Phthalo Blue, Van Dyke Brown, Yellow Ochre…these are just a few of the colours that lull me to sleep every night.
You see, I am a die-hard Bob Ross fan, but I rarely watch his show, The Joy of Painting, with my eyes.
I prefer to just listen to the quiet cadence of brush strokes and Bob’s baritone voice with my eyes closed until I inevitably fall asleep.
I’m not alone in this weird habit, in fact there’s a whole term for the type of listening I enjoy. It’s called autonomous sensory meridian response or ASMR which invokes a feeling of calm, or tingly “goosebumps” when certain sounds are heard.
These sounds can include long nails tapping on a table, pages of a book slowly being turned or in my case, the creation of happy little trees.
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Recently, I’ve decided to take my auditory love of painting to a visual love. Of course, it started with checking out a few books at the library. I wanted to get an idea of what type of art I enjoy, and I can say that I was overwhelmed with all the different art books on the shelves.
I discovered that I love acrylic paints in bold, bright colours, contemporary, clean lines with minimal and modern detail. My favourite find was Acrylic: Do More Art, by Rita Isaac, which covers the basics of the paint medium and gives gorgeous examples throughout its pages.
Another great book full of inspiration and helpful tips is Contemporary Landscapes in Mixed Media by Soraya French. The author uses a multitude of mediums from acrylics to stamps to fiber pastes to create colourful landscapes in all four seasons.
Lastly, there is the wonderful board book for babies, Bob Ross: My First Book of Colors, by Robb Pearlman which highlights all 13 of the colours used in The Joy of Painting.
If painting sounds like something you might be wanting to try or you are already a seasoned painter, I encourage you to sign up for Paint the Okanagan Sky, our virtual paint night for adults on April 13, from 7 to 8 p.m. This program is free and can be done from the comfort of your home.
During the program we will be painting a contemporary landscape of a sunset over the Okanagan hills.
To sign up, go to www.orl.bc.ca/summerland or stop by the Summerland branch. Upon registration, you will be emailed a Zoom link and a list of supplies needed.
Kayley Robb is an assistant community librarian at the Summerland branch of the Okanagan Regional Library.
To report a typo, email:news@summerlandreview.com.
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