin/Medium Application
For tips on medium application, see my page that explains all about it. How to Apply Bob Ross Mediums.
Tips/Tricks
In this section of the blog post I would normally go over how I painted this particular painting and lessons learned. For original paintings, I usually comment on something that may have been particularly challenging or a new technique I learned rather than go into detail about how to paint the entire thing.
The one area I think could have been better was the cloud. Sometimes you don’t notice things about a painting until much later. In the case of the cloud, I noticed I didn’t do a good enough job of blending the pinkish highlights. I was trying to capture the different color highlights on the cloud shown in the reference photo.
Final Thoughts
The best thing about this painting, in my opinion, are the colors. I always love incorporating Pthalo Green and mixing it with Pthalo Blue to get a nice, vibrant teal color. Pthalo blue and green mixed makes a lovely color for water.
If you paint with Bob enough, you will be able to pick up the techniques and use them to create your own masterpieces. Give it a try. It’s so much fun when you venture out on your own and create. Get brave and try to create your own original painting then share a link to a photo of it. Have a question? Comment below. More art is available in my Etsy shop. Check it out if you want to see more of my work and see other paintings available. You can also follow me on all my social media sites.
Happy Painting!