Isn’t it Bob Ross that had the “magic white”. I think, you may be able to use either a glazing medium with white (extends the drying time) or maybe even gesso as the replacement for the white underpainting.

Certainly worth a try anyway.

Welcome to the acrylics forum and have a look around. Ask questions and just have a good time.

You wouldn’t want to use his “magic white” with acrylics, I do believe it to be an oil based product. The gesso hopefully would be a good option. If you have it already, then it sure is worth a try. You do understand you have to work into it while it is wet.

Hi!

I’m new to painting and also new to this forum, great to be here, I have been reading a lot of posts that has been helpful.

I was wondering, I have been trying the Bob Ross way of painting and have to say I love it but the only thing is I think it is to hard to use the oil paint at home and was wondering can I do the same method with acrylics and if so what can I use as underpaint?

I live in Iceland and there are not a lot of different types of paints and medium, I did ask the lady in the art supply store if this was possible and she said it was not but I want to be sure so I ask you my new friends:wave:

Hi, and welcome to the forum.

Yes, you can use many of the same approaches and techniques. To get longer blend times, you can extend the blending times of acrylics in various ways.

To get the very thick consistency, you can purchase acrylics that are made that way.

“The thinner paint sticks to the thicker paint” is one of the basic and most often used and repeated principles in this style of oil painting. So the base layers are very thick.

With acrylics, though, you can get such fast drying times that it is often possible to use the principle of “the wet paint sticks to the dry paint.” The underlayers don’t have to depend on greater thickness or viscosity so much.

You mention underpainting. You can use acrylics for underpainting. Ross used them quite a bit, especially in the later years. Toward the end, he was doing more and more elaborate underpaintings in acrylics, before finishing the paintings in oils.

You can do the same thing, but just use acrylics all the way.

To get the snow-break effect with a knife, you would probably want some very thick white paint. You can find it.

You can also get thick gels to mix with the paints and thicken the viscosity. It is easier, though, to use thicker paints right from the tubes if you can find them.

There are some videos online of people painting in the Bob Ross style (and in other, similar styles). Gary Garrett is one painter who paints like this with acrylics, and there are others as well.

Atelier Interactives let you blend by rewetting or reworking. Golden Opens have long wet times, if that is what you are looking for.

If you search video.google.com, youtube.com, expertvillage.com, and other video sites, you can find some good videos.

Roger Bansemer works with acrylics, and has many videos available on his site, http://www.bansemer.com/painting_demonstrations/painting_videos.htm

Although some of his approaches are different from Ross, there is a lot you can learn from him, and about acrylics — and you can adapt what you learn to your own style.

Hello Missbenter and a warm welcome to the Acrylics Forum. As you can see lots of advice here to help you on your new journey in acrylics.
Yes, you can paint Bob Ross like paintings with acrylics.
Look forward to see some of your artworks here soon.

Maybe I’m just a rebel at heart, but when I was told by B.R. instructors that you can’t do it in acrylics, I was determined to “show them.” Wish I could remember for sure what I used. I think it was Folk Art’s floating medium. Play with it if you can get it. I probably mixed it with white acrylic paint. IF that was the product, it did let me blend and work as he did in oils.
The suggestion of gesso, I don’t think will act like his liquid white, as gesso dries too fast.
Folk art is a craft painters product, so you may not find it in a professional art supply store, but at an arts and craft store. I did this many, many years ago, so hope my memory is serving me right regarding the product I used.

missbenster:

Years ago I tried to use acrylics with the Bob Ross method because I couldn’t stand the thinner or turpentine needed for regular oils. Using Acrylics in this way is quite a chore because acrylics dry too fast to get the blending like oils.

Jerry Yarnell does come close to using Bob Ross method with acrylics. However, he uses gesso to get the blended skies. He has mastered that but one has to be speedy.

After a nine year hiatus from painting I’m back into it. I would suggest you go for Golden Open Acrylics which is quite new on the market. The Golden Open Acrylics are slow drying and are nice to work with. Your other option would be to go with Water Mixable Oils which Winsor Newton have on the market. They are real oils but you can use water or water mixable linseed oil to thin with, and soap and water to clean your brushes.

Let us know how you get on.