You are right to call this latest painting a Bob Ross type. It's all technique and that drives me crazy. I was trying to teach my daughter how to do an Aspen painting. She is more craft-oriented. Here's how to do one.
Slap a bunch of natural colors on a canvas. Yellow Ochre, Burnt Umber, and the like. Brushstrokes don't matter you are just getting rid of the white.
Let those dry. Now with a big brush poke at the background with a brush using the same colors. I mean really smash that brush in. Don't let it get muddy. If you want you can wad up a paper towel and dab at it. Don't be afraid to have darks and lights.
Remember your paint is acrylic and it's already dry underneath. If you don't like it don't worry, you can wipe it off. Really, however it looks like it's going to be okay later.
Aspens in the background will be grayer. Use a small brush and let the paint amount dictate how long/tall those background trees are. Let them come and go. Parts are being hidden by leaves. Add some branches. Let them come and go.
All branches want to do, is go out them up, trying to find the sunlight!
Now the foreground Aspens. make as many as you want. They go all the way from the top to the bottom. Don't use pure white. Don't make them perfectly straight. They are still kind of gray. Add some bigger branches.
To make the trunks look round add some gray to one side of the tree trunks and the underside of your branches. Don't make it perfect. This is nature. Add some pure white highlights. They will blend in automatically. Let the paint do the work.
Add the black spots and lines to the trunks. Dark gray not black. Be really free with your tiny brush. These will make your painting come alive.
You're done.