The Joy of Painting - wikipedia The Joy of Painting The Joy of Painting Starring Bob Ross Opening theme Interlude by Larry Owens Country of origin United States Original language ( s ) English No. of seasons 31 No. of episodes 403 Production Running time 30 minutes Distributor Interregional Program Service / American Program Service Release Original network PBS Original release January 11, 1983 -- May 17, 1994 Chronology Related shows The Magic of Oil Painting External links Website The Joy of Painting is an American half - hour instructional television show hosted by painter Bob Ross which ran from January 11, 1983 until May 17, 1994. In each episode, Ross taught techniques for landscape oil painting, completing a painting in each session. The program followed the same format as its predecessor, The Magic of Oil Painting, hosted by Ross 's mentor Bill Alexander. During its run, it won three Emmy Awards. Contents 1 Production 2 Format 3 Legacy 4 References 5 External links Production Broadcast by non-commercial public television stations, the show 's first season was in 1983, and initially produced by WNVC in Falls Church, Virginia, then by WIPB in Muncie, Indiana, from 1984 until the show ended in 1994, and later by Blue Ridge Public Television in Roanoke, Virginia. Most of the series was distributed by what is now American Public Television. Format Each 30 - minute show usually begins with Ross ( or a guest ) standing in front of a blank canvas against a white or black background. Guests included Ross 's long - time friend Dana Jester, along with Ross 's son Steve, his old instructor John Thamm, and many others. Within the 30 - minute program, Ross painted an imaginary landscape, using the wet - on - wet oil painting technique, in which the painter continues adding paint on top of still - wet paint rather than waiting for each layer of paint to dry. Combining this method with the use of two - inch and other types of brushes, as well as painting knives, allowed him to paint trees, water, clouds, and mountains in a matter of seconds. Each painting would start with simple strokes that appeared to be nothing more than colored smudges. As he added more and more strokes, the blotches transformed into intricate landscapes. As he painted, he instructed viewers regarding the techniques he was using, he added comments describing the `` happy little clouds '' and `` happy little trees '' that he was creating. He would also mention snippets of his own life, including his military career and the time he spent in Alaska, family anecdotes, and his affection for small animals, which he raised and set free. The show would occasionally feature a video of Ross with a baby squirrel, deer, raccoon, or another small animal. Each program was shot in real time with two cameras : a medium shot of Ross and his canvas, and a close - up shot of the canvas or palette. Ross created three versions of each painting for each episode of the show. The first, painted prior to taping, sat on an easel, off - camera, and was used by Ross as a template to create the second copy -- the one viewers actually watched him paint. After taping the episode, Ross painted a third, more detailed version for inclusion in his instructional books. All three versions were then donated to various PBS stations. Legacy As part of its launch of Twitch Creative, Twitch.tv streamed every episode of The Joy of Painting over a nine - day period starting on October 29, 2015, what would have been Ross ' 73rd birthday. Twitch reported that 5.6 million viewers watched the marathon, and due to its popularity, created a weekly rebroadcast of all 31 seasons of The Joy of Painting to air on Twitch each Monday from November 2015 onward, and will have a marathon of episodes each October 29. A portion of the advertising revenue has been promised to charities, including St. Jude Children 's Research Hospital. This event was also repeated on October 29, 2016 for his 74th birthday. In 2015, full episodes of The Joy of Painting were added to the official Bob Ross YouTube channel. In June 2016, Netflix repackaged several 1991 - 92 episodes of The Joy of Painting under the moniker Beauty is Everywhere. A second package of episodes titled Chill with Bob Ross was added in December. In November 2017, the first teaser trailer for the 2018 film Deadpool 2 was released that featured a parody of The Joy of Painting. References Jump up ^ American Public Television Celebrates 50th Anniversary Jump up ^ Dana Jester Painting Bob Ross Style. YouTube. Jump up ^ Sally Schenck ( director ). `` Sunlight in Shadows ''. The Joy of Painting. Season 27. Episode 10. PBS. Jump up ^ `` Bob Ross - Mountain Range ( Season 8 Episode 11 ) ''. YouTube. Jump up ^ `` List of guest painters on ' The Joy of Painting ' ''. TwoInchBrush.com. Retrieved 2016 - 09 - 28. Jump up ^ Thill, Scott ( September 5, 2008 ). `` Annuals + Bob Ross = Such Fun ''. Wired. Retrieved January 25, 2009. Jump up ^ The Real Bob Ross : Meet The Meticulous Artist Behind Those Happy Trees. NPR.org ( August 29, 2016 ), retrieved May 2, 2017. Jump up ^ Shrieves, L ( July 7, 1990 ). `` Bob Ross uses his brush to spread paint and joy ''. Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 2016 - 07 - 07. Jump up ^ Leopold, Todd ( October 29, 2015 ). `` Bob Ross Marathon Underway on Twitch TV ''. CNN.com. Retrieved October 30, 2015. Jump up ^ Machkovech, Sam ( October 29, 2015 ). `` Twitch launches `` Creative '' category, eight - day Bob Ross Painting marathon ``. Arstechnica. Retrieved October 30, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Bob Ross channel on twitch.tv ''. The Joy of Painting Marathon - Celebrating the official launch of Twitch Creative ! # painting # oilpaint # bobross. October 29, 2015. Jump up ^ Porter, Matt ( November 9, 2015 ). `` 5.6 Million People Watched Bob Ross 's Twitch Marathon ''. IGN. Retrieved November 9, 2015. Jump up ^ Perez, Sarah. `` After Pulling In 5.6 M Viewers, Twitch Is Keeping Bob Ross On The Air ''. TechCrunch. Retrieved 2016 - 11 - 01. Jump up ^ `` Bob Ross ''. YouTube. Jump up ^ Cuccinello, Hayley ( June 2, 2016 ). `` You Can Relax Now, Because Netflix Is Streaming Bob Ross ''. The Huffington Post. Jump up ^ Dave McNary ( 15 November 2017 ). `` ' Deadpool 2 ' Teaser Trailer Offers First Footage and Bob Ross - Style Painting Lesson ''. Variety. External links 1980s portal 1990s portal Official website Unofficial The Joy of Painting database The Joy of Painting on IMDb Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Joy_of_Painting&oldid=838124332 '' Categories : 1983 American television series debuts 1994 American television series endings 1980s American television series 1990s American television series English - language television programs Non-fiction television series Works about painting PBS network shows Television series about art Hidden categories : Use mdy dates from December 2015 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Español فارسی Français Bahasa Indonesia Italiano Português Türkçe Edit links This page was last edited on 25 April 2018, at 02 : 23 ( UTC ). About Wikipedia

Question: how many seasons of bob ross was there
Answer: 31