Paints & Prosecco: A Bob Ross Night In
Brushes, bubbles, and Bob Ross – your ultimate night-in recipe.
There’s nothing better than a cozy night in: no stress about what to wear, where to go, or spending an eye-watering amount of money. Instead, it’s all about comfort, good company, and doing something a little different.
Recently, my friend and I swapped our usual routine for a Bob Ross night in. Guided by the soothing voice of The Joy of Painting, we let ourselves switch off and embrace the creative process, all while catching up over a glass of fizz. By the end of the evening, not only had we had a lovely time, but we’d also surprised ourselves with what we’d managed to create.
Here’s everything you need to host your own Bob Ross-inspired night in.
How to prepare your own Bob Ross-inspired evening
This cute night in activity came to be after taking inspiration from local sip-and-paint events, where you can paint alongside others with the provided materials and refreshments. We’d originally planned to book a Bob Ross night, but suddenly had the epiphany of “…why don’t we just recreate it at home?”
A DIY night in is not only convenient, but also cheaper and far comfier. Luckily, setting this up at home is a lot easier than you might think (the hardest part is choosing which video to follow.)
All you need to get started is:
Acrylic or oil paints (depending on your preference)
A canvas
A selection of paintbrushes and palette knives
A Bob Ross tutorial video to follow along
(We followed this video, which is a great choice if you want to experiment with brighter colours.)
A bottle of fizz (optional, but recommended)
I bought our art supplies from Sostrene Grene, which has some really affordable options for canvases and brushes. We used acrylic paints that we already had on hand – these were perfect for our little night in since they did the job and dried quickly. The only thing to keep in mind is that, compared with oils, they can be a bit trickier to blend so you’ll need to work a little faster.
If you’re aiming to create a true masterpiece, oils are probably the way to go, as they blend more easily and can offer better quality. But for a casual, budget-friendly evening, we were actually able to create some surprisingly good pieces. (Side note: make sure you have a lot of white paint on hand – we had to ration ours as it is heavily used!)
In the end, it wasn’t about using the finest materials or creating the perfect painting. True to Bob’s philosophy, the best part was enjoying the process, having a good laugh, and embracing the happy little accidents along the way.
Keep scrolling to see the final masterpieces – and maybe get inspired to try one yourself!
The perfect setup for a cozy night in.
Prosecco, paints, and a little help from Bob Ross.
Puppy not required, but highly recommended for cuteness value and some furry moral support.
The final product!
