You might be asking why acrylic? To me, acrylics are very easy to work with and I don't have to drive out my family if I do decide on doing a demonstration. Now, I will be jotting down a few ideas on how to approach the Bob Ross technique with acrylics and see where this community can take it.

Qualifications:

I have been a painter for 2-3 years. My initial training (as a traditional painter) has been with acrylic, though I did dabble with oils before. Note, I prefer acrylic because I don't have to drive out my family when doing demonstrations AND because it is water soluable, I don't have to deal with paint thinner.

Base Coat

The Magic White/Liquid white is a very critical part of the wet on wet technique. In order to mix color effectively on the canvas, this coat of paint is a very critical part of the painting. But you might be asking if Liquid White is so critical, why hasn't an acrylic caught up with the medium.

The truth is, it already has. Liquid acrylic mediums, such as from a company called PLAID, are readily available at your local Wally's World (Walmart) for next to nothing. Furthermore, it is also available in Black, so if you need to use black tones, you can without damaging the quality of the painting. Just apply it like you would the oil counterparts and you are pretty much golden.

Paints themselves:

Here is the elephant in the room. Paint has to be firm and dry to effectively use the wet on wet technique. There is no exceptions. Acrylic, as you may have guessed, did not meet those standards. Until now. Why now? Because acrylics are traditionally a "wet" medium, and that is largely because it is water soluable. However, paint manufactuers are starting to spend money in R&D to create a firm, dry acrylic that we can use with a wet on wet technique.

The type of acrylic that we are looking for is called Thick Body acrylic. They are available in MOST, if not all, of the colors that Bob used on TV. But they can get pricey. Master Paint, through Hobby Lobby, prices theirs from anywhere from $10-20 depending on the color and the size of the tube of paint. Just care for it as you would oils, and it will be your best friend.

Brushes:

Just remember, that brushes like Golden Talkon do not like thick paint. I would recommend that you use brushes that behave best in oils, such as hog hair, I think work best with thick body acrylic. IF you MUST work with cheap brushes, make sure, especially with big brushes, that you get a brush that is suitable for all mediums.

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Anyway, that is all I have. If you have tried this with acrylic before, and want to share your results, feel free. I just had way too much free time lately and I was thinking about it.