Why Is Bob Ross Still So Popular?
Atlantic,
by
Michael J. Mooney
Original Article
Posted By: MissMolly,
8/1/2020 4:29:18 AM
“Every day’s a good day when you paint.” —Bob Ross (1942–1995)
Staring at the empty canvas on the easel in front of me, I couldn’t understand how this—nothing—might somehow transform into even a rough approximation of the Bob Ross painting we were using as a model. That painting was classic Bob Ross: a snowy landscape bursting with color, a world of glimmering trees and vibrant shrubs around a slick, icy pond. Gazing at it evoked that feeling you get sitting by a fire on a crisp, cold night. No way I could make anything like that. I was in a room on the side of a big-box craft store
Reply 1 - Posted by:
Catherine 8/1/2020 4:55:35 AM (No. 496345)
Soft spoken man who loved painting 'happy little trees.'
21 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
Aud 8/1/2020 5:07:04 AM (No. 496346)
This is the first I have ever heard of the man.
3 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
PChristopher 8/1/2020 5:44:56 AM (No. 496354)
Watching his show was like watching a relaxation video
33 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
MOBeef4u 8/1/2020 7:30:52 AM (No. 496404)
I think this may be the first Atlantic article I've ever read all the way to the end. To this day whenever I come across a Joy of Painting episode I am transfixed. Bob Ross was an island of calm in a sea of confusion, anger, conflict. We need him today more than ever.
38 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
udanja99 8/1/2020 7:45:08 AM (No. 496415)
Hate to be the naysayer but I put Ross’ work right up there with Kincade’s. Awful. Just awful.
12 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
MuncsSister 8/1/2020 8:22:49 AM (No. 496457)
#5 their work definitely isn’t my cup of tea either but I appreciate their enthusiasm and talent. I once read an interesting article about Kincade in “First Things” and was surprised to find out his work as a young man was nothing like his commercially successful art. Many artists paint one way to pay the bills and paint another way for personal enjoyment.
16 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
anniebc 8/1/2020 8:30:38 AM (No. 496475)
That's "happy, happy trees," poster #1. :)
While I don't do oil painting, I loved watching Bob Ross with his well coiffed afro. I can still hear his brush clanging against that rinse bucket, and I loved how he seemed to calmly conceptualize as he painted (when he added those happy trees). He helped me approach technique and made me think I could paint using any medium I chose; I now paint with acrylics, pastels, colored pencil, chalk, and watercolor. I also recently moved from sketching to drawing. Landscapes are my favorite. Because I couldn't draw a straight line, I didn't think I had art in me, but this man inspired me to start in my fifties. There are a lot of Bob Rosses out here; we do art because we love it. Art is subjective, and it's okay. I'm always awed that other people like my work, especially the pieces I don't like. Great article.
25 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
LadyHen 8/1/2020 8:33:41 AM (No. 496480)
Loved watching him as a kid on Saturday on PBS. Peaceful, interesting,
No mistakes, only happy accidents.
19 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
Cindiana 8/1/2020 8:42:57 AM (No. 496494)
The popularity of Bob Ross was never about presenting his work as great art. It is about making the joy of painting accessible to every person of every ability, gently guiding them to simply pick up a brush and give it a go. I'm 100% certain that he brought tremendous happiness into millions of lives, and taught people that they should feel free to paint without critics judging them. And, as an extension of that, he brought people into a universe of so many others like themselves, whose hours with their paint and brushes and Happy Little Trees shared a calm and sense of accomplishment in doing something they love. RIP, Bob, and thanks for being a light in the world. Your legacy lives on.
31 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
Strike3 8/1/2020 8:47:19 AM (No. 496495)
That's my philosophy on writing books, #6. To date all of my writing can be classified as personal enjoyment.
10 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
BeatleJeff 8/1/2020 9:00:01 AM (No. 496513)
It's the afro.
5 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
StormCnter 8/1/2020 9:05:16 AM (No. 496524)
His paintings are not to my taste, either, but that is not the point. He made it all fun and entertained many watchers who became fans. It's easy to condescend to those who like something I do not. It's good to keep my opinion to myself.
13 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
Maggie2u 8/1/2020 9:13:06 AM (No. 496531)
Mr. Rogers for adults.
16 people like this.
Ross himself said his work was not fine art. Is a basement woodworker up to Chippendale standard? If one appreciates and enjoys the effort and creation invested, what does it matter? There isn't one of us who doesn't treasure some "primitive" something, maybe a drawing by our children or grand-children...that's not even up to Kincaide standard...and it brings us joy. How awful.
