Sad Little Trees: Bob Ross Talks Climate Change
We don’t make mistakes, just sad little accidents.
Welcome back, friend. I’m glad to see you. You know in every series, there has to be a crazy day. So today we thought we’d go a little off script and update a few of my old paintings to reflect the sad realities of climate change.
Up first, we have Bubbling Stream from season three. As you can see, it’s just a little water bubbling down with some happy trees gathered round. Only now, with the ice caps melting, we’re gonna need some new water levels.
So let’s start with a whole lotta Phthalo Blue and Titanium White on a two-inch brush, and just start streaking every which way. It doesn’t matter, really. Water goes where it wants to go anyway. Do this until every little tree trunk just sorta disappears.
Maybe there’s even a reflection of our little tree family in the rising waters. Just the tip-tops. Maybe we even give ’em little frowny faces, so it’s clear how they’re feeling. There. Resting sad face. That about does it.
On to the next one: Waterfall Buck. I love this one because it has this happy little guy over here feeding on some tall grass. Fun fact for you: When I was a kid, I nursed an alligator back to health in my bathtub. I also had an epileptic squirrel that lived in my jacuzzi, but that’s a story for another time.
Now, back to our buck. Over the last few years, the temperature here has gone up a whole lot. Which means we’re gonna dry it all out and turn our little deer friend into a skeleton. So let’s load up our one-inch brush with some Van Dyke Brown. And really push hard here, bending your brush upward, as we go heavy on the drought.
That’s it. And just tap, tap, tap in a pile of bones here. Now grab a handful of sand from a bucket like so and blow it right on there to give it that grittier feel. To top it off, take your nearest tumbleweed and throw it at the canvas. And would you look at there. Our waterfall buck just got a whole lot buckier.
Let’s move on to our final painting of the day. In our last episode, we painted Secluded Forest, as you may recall. But over the weekend, a group of people burned it down for a gender-reveal party. So to honor that land, we’re gonna recreate what happened.
Now I’m gonna let you in on a little secret here. I rarely paint people. Because people disappoint me. Plus, I just prefer trees. It’s like I always say, “You can hug any tree you meet, but you can’t hug a stranger.”
So dip your two-inch brush in Cad Yellow, and start making little criss-cross strokes. Now let’s fan in some Burnt Umber with our fan brush, until each tree is completely engulfed in flames. We’re not looking for a lot of detail here. This is just the fire that’ll consume the whole canvas eventually.
Now let’s take Indian Yellow and Permanent Red and just squirt ’em right on there. And because fire spreads, let’s say a little fire patch gets on the walls too.
Heck, we’ll even take out some lighter fluid and douse the whole painting. Don’t be afraid to get some all over your studio, while you’re at it. Light a happy little match, and set the whole thing on fire. I’m gonna set my hair on fire, too. Because that’s climate change for ya.
Before we’re done here, let’s take our tube of Phthalo Blue and squeeze it into the raging fire, like a pyrotechnic-powder explosion. Ain’t that fantastic? It’s a boy!
Next week, we got a fun little painting I think’ll just tickle you silly. So have your canvas set up, and we’ll be tackling a weeping planet Earth with a little oil fracking built in. Until then, we at the station hope you have a super day. Take care. Bye bye.
