Even though it’s been years since Bob Ross’ iconic painting series inspired people to pick up a paint brush, it’s safe to say his legacy continues to live on.
Case in point with this woman’s story. When she decided to makeover her van, she turned to a classic Bob Ross tutorial to guide her and bring her vision to life.
Meet Nerdforge.
Aka Martina and Hansi. They’re a Norwegian YouTube couple who love all things fantasy, DIY, and cosplay.
The two bought a van in 2018 and slowly began renovating it.
They documented one of Martina’s craziest ideas: painting their van in the style of Bob Ross.
She decided she wanted to follow a Bob Ross tutorial, but didn’t want to use a regular ‘ol canvas to do it. In came the van idea!
She started by sanding the van.
Oh man, it’s causing me pain to see this! It’s going to be worth it, though. Martina used a random orbital sander to remove the gloss finish from the van, giving the paint something to stick to.
Next came the primer.
Primer is key when painting on any surface. Not only will it give your paint something to adhere to, it’ll make your colors appear more vibrant. Since Martina was painting a black car, primer was a must.
Martina had to use special automotive paint for the job.
You can’t just use regular paint, since it’ll fade and peel away over time. Instead, she used a special paint meant to be applied with an airbrush, and mixed it with a gel medium to give it the proper consistency to use it with regular brushes.
After that, it was a matter of following the tutorial.
Martina actually sponged on a lot of the colors, since that’s exactly what Bob Ross did! She added back in a lot of black, and slowly layered the blues in to create a twilight-like sky.
Progress was slow and steady.
Bob had some interesting elements in his video, including adding rocks and a waterfall. Martina was overwhelmed at first, but she totally nailed it!
The final results were stunning.
It really is a true Bob Ross painting! Martina had some mad skills, that’s for sure. I love the vibrancy of the blues in the water! What at true masterpiece, and a labor of love.
It’s held up, too!
Nine months after she painted it, Martina posted an update on Instagram. Even though it has some dirt on it, the painting is still in flawless shape, with no signs of wear!
