What Does Bob Ross Use as a Base Coat?

Bob Ross uses liquid white as a base coat on the gesso primer surface. Because using liquid white there has a lot of awesome advantages, and some main advantages are:

• Make canvas wet for a long time, so it gives good time for paint finishing.
• Liquid white creates a wet surface on the canvas, so it allows blend and mixes colors naturally.
• Easily achievable cool natural gradient on any painting surface.
• It can thin any color over thicker paint, like an odorless thinner.
• Even it is used to add snow highlights to landscape painting.

In other articles, I already explained:

• Liquid white vs gesso: what is the difference?
• Why does bob ross use liquid black?

Which liquid white does Bob Ross use?

	Grade	Note
Bob Ross Liquid White	Artistic Grade	Bob ross use this liquid white, not have a good alternative

Do you have to use Liquid White on canvas?

You are following Bob Ross’s technique which is wet on wet technique. So a wet canvas surface is quite important. For achieving a wet surface, liquid white is the best option. 

Liquid white makes the surface wet and adds a bright background. You can easily achieve a cool effect on the canvas. 

What is Bob Ross’s magic white?

Bob Ross’s magic white refers to linseed oil and titanium white mixer. He regularly applied the mixer on the canvas before starting the tv show ‘Joy of Painting.’ The applied coat is very thin. 

Generally, mixing the 2 materials and achieving the right consistency is harder. However, readymade product is available. The product name is Bob Ross liquid white. You can apply it directly.

How to apply liquid white on canvas?

You must apply a very thin layer of white liquid on the canvas. It is a very easy part. 

You need:

1. A paintbrush or roller, or foam brush to apply 
2. Liquid white
3. Clean brush to remove extra white

Before applying liquid white, priming canvas is important. In this article, I explain how to prime canvas.

How to apply?

Step 1. Preparation: Before opening the liquid bottle or jar, shake it. Make sure all materials mix perfectly. 

Step 2. Apply: A foam brush or roller can be a good option for applying liquid white because 1 inch or 2 inch brush can be given a scratch look on canvas. 

However, you can apply a 1-inch brush, if you don’t these. use the brush to spread the white liquid over the canvas’s surface.

Step 3. Check thickness: I already mentioned the liquid surface would be very thin. You can check it with your 4 fingers. Touch left, right, bottom, upper and middle. The wet should not come off as water. If you see this, apply a paintbrush on the canvas until the water effect is not gone. 

And now your canvas is ready for Bob Ross painting.

Do you let Liquid White dry before painting?

It would be best if you started oil painting after applying liquid white. Start painting time duration before starting drying the liquid white. If you do not start painting on wet canvas, the paint will come off when the painting dries. Also, you can not achieve gradient effects.

So I highly recommend that you start painting fast after applying liquid white. 

How long does the liquid white stay wet?

Generally, liquid white stays white for 4-90 days or more. However, if you apply gesso as a primer, it dries pretty fast. If the canvas is primed by gesso, the thin liquid white layer takes about 9 hours to 4 days completely dry.