What to Consider When Considering "The Joy of Painting"

I’m sure many of you smiled when you saw the title, because you know exactly what I’m talking about. Bob Ross. And Bob Ross put so many smiles on so many faces. Even though he’s not with us anymore, his joyful legacy continues to make us happy and teach us how to paint. His birthday is coming up at the end of this month, and I saw this as a perfect time to remember him and introduce him to those who haven’t had the pleasure yet. So, for those of you who have yet to discover this wonderful man and his work, let’s start from the beginning.

I discovered Bob Ross almost exactly ten years ago, in October 2015, when my husband saw a nine-day Bob Ross marathon streaming on Twitch (which was to celebrate the launch of Twitch Creative). This marathon drew 5.6 million viewers, making Bob Ross one of Twitch’s most popular channels at the time (the event established an annual tradition, with Twitch promising to stream the entire series of 403 episodes again every year on Bob Ross’s birthday, October 29th so this is a perfect time for you to tune in), and we were among those viewers. We started watching and never stopped. 🙂

Trace of Spring, by Bob Ross. Courtesy of the Franklin Park Arts Center and Bob Ross Inc.

I remember, this marathon was non-stop on our tv, nothing else was even an option, no one touched the remote, and I remember friends coming to our house, also discovering this for the first time, and also stayed watching with us. And still, every weekend when Twitch has a Bob Ross marathon, my husband and I put it on when we go to bed and watch it until we fall asleep.
If you’ve seen even one episode, you know exactly what I’m talking about; it is captivating. You have this insanely likeable man with big afro hair, constantly smiling, and painting wonderful paintings of nature. And once you see him, you never forget him.

His afro was actually a budget haircut, a perm he got to save money on haircuts when he first started traveling to teach painting and eventually it became the established logo for his company, Bob Ross Inc. But before all this, he spent twenty years in U.S. Air Force; he once said he was “the guy who screams at you for being late to work” in the military and he disliked this role so much that he promised himself that if he ever left the Air Force, he would never raise his voice again and he kept this promise as we can see on „The Joy of Painting“.

His calm tone of voice is one of the things that make a big part of his appearance and the positivity he teaches. The other big part is what he calls “happy accidents”; he teaches us that there are no mistakes, and this was not only referred to painting but was also his philosophy on life. He encourages us to see these so-called failures as opportunities for growth. He was a kind and positive man and wanted to teach us to be the same. When asked about the happiness in his paintings, he said: “That’s why I paint. It’s because I can create the kind of world that I want, and I can make this world as happy as I want it.”

Bob Ross painting one of his landscapes. Credit : Acey Harper/Getty

Once, after receiving a letter from a colour-blind fan, he devoted an entire episode to a grayscale painting, proving that you don’t need a full spectrum of colours to make something beautiful.

He never made money from „The Joy of Painting“; he did this beautiful show for free and made money through his company, which sold art supplies, instructional books, and painting lessons.
He made an estimated 30,000 paintings in his lifetime. For „The Joy of Painting“, he created three versions of almost every painting: one before taping as a reference, the one we watched him paint on-screen, and a more detailed version for his instructional books.

But probably what I love most about Bob Ross is his love of animals and nature.
He was a big animal lover and often took in injured or orphaned creatures and for those of us who are familiar with his show, probably the most memorable animal he brought was the squirrel named Peapod, who often spent time peeking from his pocket. 🙂

While in the Air Force, he was mostly stationed in Alaska, and that is where he fell in love with the majestic landscapes and told us about it while painting “happy little trees” and “happy little clouds”. For Bob Ross, nature was the purest form of beauty, and he painted it from memory and imagination, hoping to connect viewers to the tranquility he found in the outdoors. He often said, “There’s nothing wrong with having a tree as a friend.”

I could go on about him and about the impact he made, but instead I recommend you to watch at least one episode of „The Joy of Painting“ and see for yourself. His positivity, his kindness, his love for animals and nature, and him teaching us how to create a happy and positive living is why he has his place on this blog and in my heart, and I hope, in yours too. I hope he teaches you what he taught me and brings you the joy he brought to me.

So, until next time – “Happy painting, my friend.” 🙂

Arctic Winter Day, by Bob Ross. Courtesy of the Franklin Park Arts Center and Bob Ross Inc.

I guess I’m a little weird. I like to talk to trees and animals. That’s okay though; I have more fun than most people.

– Bob Ross

_{* Featured Image – Sunset Aglow, by Bob Ross. Courtesy of the Franklin Park Arts Center and Bob Ross Inc.}