Bob Ross The Joy Of Painting

Have you ever seen the late Bob Ross, the artist, on television? If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, follow on.

Bob Ross

Bob was an American painter/artist who became popular in the 1980s on U.S. television where he presented a half-hour show, teaching anyone that wanted to watch, how to paint. For some reason, the BBC has started showing his programs over here on BBC FOUR. It must be one of the most relaxing half-hour shows that you can watch, whether you’re interested in painting or not. His paintings seem to be scenic with mountains, trees, rivers and a cabin.

They’re Your Mountains

As soon as the program starts, you can see it was recorded in the 1980s by Bob’s hair alone. That aside, I find Bob totally infectious, the way he starts a painting, keeping the viewer informed about his every move. “We’re going to put some mountains right here, about halfway up the canvas, now don’t forget, they’re your mountains, no one else’s.” Of course, he’s already painted the sky, blue with lots of swirly white puffs that really look the business.

All The Colours Of The Rainbow

On his left hand, is his giant palette with a rainbow of colours around the edge. He’s certainly not economic with the paint, there are huge blobs of the stuff and you can see why when he picks up the two-inch brush! I don’t use that much paint when I decorate the house! A quick dab of Prussian blue mixed with titanium white on a fan brush and voila, he has a whole forest painted at the base of the mountains. How does he do that?

Scrape And Scratch

He uses something that I would describe as a putty knife. One of those tools you use for filling holes in wood with poly filler. He paints a whole cabin with his knife and a few deft turns of his wrist, “..it’s an old cabin and it’s been by the river for years. The undergrowth outside is taking over.” Brilliant, a scrape and a scratch and there it is before your very eyes. I wish I could do that.

Contagious

As I said earlier, watching him paint even if you have no intention of painting, it’s a great way to relax and spend half an hour of your time. Trust me, it’s great. Reading about his life, it’s a shame that he died so young, he was only in his fifties. I’m not sure if it’s on every night or just some nights, but I highly recommend it just for the feel-good factor.

The Joy of Painting on Wikipedia.

Photograph Copyright: Brittanica