that ain't toothpaste: February 2016

There is a lot of controversy among the traditional artists regarding wet on wet technique. Most are negative towards it and perhaps only a small minority of them actually like using it. It's human nature to criticize ideas different from what they're used to, so it doesn't surprise me. The idea of it according to Bill (William) Alexander who was known to use it in his teachings on pbs, was to develop a technique where artists could finish a painting in one sitting. It turns out that it ended up being a great way for newbies also to learn how to paint, especially those who's never painted before, like myself. People like Bob Ross took off with it after learning the technique from Bill Alexander and taught it on public television for years making it what it is today. Wet on wet technique goes way back and isn’t a new concept, only some aspects of it are.

I remember as a musician of 6 decades, a formally trained ,educated one at that and with a degree, a time when most of us knocked those that had no training and yet they some how managed to create some great music. I suppose that psychologically we were threatened and all those years of lessons, hard work and many hours of practice to hone our skills would be wasted. Maybe it was jealousy or perhaps we just didn’t want someone without the same hard work and skill come along and perhaps take away our gigs. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened as guitar players became a dime a dozen and everyone was in a band playing free for exposure and hoping that they might get discovered. So with wet on wet technique more artists would perhaps flood the scene taking away the hard earned exposure of the traditionalists. Painters are already dime a dozen, so do we really need more? The art world seems to be an exclusive club.

When I first started painting, I was painting abstract using acrylics. It wasn’t long that I became bored and was just about ready to quit. I needed something a bit more satisfying and more challenging so I decided to go on the internet and do a little Googling. I came across Bill (William) Alexander who was on You Tube and began watching a few of his videos. Bill was a television personality and had been teaching the technique on public TV for years. I was intrigued and decided that it was something I might be interested in doing rather than just quitting. I pulled out my 16”x20” canvass board and my acrylic paints and began painting like Bill Alexander. Well, at least I tried. It took me a few tries before I was somewhat impressed with what I had painted. The difficult part was that Bill was using oil paints and I was using acrylics. Acrylic paints dry very quickly and the wet on wet technique used by Bill Alexander was meant for oils.

I was painting daily and in about a week I began noticing a huge improvement in my paintings. I had to make the technique Bill was teaching to work with my acrylics and became somewhat successful with it. The biggest problem I had was that the acrylic paints did not show any brush strokes as it dried flat. I kept searching the internet for solutions and yet found nothing. There was another artist and television personality teaching the same technique as Bill Alexander, whose name was Bob Ross. I began watching his videos and copying some of his paintings and ended up with the same results as before. By my 60th painting, my work was very impressive even tho I was using acrylics. I decided to give oils a go and see what happens. I bought a Bob Ross painting set and some odorless paint thinner as recommended and began painting.

I took to the technique like ducks on water and just loved the outcome. My family and friends were now even more impressed than before when I used the acrylics. After a while, there were some aspects of the technique that I just didn’t care for and made a few modifications for my own taste similar to another wet on wet artist named Kevin Hill. I just finished my 84th painting earlier today and began another. I hardly ever watch Bob Ross anymore as I got as much from him that I could. I am now on my own using a modified version of the wet on wet technique which I created for myself and for what I want to paint. I also began using the traditional technique for certain paintings which is okay but a lot of time is wasted on the painting waiting for it to dry before continuing. Both have their uses. Most of my paintings have been landscapes and moved on to wildlife. Painting animal portraits; cats, dogs, horses, deer, moose, and birds also became a challenge completed. Two self portraits which I’ve never tried before were also on order as they too were completed.

So the question was, what’s really wrong with wet on wet technique? It depends on how you want to use it and how well you can adapt it to your style. If you are just wanting to start painting, it’s the way to go and I’d say nothing’s wrong with it. It’s a great way to start. After a while everything just looks similar and synthetic rather than natural. At some point in time you will want to break away and do your own thing. In the short months that I watched Bill and Bob, I learned more than I would have after years of study. My success with the technique depended on my adapting to what I wanted to paint and how I wanted them to come out. I wasn’t looking for a short cut to painting but something that would get me interested. My musician days are numbered as arthritis has set in and it has become more difficult to play any kind of an instrument. I needed a creative outlet and decided that art was it. If it wasn’t for the wet on wet technique, I probably would not have pursued the joy of painting. Art itself is an expensive hobby and you, like many others have already, will spend a lot of money just on supplies and paints. This stuff is way over priced regardless of where you get them from, so if you want to continue painting, expect to spend some money.

The paintings below are all oil over acrylic and still wet when I took these snap shots. Oh did I tell you that I've only been painting since July 2015?