A Walk in the Woods

I've decided to paint every Joy of Painting episode, and upload them here. I'll be giving my thoughts as I go, and for this one, I have quite a few thoughts.

It's been a while since I've painted anything from the first 4 seasons, and for good reason. Simply put, Bob's repertoire of techniques was rather limited in the beginning, and the overall aesthetic isn't one that appeals to me. However, for the first episode, and exclusively for this episode, I decided I would follow the techniques as closely as possible to how they're portrayed, including choice of color. I can't say I'm pleased with the result. Early on, Bob's style relied heavily on using lots of liquid white for highlights, and he would press the brush into the canvas until the bristles bent. This tends to give a rather muddy look, and foliage tends to come out looking very spikey, because every tree and shrub is painted with the same upward push of the brush.

I feel I should clarify that I don't mean to complain with this post. I'm not in anyway upset, because I chose to explore these techniques knowing already that I don't like them. This was more about revisiting the place where it all began. Bob grew as an artist over the course of his life, but at one point, this limited set of techniques enraptured him to the world of wet-on-wet oil painting, and lead to him becoming the most celebrated artist of our time.

I look forward to season 1 episode 2 where I'll give myself the liberty to bring some of Bob's later techniques back in time to reimagine these early paintings.

Wish me luck, and happy painting y'all!