The painted life

“Look around. Look at what we have. Beauty is everywhere—you only have to look to see it.”
– Bob Ross, American painting instructor

A few weeks ago, Rachel and I watched an episode of The Joy of Painting on Netflix. We listened to Bob Ross’ soothing voice tell us we could paint anything if only we could picture it in our minds. He told us that there are no mistakes, only happy accidents. He made painting look so easy and natural and fun. He made us believe we could be painters too.

We decided to give it a try. A trip to the bookstore yielded the basic supplies to get started.

Two paintings down, we are hooked.

We began with “The Silent Forest”. Painting alongside Bob and listening to his gentle encouragement, it was easy to get lost in the flow of painting. I didn’t follow every step he suggested (we didn’t have all of the paint he used or all of his brushes and tools); I listened to my inner artist and let the paint appear where it would. The end result was a bit darker and a bit scarier than Bob’s happy forest but it’s a masterpiece nonetheless.

My haunted forest.

Rachel’s beautiful forest.

We painted along with “Pastel Seascape” next. I had so much fun with colour and form, trying to make clouds in the sunset sky and waves on the ocean.

My wild and rough ocean.

Rachel’s serene sea.

There’s a real freedom in painting that I hadn’t anticipated, especially because I’m not too concerned about the final product. It’s a great release to just let go and let the paintbrush dance along the canvas (or paper) and see what takes life.

The palette of the artists-in-residence.

A painter’s hands.

A painter’s joy.

“You can do anything here — the only prerequisite is that it makes you happy.”
– Bob Ross