Not to take away from your point, but Bob Ross had a few episodes where he deliberately restricted himself to only using a single tool for that week’s painting–as I recall, he used a palette knife exclusively in one episode, and a two-inch flat brush in another. (That said, it also reinforces your point a bit because there’s a HUGE difference between an artist’s 2-inch brush and the two-inch brush you buy from the hardware store, and you’re going to struggle massively if you try to follow along with Bob using a regular brush.)
If he did, I don’t remember watching that episode. IIRC a big part of Ross’s technique took advantage of the way the fibers on the brush spread when pressed head-on into the canvas, and hardware store brushes just can’t replicate that.
Yes, and those paintings were distinctive and different. If you tried to follow one of his more detailed paintings with only a palette knife, or one of his mountain scenes with just a fan and a filbert, you won’t get very close. That’s why it’s important to have the right tool(s) for the right job, and how better to find out than asking a talented professional?
Not to take away from your point, but Bob Ross had a few episodes where he deliberately restricted himself to only using a single tool for that week’s painting–as I recall, he used a palette knife exclusively in one episode, and a two-inch flat brush in another. (That said, it also reinforces your point a bit because there’s a HUGE difference between an artist’s 2-inch brush and the two-inch brush you buy from the hardware store, and you’re going to struggle massively if you try to follow along with Bob using a regular brush.)
Didn’t Bob use a hardware store brush sometimes?
That said Bob was really the prototypical technique guy that this comment is poking fun at.
If he did, I don’t remember watching that episode. IIRC a big part of Ross’s technique took advantage of the way the fibers on the brush spread when pressed head-on into the canvas, and hardware store brushes just can’t replicate that.
Yes, and those paintings were distinctive and different. If you tried to follow one of his more detailed paintings with only a palette knife, or one of his mountain scenes with just a fan and a filbert, you won’t get very close. That’s why it’s important to have the right tool(s) for the right job, and how better to find out than asking a talented professional?