My wife got me the Bob Ross Master Paint Set for Valentine’s Day. I simply followed Bob Ross’ techniques as best I could. wet on wet oil
The mountains are all about the knife, and I know he does some of them with brushes, but for me it makes sense to do a sharp edge with the knife.
For the trees, I highly prefer the fan brush. Pushing in to bend the bristles is really the only way I can make trees that I like. He does his shades of grey trees with a knife, but that's just cause bob is a badass.
Bushes are, as always, a 1 inch brush. He loads his better than I do, so thats how he gets really distinct colors for his bushes. Me not loading enough makes them all not quite as bright white as his. But I feel like when I load them as heavy as he does I don't get quite the pretty hundreds of leaves in one press effect that he gets. I'm still really trying to figure that out.
If I had to choose, I'd do fan brush, 2 inch, and knife. I guess my favorite is the fan brush. I feel like I achieve the effects I want easiest and most consistent with it.
Rereading your question, this was all done with the bob ross basic paint set, except for the canvas which is a 16X20. Link to amazon for the paint set here. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000IK0EIA/ref=s9_simh_gw_g201_i2_r?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=desktop-1&pf_rd_r=0EG7RCCPSM8MY9YR8V6N&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=2079475242&pf_rd_i=desktop
Honestly, It's a great kit to get and play with. I've done maybe 3 or 4 of these paintings and just now had to buy some more paints. It's a great way to try it out and see if you'll love it as much as I do.
The Master Paint Kit is fairly inclusive. It doesn't come with canvases or mineral spirits, but it's otherwise a decent launching point.
8 paint colors at 37mL are roughly $40, each brush is roughly $8. Piecemeal might be cheaper. If you can get it under $70, it's a decent bargain.
Avoid the "basic" paint kit with 5 colors and the "deluxe" kit that comes with a $35 relatively useless wooden box
Thanks so much! I have been looking for a creative outlet for a while and enjoyed the Twitch Bob Ross marathon that happened last year. The show seemed so welcoming, and that stuck with me and I mulled over getting the equipment to start, but my apartment was way too small and cramped.
I recently moved into a bigger place, and so for my birthday last month my boyfriend got me the Bob Ross Master Set. This has almost everything you need to get started: 8 different paints, some of the Liquid White that Bob uses as a primer of sorts and is essential to the wet-on-wet technique, a 2" brush, a 1" brush, a fan brush, a palette knife, and a small liner brush.
It DOES NOT come with an easel, a palette for mixing paints, or any canvases. Like you, I was wary that I would put a bunch of money into something I didn't enjoy or totally sucked at. I got a couple of cheap 18" x 24" canvases, a cheap $10 palette from AC Moore (something similar to this), and my dad and I built an easel out of PVC, it cost about $20 in materials. I can show you a picture if you would like.
The final thing that I needed was odorless mineral spirits, which is used as a paint thinner to clean your brushes. I got a small (a pint to start, I think) container of that at WalMart, but it's also available on Amazon.
If you have the money available, I really recommend the Master Set to get you started. I personally think it strikes a good balance between providing high-quality materials while not providing TOO much to overwhelm you or to be wasteful if you decide that oil painting just isn't your thing.
Another good resource is the TwoInchBrush which recommends some good beginning gear and provides a searchable database of paintings.
Sorry, this was kind of long and sort of a brain dump, but if you have any other questions I'm happy to help as much as I can!
I can't draw either. You don't need to with the Bob Ross method. I'm also from the UK.
Buy this and watch this, you'll get a result similar to mine.
I think there are kits that you can get at the craft store! Amazon has one: Martin & F. Weber Bob Ross Master Paint Set https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000IK0EIA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_olNvBbVGAV714
Looks like it's a bit expensive, but the set is on Amazon.
That seller has some other brushes, paint, and turpenoid too.
I couldn't find the same pallet knife on Amazon, but people have said you can try one of the other shapes. It might just be a little different.
I started with this Bob Ross kit, which is still 100 on Amazon.
https://i.imgur.com/H1wHtxK.png
Martin/ F. Weber Bob Ross Master Paint Set https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000IK0EIA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_Y7XlAbWY1F2JJ
Even after the kit you still need a pallette, canvas, easel (slightly optional), and brush cleaning kit (paint thinner and chicken wire to rub the brush against in order to get the oils off).
There's a kit! Here is a link to it on Amazon - it comes with paints and brushes :)
https://www.amazon.com/Martin-F-Weber-Master-Paint/dp/B000IK0EIA
https://www.amazon.com/Martin-F-Weber-Master-Paint/dp/B000IK0EIA
It doesn't come with a palette or canvas, so make sure you grab one.
Only go to michaels if they have a sale on their paints, other than that they have no brushes you can use, use amazon http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000IK0EIA?pldnSite=1
Not sure what your budget is, but the Bob Ross master set is $64 on amazon: http://smile.amazon.com/Martin-F-Weber-Master-Paint/dp/B000IK0EIA
I spent ~ $100 and got what I think was the Master Paint Set. I did have to spend a little more on an easel, but I can't remember how much.
Found the Bob Ross master set on Amazon for $60:
http://www.amazon.com/Martin-F-Weber-Master-Paint/dp/B000IK0EIA/ref=cm_cmu_pg__header
I'm guessing this basic kit for $32 is what you got?
Thanks!
I recieved the Bob Ross master paint set as a present years back. I've seen it in stores for about $100, but internet can save you some money: Here
It's advisable to use the Bob Ross paints because they are drier than typical oil paints. And since you start a painting by adding liquid white all over the canvas, using a wetter paint will make it harder to blend properly.
I've used several easels for various artwork, and I've found that the wet on wet techniques really needs a solid easel. You can't just lean the canvas on something. It really needs to be clamped because as you paint you really mash the brushes into it. I used this one: Here
Now many of the better easels tend to come with a wooden pallete. I wouldn't bother. Get a clear one: Here...although honestly its not hard to make your own. I just bought a sheet of plexiglass and used a jigsaw to cut out the basic shape. The fingerholes are kind of a pain, but I just used a drill to make a sort of connect the dots thing before I cut. Use a file or a dremel sander or something to sand the edges before using.
The last thing you should get is a cleaning bucket and screen like This. Now you can also save some money here as well. What I did was buy a plastic roller brush screen sort of like this and cut it to fit in a coffee can. I fill the can with an odorless thinner so the level is just over the screen.
Basically, to clean the brush you just 'paint' the screen. As the bristles are agitated, the paint somes off and falls to the bottom of the can.
You may also want a beater rack. What you do is place this at the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket. After cleaning the brushes in the coffee can, you 'beat' them dry on the rack (beat the devil out of it!). Putting it in a bucket helps avoid giving your cameraman freckles.
I forget what I used exactly for mine, but it wasn't too hard to find some sort of metal screen or whatever that one could modify.
As for canvases...well they can get rather expensive. You might want to start out on a canvas board to practice. Basically its a piece of stiff cardboard with canvas over it. Its much cheaper, but it tends to warp.
I'm guessing you'd end up paying a couple hundred bucks to get all the basic stuff you need, but there is plenty of room to save some cash.
Heck, look at yardsales and ebay...