Bob Ross

**Robert Norman Ross** (October 29, 1942 – July 4, 1995) was an American painter, art instructor, and television host. He was the creator and host of *The Joy of Painting*, an instructional television program that aired from 1983 to 1994 on PBS in the United States, and also aired in Canada, Latin America, and Europe. Ross went from being a public television personality in the 1980s and 1990s to being an Internet celebrity in the 21st century, with his talent and kindness leading to major popularity with fans on YouTube, Twitch, and many other websites many years after his death.

During his 20-year tenure with the U.S. Air Force, Ross developed a taste for painting after attending an art class at the Anchorage U.S.O. club. He found himself frequently at odds with many of his painting instructors, who were more interested in abstract painting. In Ross's own words: "They'd tell you what makes a tree, but they wouldn't tell you how to paint a tree."[*citation needed*]

Ross was working as a part-time bartender when he discovered a TV show called *The Magic of Oil Painting*, hosted by German painter Bill Alexander.[7]:17–18 Alexander touted a 16th-century style of painting called "alla prima" (*Italian for "first attempt"*), better known as "wet-on-wet," that allowed him to finish a painting in a little under 30 minutes. Ross studied and became quite good at alla prima through Alexander's show, and began selling Alaskan landscapes painted on the inside of novelty gold-mining pans.[5][9] Eventually, Ross's income from gold pan sales surpassed his military salary. He retired from the Air Force in 1981 with the rank of Master Sergeant after 20 years of service.[5][10][8][11]

He first went to Florida and studied painting under Alexander, then joined the "Alexander Magic Art Supplies Company" and became a traveling salesman and tutor. Annette Kowalski, who had attended one of his sessions, became convinced that there was a great opportunity for Ross to succeed on his own, and persuaded him to do so. She invested her life savings in the company, as did Ross and his wife. The business struggled at first; his permed hairstyle came about as a cost-cutting measure, when his

regular crewcut haircuts became too expensive. Ross grew increasingly uncomfortable with the style in his later years, but kept it throughout his career (he worried that changing it would hurt the brand, as his silhouette including the perm had become part of the production company's logo).[10][7]:19

The origins of the TV show, *The Joy of Painting*, are unclear.[10] It was filmed at the studio of the PBS station WIPB in Muncie, Indiana.[12]

The show ran from January 11, 1983 to May 17, 1994, but reruns still continue to appear in many broadcast areas and countries, including the non-commercial digital subchannel network Create. During each half-hour segment, Ross would instruct viewers in oil painting using a quick-study technique from the imagination that used a limited palette of paints and broke down the process into simple steps. Art critic Mira Schor compared him to Fred Rogers, host of *Mister Rogers' Neighborhood*, noting that Ross's soft voice and the slow pace of his speech were similar.[13]

With help from Annette and Walt Kowalski, Ross built a $15 million business, Bob Ross Inc., selling his line of art supplies and how-to books, and marketing painting classes taught by instructors trained in the "Bob Ross method."[14] All of his income, he said, was derived from those sources;[9] the show was intended to be a vehicle to promote his classes and products.[5] Following Ross's death, ownership of Bob Ross Inc. was passed to the Kowalskis.[15]

Ross also filmed wildlife, squirrels in particular, usually in his garden, and he would often take in injured or abandoned squirrels and other animals. Small animals often appeared on his *Joy of Painting* canvasses.[9]

### Technique:

Ross used the wet-on-wet oil painting technique, in which the painter continues adding paint on top of still-wet paint rather than waiting a lengthy amount of time to allow each layer of paint to dry. From the beginning, the program kept the selection of tools and colors simple so that viewers would not have to make large investments in expensive equipment. Ross frequently recommended odorless paint thinner (aka odorless mineral spirits) for brush cleaning. Combining the wet painting method with the use of large one- and two-inch brushes, as well as painting knives, allowed Ross to paint trees, clouds, mountains, and water in a matter of seconds. Each painting would start with simple strokes that appeared as nothing more than smudges of color. As he added more and more strokes, the blotches would transform into intricate landscapes.[14][16]

Ross painted three versions of almost every painting featured on his show. The first was painted prior to taping, and sat on an easel, off-camera, during filming, where Ross used it as a reference to create the second copy—the one viewers actually watched him paint. After filming the episode, Ross painted a more detailed version for inclusion in his instructional books.[17] The different versions were marked as follows on the side or back of the canvas: "Kowalski" for the initial version, "tv" for the version painted during the TV show, and "book" for the book version.

## References:

-https://www.bobross.com/Default.asp

-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob\_Ross