My New Camera

I just bought my daughter's old digital camera...which is very advanced for me! It takes great photos with little effort. Sometimes a little technology is a very good thing!!! This photo is a painting for an upcoming class.

My Birthday Gift

I just wanted to share the cool birthday gift my daughter made for me. It's a huge collage of photos of my family. I LOVE photos! My daughter knowing this made this up for me. It's hanging in my studio where I can clearly see it everyday.

The Bob Ross Seascapes

I'm offering a seascape class in August. I tend to make my seas a bit on the "stormy" side. I guess I like seeing that water churned up! Seascapes can be a bit more difficult, but don't let that intimidate you from trying them. This method of painting is about making the brushes work for you.

My Workspace

I've had some folks ask about my studio space where I do most of my paintings. Well, here it is! When you first walk in, I've got some comfy chairs and framed demo's of the paintings I offer classes on. As you look back, you can see my main easel with some of my wildlife paintings (at the beginning phases) hanging in the back. I also have a long table in front of some glass sliding doors for some of my smaller works. Great light is essential! As you may have noticed I have sheers over the windows to diffuse the natural light without weakening it. This is pretty much how it looks most days except I generally have my palette and a wet canvas out. Staying organized helps me to be able to put my focus on my painting. If you're planning on painting fairly often (which I hope you do!!) find a spot that you can dedicate for your supplies. Give yourself some space to be creative!!!!

Scaling Down the Bob Ross Painting

Most of the paintings I do for classes are scaled down to the 12 x 16 inch size. Bob Ross did most of his paintings on the 18 x 24 inch canvas. As a result, I sometimes make a few changes so I can fit everything onto the smaller canvas and into the timeframe of a 3 hour class. Here's an example of one with those changes. I usually try to keep it as close as possible. In this case I had to take out some of the trees to the right of the painting to make it fit. I also had to leave out the river stones at the bottom for time purposes. Happy Painting!!

My Other Artwork

I'm sometimes asked if I sell other artwork besides teaching my Bob Ross Style classes. Yes! Here's one of my little still lifes. Remember that the painting technique (Bob Ross Wet-On-Wet) is to help YOU find your art voice. I hope my students use what they've learned to create they're own artwork. Bob Ross used to say when you were painting "it's your world". Well...he was right! It is! So keep those paint brushes wet and make your painting "your world"!