Page Index
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Oil Paint Drying Time   BR Finishing Spray Varnish
Ovals & Shapes   Save Left-Over Paint   Oil Paint Medium   Liquid White, Clear, Black & Opal
About Gesso   Special Effects with Gesso    Painting Floral    Painting Seascapes    Painting Landscapes
 Product Info, Cleaners     Product Info, Landscape Paints    Product Info, Brushes
 Paint Thinner Use    Floral/Landscape Brush Care    Wildlife Brush Care

• Paint drying time depends on amount of paint, color, temperature, humidity, etc.  In Florida, most wet-on-wet paintings will touch-dry in 7 - 10 days.  Keep the painting away from critters and young children until you are sure that it is dry.  

Bob Ross Finishing Spray Varnish

• A non-yellowing spray used to put an even sheen, enhance and protect the oil painting.  The spray can be applied even when paint is wet.

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Ovals & Shapes

• Use plain or patterned contact shelf paper with adhesive already on the backside.  It can be purchased at the grocery store.  Clear contact paper does not stick as well.
• Buy an oval template (made from scrap mat pieces) from a friendly frame shop or make your own oval or desired shape.  
• Trace the outline of the template on the topside of the contact paper.
• Using a razor blade or scissors, cut out the oval.  Save oval "holes" for making smaller templates later.
• Carefully remove the backing from the backside, align and stick oval to the canvas.
• Seal the inside edge well to prevent paint from getting underneath.
• The inside edge can be sealed with a cool iron (does not burn finger when gently touching bottom of iron.)

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Save Left-Over Paint

• Use small 6" square plastic pieces (can be made from the clear plastic canvas on new canvases).  Place the left-over paint in the center of the plastic, twist until all air is out and store in freezer up to two months or more.

Oil Paint Medium

• Oil paint medium is used in florals, wildlife and portraits as a lubricant for the brushes to make the paint flow easily.  It is also used to cover the whole canvas in florals.  Not being tacky, oil paint medium gives a smoother finish desirable in flower painting. It doesn’t have varnish and is more oily...very slick.  We want it to be because our florals and wildlife needs a silky flow between the brush and paint.

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Liquid White, Clear, Black & Opal

• These are all slow-drying & used sparingly to provide the "wet" surface on the canvas.
• Liquid White will be used on many paintings in florals and landscapes.  Liquid White is opaque and other colors blended on top will become lighter in value.
• Liquid Clear, being more tacky, provides a better surface for the wet-on-wet landscape paintings.  It will generally be used over black gesso only on landscape paintings.  Use very little, scrub into canvas and wipe off with a paper towel.  Liquid Clear is transparent and therefore, when you add color, you will not change the value.
• Liquid Opal is used mostly in florals to obtain a "wet" opal shade and is opaque.
• Liquid Black is used very infrequently to darken areas and is opaque.

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• Bob Ross Black, Gray and White Gesso are water-based, quick-drying acrylics.
• Do not use Bob Ross oil painting brushes to apply.  They are allergic to water!
• Apply with a foam applicator that is easily cleaned in soap & water before it can dry.
• Can be used as an undercoat on canvases to obtain special effects.
• Gesso should be allowed to dry completely (20-30 minutes) before over-painting.
• Do not pour water that was used remove gesso from brushes and tools down the drain.  The gesso will collect in the pipes and clog them. 

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Special Effects With Gesso

• Black Gesso can be used to darken desired areas of the canvas (trees, limbs, foliage).
• Gray Gesso can be used to paint more distant features (trees, bushes, foothills).
• White Gesso can be used on top of black gesso for lighter objects such as birch trees or can be added to black or gray gesso to lighten them.  

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• Can use freezer paper as a substitute for palette paper.
• To tighten canvas, spread small amount of water on back of stretched canvas with paper towel & canvas will tighten when it dries.
• Oil paints can go over gesso/acrylics, but do not put gesso/acrylics over oils.
• Clear contact paper does not stick as well as white or colored contact paper.  Iron inside of ovals using cool setting.
• Have harmony throughout painting, carry base color through painting.
• Blender brush is very fragile, do not use to apply paint.

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Painting Seascapes

• Eye of Wave:  Shape of a "C"
  • Use 2" brush to circle around & blend & make "C" shapes.
  • One of the biggest mistakes is having too much paint in eye.
  • Use 2" brush to pull angles down from "cone".
• Trough: Flat, then up with fan brush, a rocker stroke.
• Use only 1/2 of fan brush to do a crashing wave.
• Blend base of wave to remove excess paint, so highlights will stick easier.
• Bit blurry is good in seascape---adds movement.

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• Store paint upright onto black cap.  
• Use freezer paper (shiny side up) as palette paper.
• To tighten canvas, spread small amount of water very evenly on back of canvas with paper towel and canvas will tighten when it dries.
• Oil paints go over acrylics/gesso, but do not put acrylics/gesso over oils.
• Add a little thinner to liquid white, if too thick.
• Liquid White/Black/Clear creates the wet, smooth surface on the canvas.
• Apply Liquid Clear very sparingly, wiping your canvas with a paper towel.  
• Use liquid clear or thinner to thin down highlight color because liquid white changes value too much.
• Liquid white thins and lightens;   liquid black thins and darkens;  liquid clear thins & does not distort color.
• Clear contact paper does not stick as well as white or colored contact paper.  Iron inside of ovals using cool setting.
• Have harmony throughout painting, carry base color throughout painting.
• Be variable --- if a pattern emerges, break it!

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• Blender brush is very fragile, do not use to apply paint.  Only use to lightly blend areas of paint on your canvas.
• Pressure equals amount of paint.
• No fingers on knife blade --- so that it will be more flexible.
• Clouds to be higher on top outside edges and lower toward center...draws eyes to center.
• Clouds:
  • Put paint on, then load with twice as much again.
  • Point handle in direction that cloud is going---push down, up & away.
• Birch Trees:  
  • Limbs closer to main trunk on top, becoming more horizontal as you go down.
  • No limbs lower than 1/2 way down.  Do not place limbs opposite each other.
  • Use "Y", not "W" or pitchfork.
• Apply liquid clear to go back & touch up a painting.

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• Brush cleaners covered below under Paint thinner and Brush Care.
• Denatured Alcohol is okay for cleaning paint spills on carpets (test on hidden carpet area to be sure it is safe to use on that carpet).
• Lighter fluid is often good for cleaning paint from carpet (test on hidden carpet area to be sure it is safe to use on that carpet).
• Lava Soap:  excellent & usually safe for cleaning wet paint from skin, clothes, etc.  Be very careful on white clothes (test on hidden area, if any doubt of results).
• Kiss Off, Simple Green, Grease Cutter, Shout Aerosol good for cleaning off WET paint (again test if safe on hidden area).
• 409 and baby wipes are excellent for miscellaneous cleaning of easel, hands & palette.
• Bob Ross Painter's Glove is excellent for protecting hands, if put on before start of painting.

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