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Happy Little Accidents at the Bob Ross Painting Party

Are you bad at painting and lack any sort of artistic skills and creativity? I know I am! But that didn’t stop me from attending Co.laboratory’s Boozy Bob Ross Painting Workshop.

Paint and sip‘ experiences have become increasingly popular in Canberra. So, the moment I heard there was a workshop with a Bob Ross twist, I knew I had to go.

With help from the Co.laboratory host, and the soothing sounds of Bob Ross himself, I managed to create somewhat of a ‘masterpiece’.

Bob Ross is an American painter and instructor who, despite his death in 1995, continues to gain popularity through social media.

He has become a massive pop-culture icon due to his signature hair, loveable sayings, and calming ASMR-style Youtube videos, which are particularly enjoyable to watch when relaxing in bed.

Our painting session was hosted at Escape Rooms Canberra and guided by Brooke, who is the founder of Co.laboratory and a local ANU Art School graduate.

Co.laboratory supports the Canberra arts community by running pop-up workshops guided by local artists across the city.

I was lucky enough to snag the final tickets for their last workshop of the season.

Outside in the venue’s beautiful function and bar area, I was met with a cocktail before diving into our 2-hour painting session that sadly felt like 10 minutes!

We firstly began by priming our canvases and mixing colours to create what we later found out was the sky, water and clouds.

Brooke was guiding us through the steps as Bob Ross’ calming voice played in the background via a tutorial.

As the sun began to set, the garden was lit up with funky neon signs while we worked on Bob Ross’ classic Island in the Wilderness painting.

Brooke’s help and constant encouragement dampened all my negative thoughts, and without her advice for colour mixing, I wouldn’t have made anything other than muddy brown.

It was around the halfway mark that I became doubtful of my painting. My blobs of blue, brown and pink started to look like exactly that.

I definitely had to keep reminding myself that Bob Ross was an expert and that I should blame my scary-looking trees on the paintbrushes, not myself.

As we continued to add trees, reflections and more details into the scene, it began to come together. We were also encouraged to add our own little details and personality, which I liked.

Me, being a very unadventurous artist, simply added in some flower-esque red dots. However, it was great to see everyone else’s interpretations of the same instructions and their additions.

After a few more cocktails, conversations and painting, our canvases were finally complete!

Although my painting looked surprisingly better than I had ever envisioned, I am definitely no Van Gough after my 2-hour experience. Thankfully, the whole group seemed pleasantly surprised with what they had created also.

Not only was the session fun and enjoyable, but I actually think I learnt some new techniques for painting that I definitely didn’t know before.

At the end of the workshop, Escape Rooms Canberra had a cosy little room to enjoy the rest of the night in, with more drinks, board games, and a battle of giant connect 4.

Whilst this is only a hobby and a bit of fun for someone like Brooke, Co.laboratory are growing in size.

Previously featuring workshops such as candle making and printmaking, there will definitely be something for everyone to enjoy.

If this has you interested and keen to unleash your inner Bob Ross, make sure to keep your eyes peeled on Co.laboratory socials to see when Season 3 drops!

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