What Colors Did Bob Ross Use: The Palette of TV’s Favorite Painter

Bob Ross’s palette was carefully chosen to be versatile for any painting project, focusing on natural scenes.

His primary colors created the base for his paintings, while the secondary palette added depth and complexity.

Primary Palette

• Titanium White: Essential for mixing and creating tints.
• Phthalo Blue: A staple for skies and water.
• Phthalo Green: Used often for foliage.
• Cadmium Yellow: Vital for highlights and brighter areas.
• Alizarin Crimson: Deep red, excellent for darker shades.
• Van Dyke Brown: Earthy brown, perfect for landscape features.

Secondary Palette

• Sap Green: Variant for foliage and nature elements.
• Cadmium Yellow Pale: Lighter yellow, providing a different kind of highlight.
• Prussian Blue: A dark blue, often used alongside Phthalo Blue.
• Midnight Black: For strong shadows and dark contrasts.
• Bright Red: A vibrant red for livelier parts of the painting.
• Yellow Ochre: A warm, golden yellow used for a variety of effects.

Mixing Techniques and Color Combinations

Bob Ross, an iconic figure in the art world, known for his wet-on-wet oil painting technique, endorsed a particular palette of colors designed to create a wide array of natural scenes.

When it came to mixing techniques, he often encouraged artists to become acquainted with primary colors and their resulting combinations.

One starts by understanding the basics:

• Bold Colors: Generally, these are a starting point, such as your crimsons, blues, and yellows.
• Muted Tones: Achieved by mixing complements to lower the intensity.

Here’s a simplified list to expand on mixing Ross’s iconic colors:

Blue Shades:

• Light Blue (Titanium White + Phthalo Blue)
• Dark Blue (Phthalo Blue + Prussian Blue)
• Dark Greenish Blue (Phthalo Blue + Van Dyke Brown)
• Dark Purple (Phthalo Blue + Alizarin Crimson)
• Dark Greenish Blue (Phthalo Blue + Sap Green)
• Greenish Blue (Phthalo Blue + Cadmium Yellow)
• Dark Brownish Blue (Prussian Blue + Van Dyke Brown)

Green Shades:

• Light Green (Titanium White + Sap Green)
• Dark Green (Phthalo Blue + Sap Green)
• Dark Olive Green (Van Dyke Brown + Sap Green)
• Dark Greenish Blue (Prussian Blue + Sap Green)
• Dark Greenish Yellow (Sap Green + Cadmium Yellow)

Brown Shades:

• Light Brown (Titanium White + Van Dyke Brown)
• Dark Brown (Van Dyke Brown + Alizarin Crimson)
• Dark Brownish Blue (Prussian Blue + Van Dyke Brown)
• Dark Reddish Brown (Alizarin Crimson + Sap Green)
• Dark Brownish Yellow (Van Dyke Brown + Cadmium Yellow)

Red Shades:

• Light Pink (Titanium White + Alizarin Crimson)
• Dark Purple (Prussian Blue + Alizarin Crimson)
• Dark Reddish Brown (Alizarin Crimson + Sap Green)
• Dark Orange (Alizarin Crimson + Cadmium Yellow)

Yellow Shades:

• Light Yellow (Titanium White + Cadmium Yellow)
• Greenish Blue (Phthalo Blue + Cadmium Yellow)
• Dark Brownish Yellow (Van Dyke Brown + Cadmium Yellow)
• Dark Orange (Alizarin Crimson + Cadmium Yellow)

Purple Shades:

• Purple (Phthalo Blue + Alizarin Crimson)
• Dark Purple (Prussian Blue + Alizarin Crimson)

Orange Shades:

• Orange (Cadmium Yellow + Alizarin Crimson)
• Dark Orange (Alizarin Crimson + Cadmium Yellow)

Ross advocated for observation and replication of the natural world, entailing a pragmatic approach to mixing:

1. Experimentation: Test out different mixtures to become comfortable with potential outcomes.
2. Harmony: Aim for cohesiveness with the colors one sees in their environment.
3. Practice: It improves one’s ability to anticipate color needs.

Artists are encouraged to use a third color, often white, to adjust value and saturation.

Incorporating colors like Van Dyke Brown or Sap Green enables an artist to sculpt vivid scenes with a sense of depth and realism.

The key takeaway is to familiarize oneself with each pigment’s properties as well as the impact of their combinations. This creates a harmonious and dynamic painting experience that honors Bob Ross’s legacy.