Mountain Ridge. Painting #63. An Original Landscape Using Bob Ross Techniques.

Mountain Ridge is painting #63, created during my seventh live stream on Twitch. It is an original landscape painting using Bob Ross techniques.

The inspiration came from a photo I’d saved in my “painting ideas” folder—though I can’t recall exactly where it came from. For this stream, I wanted to break away from simply following Bob Ross tutorials and explore something more original. So I dug through the folder and landed on this image as the starting point.

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

Tips and Tricks

Since this is an original landscape painting, I don’t have many specific tips to offer. But if you’re working with mountains and layering highlights, don’t be afraid to build them gradually. For example, you can lay down a light brown with the knife, then gently skim over it with a touch of white to give the surface a little extra pop. The Bob Ross oval brush or a #12 filbert brush works especially well for adding highlights to curved areas like hills or rounded bushes.

When using reference photos, remember—they’re just a guide, don’t be a slave to them. You don’t have to follow them exactly. Take what you need, leave what you don’t. No one’s going to see the reference when they look at your finished piece, so feel free to interpret and adapt. The reference is just there to guide you for elements, perspective, and color. It’s a lot more relaxing when you let go of trying to match every detail and instead focus on capturing the essence.

Notes From the Easel

The most challenging part of this painting was getting the shadow tones just right. Balancing the different shades and making them feel natural took some trial and error. The highlight colors were tricky too—but honestly, the hardest part was painting the hills in front of the mountain ridge. Capturing depth and variation in those foothills was tough. I cycled through a few brushes before landing on the #12 Filbert, which ended up being the best tool for adding subtle highlights and shaping the terrain.

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. It’s hard to explain what I like about this one… maybe it’s the color. Something about it just works.

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!