Back in 2010 I worked in a call centre and would doodle whilst talking to people - Somehow I found it helped me to do the job. Below is the original doodle that came out over several hours of chatting. In 2017 I remembered that I had drawn it and had an urge to paint the colour version I had in my mind. Looking at them side by side I am struck by the detail in the original pen drawing. Part of the reason is I am not as competent with paint, but I also like the simplicity of the paint version.
The Happiness Trap - Dr. Russ Harris
Having read The Happiness Trap - Dr. Russ Harris I was inspired to illustrate some of the main concepts in his book.
My first Bob Ross
I'm sure I'll be doing a few more of these. It was a real learning curve and here are a few things I learnt:
- Check out the tutorial a few days before you want to paint - I had to wait 2 days to allow the black on the bottom of the canvas to dry! Not all his tutorials require a black layer to the undercoat.
- My oil paints have a thinner/fluid in them (presumably to stop them drying out easily?) so it wasn't as dry Bob's paints and therefore didn't drag across the canvas as easily. Need to invest in better paints (?)
- I was glad I painted a thin layer of white on the top of the canvas before I started - this really helped the blending.
- Bob goes fast - I had to keep going back over the sections...be prepared for this.
- Get the right brushes - I was improvising with what I already had - I'm now going to buy one of his fan brushes to help with the Happy Little Trees :D
- Have plenty of paper towels (kitchen roll) on stand by with turpentine - it helps to keep things clean and stops you smudging things accidentally.
I already have another canvas drying with the black undercoat - so watch this space for more Bob Ross - The Joy of Painting
LINKS:
Bob Ross website - This looks like the official site
Tutorial - This is the tutorial I followed
His Youtube channel - All tutorials found here (as far as I'm aware)
Process is....
I drew this after a discussion in our 1st year lecture on my counselling course. We were discussing what process was and this is how my brain saw it:
Social media's bile laser
I drew this as a response to the echo chambers we sadly live in thanks to social media's algorithms and our own bias.
GET OUT OF YOUR BUBBLE!
Emotional outsourcing
I drew this picture as a response to an article by Sally Brown in Therapy Today June 2017
The main concept I took from the article was that - when we live in a world where we outsource our brain - "how do I....." "How many ...." "what to do if...." - of course there will be a pull to outsource our emotions.
The Monkey and the Sphinx
These are some mock up pages for a children's poem I have written.. I hope to finish it at some point and publish it.