Home Forums Explore Media Oil Painting Why do many artists have something against the AlexanderRoss oil painting method?

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  • #994318
    MKArtist
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        I’m just curious about this. So many artists I’ve talked to say they really dislike the Alexander/Ross wet-on-wet oil technique. They say it is not really art but just using technical movements to create illusions. Why do so many artists have something against this method?

        #1256070
        thevaliantx
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            I don’t think it’s the technique, it’s the way it ‘looks’, IMO. I just don’t like the way they look. Everyone has their own opinions.

            #1256090
            Lazarus E
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                I don’t think it’s the technique, it’s the way it ‘looks’, IMO. I just don’t like the way they look. Everyone has their own opinions.

                back to 90’s, i want to hear you say that.
                any art is art no matter what it present, this that Rose and Bill stay at landscapes of 30 minutes painting, dosnt say it was just technic.
                they develop lots of methods that painter using them these days.

                #1256074
                sabana
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                    I think they are embarassed or ashamed to admit that they started out with Bob Ross. So they give this knee jerk reaction by saying its limited and childish.

                    They move on to other genres and decide that is for them. Its a bit like having a mullet style haircut from the 80s. And saying now how ridiculous they look.

                    And I defy anyone to produce a landscape in 30 minutes as good as Bobs. They wont have even got there easel set up in that time.

                    #1256091
                    Lazarus E
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                        you were the first to pop up :)

                        #1256064
                        budigart
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                            For many, it looks too much like that ghastly “art on velvet” you find in border towns. And there’s no thought — at least no spoken thought — about the scene and reason for painting, or value, chroma, line and edge control. They just swung their brush and whip out a “masterpiece” in a few minutes.

                            #1256079

                            I was wondering… Is Richard Schmid like Bob Ross, but more skilled??; both create beautiful work with a few brushtrokes…

                            #1256087
                            Cassandra_Fay
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                                I don’t think it’s the technique, it’s the way it ‘looks’, IMO. I just don’t like the way they look. Everyone has their own opinions.

                                I agree George. I like Bob Ross and I think it’s great that he inspired so many people to paint but I never liked the wet on wet technique personally.

                                Like Sabana said, it’s not that Ross’s work isn’t art it’s just out of style. Also some of Ross’s habits have been deemed dangerous, which is another aspect of the knee jerk reaction against his instructions.

                                There are several wet on wet artists who paint in their own style who are highly admired and sought after.

                                #1256065
                                Dcam
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                                    #1256046
                                    Delofasht
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                                        I think many artists have problems with the lack of explanation of fundamentals that is provided, and that is the real issue, not so much the techniques.

                                        Simply put, the what to do is given more explanation than the why they do it.

                                        - Delo Delofasht
                                        #1256072
                                        thevaliantx
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                                            Not that everyone here knows of Richard Schmid, but I can only imagine the facial expression if he overheard someone asking how he compares to Bob Ross. :lol: Seriously, Bob was a sweet man, with dangerous studio practices, who found his niche and dedicated himself to it.

                                            #1256054
                                            O’Neill
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                                                Bob was a sweet man, with dangerous studio practices, who found his niche and dedicated himself to it.

                                                That line nearly made my coffee come out my nose! :lol: And I would have to agree with you.

                                                Personally, I always disliked it because of the sheer amount of these paintings out there. Yard-sales, second hand stores, everyone’s basement in the 90’s…what did they have in common? Ross inspired paintings were present.

                                                It’s unfair to the technique to dislike it because of my overexposure to it growing up, but the scars are there!

                                                #1256052

                                                It’s always good if people are painting. It is always better to paint than not paint. So Bob did bring that to people…and that is good.

                                                But anyone who really wants to learn how to paint and is halfway serious about it apart from being a pleasant past time/ entertainment will move away from Bob, for the reasons already stated.

                                                It lacks technique of all kinds. Bob pulled it off because he had formal training and plein air experience. He is gimmicky. It works for a television show and to sell kits and branded materials.

                                                He does not teach drawing, edges, value, composition, paint handling, color. It is a formula-system that only works for one style and genre (landscape). And it looks much easier than it actually is. No matter how good you get at “Bob Ross” that’s all you will ever be able to do.

                                                All the newbie Bob Ross-inspired paintings pretty much look the same. Uninspired, unoriginal, lacking in aesthetics.

                                                You cannot get a good painting foundation with the Bob Ross method. It’s just show and has nothing to do with actual training or technique.

                                                Kind of like sitcoms have very little resemblance to real life. It is entertainment, not painting.

                                                Lady Mars Orange Marmalade Stapleford
                                                Moderator: OIls, Pastels, Plein Air

                                                Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken. -Oscar Wilde

                                                #1256073
                                                thevaliantx
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                                                    Stape, you said it better than I ever could. There is something about the way a Bob Ross style looks, but I can’t put a finger on it. Is it the lack of changes in values for passages? Is it that ‘sheen’ that the Bob Ross paints produce? Everything looks like it’s put on with either a blush brush or a butter knife. I never realized that he had formal training outside of time spent under Bill Alexander. I certainly didn’t know he had en plein air experience, but it does make sense. He moved so quickly with the brush.

                                                    #1256068
                                                    Coastal
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                                                        Stapeliad,
                                                        Well said.
                                                        Uninspired says so much in the context of art

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