Beyond Bob Ross

January 21, 2021 8:50 AM

Watching others paint is relaxing, even when the painter is not the beloved Bob Ross and his happy trees and friendly squirrels. Why don’t you try watching someone paint over chill lo-fi beats? Maybe some speed paintings of Ghibli scenes backed by delicate piano music? Or what about more traditional landscapes in oil? How about plein air painting with instructional narration?
posted by tofu_crouton (7 comments total)

Kim Beom does it for me. Ahhhh.
posted by Balthamos at 9:02 AM on January 21, 2021 [1 favorite]

Mr. Shibasaki is the internet's watercolor-painting grandparent.
posted by sukeban at 9:24 AM on January 21, 2021 [2 favorites]

before bob ross there was william alexander :P mighty brush!
posted by kliuless at 1:28 PM on January 21, 2021 [1 favorite]

My father has apparently taken to running YouTube painting tutorials at slow speed to better follow along.

I don't even know how to do that.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 7:42 PM on January 21, 2021 [1 favorite]

I would like to add abstract painting of yellow scream.
posted by holist at 5:57 AM on January 22, 2021

ChurchHatesTucker, if you click the gear icon in the bottom of the video screen, one option is "Playback Speed".
posted by tofu_crouton at 6:19 AM on January 22, 2021 [1 favorite]

No happy trees here – HBO's "Painting With John" is a dark and dreamy contemplation of artistry

And other than the occasional invocation of Ross' name ("Bob Ross was wrong; everybody can't paint," Lurie murmurs in the first episode) Lurie doesn't spend too much time contemplating the artist. "Painting with John" is neither a nihilistic takedown of Ross, nor is it actually instructional — at least not if viewers are wanting a step-by-step guide to creating their own version of "The sky is falling. I am learning to live with it" or "Ghost on stilts."

posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 8:59 PM on January 23, 2021 [1 favorite]