From the fiery “Cactus at Sunset” to the foggy “Peaceful Waters,” all 403 paintings Bob Ross created over the 11-year run of Joy of Painting are now compiled on an unofficial online database. Recently launched by apparent Bob Ross superfan and web developer Felix Auer, Two Inch Brush is the only place where you can view and search through the colorful results of all 31 seasons of the PBS show in one location — and identify the specific colors the late artist used to create every single painting. It’s the very detailed visual guide you never thought you needed for the program, which is currently streaming on both Netflix and YouTube. Each painting’s individual page also links, conveniently, to the accompanying YouTube video.
Named for the 2″ Background Brush — “perhaps the most well-knownof all the Bob Ross brushes” — the site is very much aimed at those interested in actually learning from Ross (rather than the rest of us who are simply hypnotized by his magic brushwork, soothing voice, and delightful quips). In addition to highlighting all the paints and tools he uses, Two Inch Brush also has a neat feature to search all 403 paintings by color — so if you have a tube of phthalo green or black gesso lying around, you can figure out what other colors you need to replicate a Bob Ross landscape. Ross, as a little poking around on the site reveals, often used around 10 colors to complete his paintings, but he has also impressively made expressive works with just three colors. See, for instance, “Winter Mist,” or “Shades of Grey,” which Ross created after meeting a fan who was colorblind.
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, or even use Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for MakeCode, CircuitPython, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell with Google Hangouts On-Air is every Wednesday at 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