14 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
hershey 8/1/2020 9:49:24 AM (No. 496561)
I've got 100's of episodes saved on my DVD from Dish....probably part of the reason I keep Dish around, I can't save them to anything else...an inspiration, no not DaVinci but good solid artwork....
5 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
D S Craft 8/1/2020 10:25:17 AM (No. 496608)
#5, I believe it was about the journey, not the destination. I had never heard of the guy until about a year ago and was mystified with his popularity given the finished product, but as I heard people talk about him I realized he was, as one commenter put it, Mr. Rogers for adults. He himself said his product was not great art, though art is in the eye of the beholder, but he showed people how much fun it could be creating something that's yours. It was the process he celebrated. And let's face it; creating is fun whether it's an oil painting or a wood table because it's yours (though I've strenuously disavowed more that a few of my creations).
9 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
DARling 8/1/2020 10:37:27 AM (No. 496621)
I knew what a macroaggression was every time I flipped channels and saw that 'fro-sporting, breathless-voiced man painting pictures that belonged at a starving artist sale.
1 person likes this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
bigfatslob 8/1/2020 11:02:22 AM (No. 496655)
In the '80s and '90s I had raised four children and most television was on their channels to watch. I'm not a tv person I never sat in front of the square screen to view much maybe Dallas because the wife never missed it. It is just recently I heard of Bob Ross and sometimes it was in jest or joke I didn't know who he was. I only remember in my youth of yesteryear when we were mesmerized by the square boxed black and white TV a show similar but maybe more crude a painter as John Gnegy (Neggy) with a French tam and thin moustache. Dave Galloway was the Morning show so this would tell you how old I am. I'll have to You Tube Bob Ross to watch it now you're never too old to learn.
4 people like this.
Reply 19 - Posted by:
Kate318 8/1/2020 11:14:28 AM (No. 496669)
My boys loved watching Bob Ross paint. It was the process of turning a blank canvas into a soothing landscape right before your eyes that was so interesting. He’d start with some seemingly haphazard strokes, and voila!...a happy little tree. #13 had it right with the Mr. Rodgers analogy. It may not have been Renoir, but it was more than I could ever do.
7 people like this.
Reply 20 - Posted by:
Rumblehog 8/1/2020 11:16:25 AM (No. 496672)
I remember the little old German man who occupied that seat before Bob Ross.
As a child, our oldest son would sit and watch Bob Ross, totally engrossed. To this day he still has fond memories of watching Bob Ross. Bob was so soft spoken and friendly toward his audience, like Mister Rogers, and I think that's why he left such an impression.
6 people like this.
Reply 21 - Posted by:
Chuzzles 8/1/2020 11:32:14 AM (No. 496696)
The writer was right. Ross is still immensely popular even after over 2 decades of him being gone. Daughter and I were in one of those stores last year that sells stuff for various television shows, personality specific merchandise and so on. He had a whole section of stuff devoted to his show, and that saying of his. Expensive stuff too. But I am glad for one that his vision lives on. He really was a decent guy and a good influence.
14 people like this.
Reply 22 - Posted by:
nerdowell 8/1/2020 12:49:49 PM (No. 496776)
Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR)
You'll just have to look it up for yourself, but it's the reason a thousand or so YouTube contributors quietly flourish.
I'm not knocking it.
3 people like this.
Reply 23 - Posted by:
RTC60 8/1/2020 1:32:20 PM (No. 496814)
“This is art for anyone who’s ever wanted to put a dream on canvas,” Ross said. “It’s not traditional art. It’s not fine art. And I don’t try to tell anybody it is.” And this is the reason I have the one episode of his I ever watched saved in my computer. Because I've always wanted to paint but never thought I could, but when (at the age of 71) I saw him paint that winter scene, with its sky, clouds, snow, water, rugged mountains, and rustic cabin, a little voice in my head said, "I wonder if you could do that?" He made "possibility" seem actually accessible where it had never existed for me before. So I'm going to try, because I a man with fuzzy hair and a weird voice made me think I COULD. That's art!
13 people like this.
Reply 24 - Posted by:
Lawsy0 8/1/2020 1:43:52 PM (No. 496823)
I was drawn to his bushy red hair and his ''happy little trees'' being anywhere they wanted to be. The man made me believe that even I could paint. That is not true, but I dearly loved thinking it.
7 people like this.
Reply 25 - Posted by:
Annie Xango 8/1/2020 11:53:05 PM (No. 497179)
he was also a huge animal lover..it's sweet to watch him cuddle baby squirrels,they would crawl into his shirt etc.
2 people like this.
I, too, watched him paint those "happy little trees" Something about his easy sounding instructions and positive attitude. I am ashamed most of us didn't know he passed so long ago.
We need more Bob Ross's and less protesters.
2 people like this.
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