I Chase The Sun.

[rionaleonhart]

I've been attempting some creative endeavours outside my comfort zone recently!

About a week ago, I met up with some friends for a Bob Ross painting party; we all watched a Bob Ross video and tried to paint along with him. I'd recommend it! It was a lot of fun, and it was really interesting to see how different the results were when we were all trying to reproduce the same painting. Bob Ross's technique is also simple enough for it to be possible to produce something okay-looking even if you don't know the first thing about painting, i.e. if you're me.

Here's the Bob Ross painting we were trying to recreate:




Ah, what a lovely autumnal sunset scene.

And here's my effort:




BLIGHTED APOCALYPTIC HELLSCAPE, NOTHING GREEN HAS GROWN ON THIS SOIL IN A DECADE.

I'm pleased with my apocalyptic hellscape, given my level of painting expertise when Bob Ross isn't holding my hand, but it's definitely more apocalyptic than I intended.

(One of my friends is really good at painting. It was very annoying. Without her, we'd have been able to go, 'Well, obviously this didn't turn out quite right because we're using acrylics instead of oils.' But no; she produced a beautiful masterpiece that left us with no excuses.)

I've also been creating some simple little piano melodies, but I don't have any good recording equipment - I just have my phone, which records in low quality and saves sound in weird, fiddly, difficult-to-share formats - so please just imagine an incredible musical masterpiece, and let's say I composed that.

I know some of you have been having a hard time recently, and playing music (not necessarily composing, but playing) is something I find really helps when I'm struggling psychologically. If you play an instrument but have been neglecting it for a while, it might be worth picking it up again; if you don't play an instrument but can obtain or have access to one, learning to play might be a good project. My ukulele languished untouched in my room for about five years, but I picked it up in a dark patch a few months ago, and it was a great decision!

(And then I took it along to a couple of gatherings of Linkin Park fans, and that decision was even better. Linkin Park songs are not, on the whole, designed for the ukulele, but that didn't keep me from screaming 'SO INSECUUUUUURE' with strangers to ukulele accompaniment. One of the gatherings was outside the US Embassy, next to the Eisenhower statue, so we probably looked like some sort of strange Eisenhower cult to passers-by.)

Comments

[wolfy_writing]

Bob Ross painting parties sound excellent!

And acrylics instead of oils does make a difference. The colors don't blend the same way. (Was your friend using a spray bottle on her paint?)

I will assume you have created astonishing masterpieces that make everyone weep with the sheer beauty of it!

I fully approve of serenading Eisenhower statues with Linkin Park ukulele renditions!

[rionaleonhart]

She was not using a spray bottle, as far as I know! I think she was just more experienced with both paints and Bob Ross than the rest of us. Her result didn't look exactly like the original either, but it did look like a good painting.

I hope I'll be able to perform better at any future Bob Ross painting parties, now that I know to expect acrylics to dry faster and spread less smoothly than his oils.

Wait, why didn't I use my 'no one can draw' icon for this entry? Better fix that.

[wolfy_writing]

That makes sense. If she was planning for it and no one else was, she'd be able to adapt her style more easily.

It's very useful to know! There are things you can do to make them softer and more spreadable, but they do have certain fundamental differences from oil paints. (The spray bottle is the cheapest option and the easiest to adopt if you want to experiment without committing "Seriously into painting now" levels of resources.)

[riari_ri_a_ri]

This is a very interesting experience. You have great prospects to make yourself an independent artist.

[rionaleonhart]

You're very kind; thank you! I don't think I'll ever be a great visual artist, but this was a lot of fun. (And hello; it's nice to meet you!)

[kalloway]

Happy Apocalyptic Little Trees~~

A Bob Ross painting party sounds amazingly fun~~

I wish I was musically talented, but after many attempts, it's just not my thing.

[rionaleonhart]

It was great fun! Although it's frankly miraculous that we didn't get paint all over the furnishings. It was a very close thing at points.

I'm far from the most musically talented person; I used to infuriate my piano teacher because I never practised, and I still tend to end up playing the same handful of pieces over and over again because I lack the patience to learn something new. (I'm more suited to the ukulele, really, where all you have to do is learn the basic chords and sing along.) But I still find there's something strangely soothing in being able to produce vaguely musical noises.

[marginaliana]

I actually love your apocalyptic hellscape, as its own thing. Very cool!

And I'd love to try a Bob Ross painting party, that sounds amazing. Is it like an event organized by a company, or did your group of friends just put it together on your own?

[rionaleonhart]

Ha, thank you!

It was just put together by the friend who's Actually Good at painting! She said, 'Right, it's my birthday, I've bought a bunch of canvases and brushes and paints, everyone come over and we're going to paint along to Bob Ross.' Possibly the best birthday party concept I've ever come across.

[apiphile]

I PERSONALLY THINK IT IS A VERY BEAUTIFUL BLIGHTED APOCALYPTIC HELLSCAPE

[rionaleonhart]

THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I BLIGHTED IT MYSELF.

[wyomingsmustache]

Rooster Teeth has a Bob Ross segment during their Extra Life stream every year. It's always entertaining to watch a bunch of amateurs try to follow along and see all the varying results.

[rionaleonhart]

I think I actually discovered a couple of those during a bout of Googling after our Bob Ross session! I just skipped to the end to see the results because I'm impatient, but it was good fun.

[wyomingsmustache]

I imagine it would have been very different to watch if you haven't got context of who those people even are. I can see getting impatient under those circumstances; it's not "ha, look at our assholes, who call themselves painting", it's, "who are these assholes, just show me the paintings".

[rionaleonhart]

I was upset about the death of Monty Oum - he was far too young, and so talented; I loved his Final Fantasy fan animations and I was looking forward to seeing what he might do in the future - and I've seen the first series of RWBY, but I think that's the extent of my Rooster Teeth knowledge.

[wyomingsmustache]

Aww, you should watch the rest of RWBY, it's really good, and the animation and storytelling take a HUGE level up starting in volume three. (I feel like you'd enjoy it in general, but also I'd be curious to see who your favorite character would be. If memory serves you tend to come out of left field, and it'd probably be entertaining.)

[rosa_heartlily]

Skill in anything comes with practice, painting included. Bob Ross made it all look so effortless, but I know I'd struggle to reproduce one of his paintings first time out. My creative endeavours very rarely run to painting/drawing.

Of course, perhaps you are just meant to paint apocalyptic hellscapes...

[rionaleonhart]

I hope I'll have the opportunity to practise more, even if it does turn out that creating apocalyptic hellscapes is my destiny; this was fun!

[dracothelizard]

I never anything more productive with a Bob Ross episode that relax and watch it, so 'Bob Ross Painting Party' sounds like an excellent way to spend an evening.

There are no mistakes in Bob Ross World, only happy little accidents and also hellish apocalyptic landscapes, although since it's a painting by you, I think it might need more Pokémon.

[rionaleonhart]

I should've stuck a Sudowoodo in amongst the happy little trees! What a missed opportunity.

[dracothelizard]

Next time, though :D?