Of Tom and Bob

Balance, peace, and joy are the fruit of a successful life. It starts with recognizing your talents and finding ways to serve others by using them. Thomas Kinkade

My Imaginary Place

The secret to doing anything is believing that you can do it. Anything that you believe you can do strong enough, you can do. Anything. As long as you believe. Bob Ross

The last few months have been busy--working on the house and getting ready for an art show, but I haven't neglected to create.  Today I wanted to talk about a couple of guys who influenced my art... not Michelangelo or Monet... but the highly commercialized Thomas Kinkade and Bob Ross. 

Sunrise at Bob's Place

I know there were those who scoffed at Thomas Kinkade because he massed produced everything, but I agree with the Southwestern artist, Amado Peña, who said that art should be in the hands of all people, not just a few who could afford to shop in exclusive galleries. I love what Kinkade did with light-- not just radiating from windows but what he did with his skies. I wanted to see inside the houses he painted-- to enter the make believe world.

The Day's Leftovers

There are few people who haven't watched at least one episode of The Joy of Painting. Bob Ross and before him Bill Alexander, showed us how to render trees and grass and mountains, and how to create a landscape from nothing in a short time. I also learned to apply paint quickly and to not be surprised at the "happy little accidents."

These are three of my most recent works.  All are imaginary.  I titled one Sunrise at Bob's Place, honoring Bob Ross' dedication to art. I include the name "Bob" in the title of a lot of these type of paintings.  In these I applied the foliage with a sponge in just a few minutes and I am pleased with the results.

The drawing is from one of the small sketchbooks I carry with me everywhere.

Enjoy