Friday Art & History Feature - Bob Ross



Bob Ross

  I remember watching Bob Ross half-hour painting specials when I was in junior high school and high school. I've always been interested in art and have been painting watercolors since I was about seven or eight. The magic of Bob Ross finishing beautiful oil landscapes in meager half hour. I was absolutely fascinated.
Recently, I found out that my husband also loved watching the Bob Ross show and we both held our breath every time Bob made a "happy little mistake" and then all of a sudden it turned into a cloud, a lake or a few trees.

Bob Ross was born in 1942 in Florida. He was an artist and an instructor, hosting the Joy of Painting show for 12 years on PBS. In his earlier years, Bob enlisted in Air Force at the age of 18. He didn't finish high school past the 9th grade. While in the Air Force, Bob was stationed in Alaska, where he fell in love with the snowy landscapes he was so fond of painting later on. Bob was married twice and had a son from the first marriage. His son Steven appeared on the Joy of Paining a few times as an instructor as well.
Bob Ross died in 1995 after losing the fight with lymphoma.

Bob Ross used a technique in his painting called "wet-on-wet". Because this technique allows the painter not to wait for the first level of paint to dry, Bob was able to create the paintings very fast. He used 2" and other brushes, as well as painting knives, to create trees, lakes, mountains and clouds that looked realistic in a matter of minutes. Part of the excitement of watching Bob paint was to see in-distinctive smudges take shape and become realistic objects.

Many of phrases that Bob used on his show have become famous - "happy little trees", "happy accidents" and "beat the devil out of it" (referring to the beating of brushes against the easel to dry them off).