Bob Ross is a highly respected and celebrated painter. His TV show, The Joy of Painting, brought him to the world stage and inspired a lot of people to take up art. The world today also gets to know him thanks to his online presence brought upon by his show being publicly available online, and also his “happy accidents” iconic quote.
Ross may be gone for more than two decades now, but his impact on the world lives on. The following article will recap the most important highlights of Ross’ life. From his early life to his longstanding legacy, everything crucial to Bob Ross will be found below.
Early life and Military Involvement
Robert Norman Ross, most known as Bob Ross, was born on October 29, 1942, to Jack Ross and Ollie Ross in the city of Dayton Beach in Florida. He had a half-brother, Jim. Ross would allude to him in Season 28, Episode 13 (Home Before Nightfall) of The Joy of Painting.
Ross dropped out of ninth grade and worked for his carpenter father. During that time, he broke his index finger. He realized at that moment that carpentry was not his calling, but that would not hamper him much for the rest of his life, though. According to Ross’ website, he joined the military, specifically the Air Force, in 1960. He was stationed in Florida before being transferred to Alaska. He had his first painting lesson at a United States Organizations club in Anchorage where he discovered a certain painting technique and then tried to make his technique of it.
Painting Career
Ross was first exposed to painting in a U.S.O club and made his early paintings probably in there. However, it was not until later that he discovered the painting style that would be his foundation to fame. He would later adopt the wet-on-wet technique.
The wet-on-wet technique consisted of applying paint on a canvas and then applying another layer of paint without waiting for the previous layer to dry. This technique would later be adopted on his television show, The Joy of Painting, as it allowed for a faster completion time by eliminating dead air brought by waiting for paint to dry. He learned this technique from Bill Alexander, a painter who had his art show on PBS, The Magic of Oil Painting. After he began his career in the military, he was able to sell his paintings as his early means of living. Soon enough, he would seek the help of Alexander, and had private painting tutoring sessions with him, and Ross’ The Joy of Painting would be the greatest testament to how prolific Ross had been.
In The Joy of Painting, most of the works were landscapes, with Ross, the host, mingling in with some of his stories, or explaining the techniques and procedures he was doing. Most of the episodes followed the same format – beginning with an empty canvas, then Ross would talk as it was being finished, then the final painting presentation. The show ran from January 1983 to May 1994 across 403 episodes and 31 seasons. All of these episodes were made public again in 2015 through Bob Ross’ official YouTube channel. The paintings done in the show were regarded with great praise, with some being donated to the Smithsonian Institute.
Death
He was diagnosed with lymphoma in 1994, around the time of filming of the last episode of The Joy of Painting’s Season 31. In Season 31, Episode 13, it appeared that the traces of what was once the gleeful and healthy painter were long gone. What appeared on the screen was someone weak trying to complete his last painting. He died in Orlando, on Independence Day of 1995. His resting place is in Woodlawn Memorial Park. Though, his before and after-death processes were far from “happy” and peaceful.
Bob Ross’ fortune did not just come from his TV show he had his company, Bob Ross, Inc. where he also sold art supplies and offered painting courses. When Ross was nearing his final days, his business partners, the Kowalskis, wanted to have full control and ownership over everything Bob Ross. This did not sit well with Ross and changed his will at the last minute.
In his final will, he stated that the rights over his name and his estate would go to his son, Steve, half-brother Jimmie Cox, and Lynda, his third wife. Ross’ death led to a battlefield over legal and copyright procedures.
Reactions, Tributes, and Homages
The 2021 Netflix documentary Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed shed light on the bitter end of Bob Ross’ life. His legal disputes, in particular were brought into the spotlight. This gave the audience a glimpse into his final days.
The term “Bob Ross” has also become synonymous with his stoic and lulling way of explaining things. For example, the mathematician Toby Hendy, better known as Tibees on YouTube, has quite a few videos explaining various math concepts à la Bob Ross. The Canadian grocery company Goodfood Market released a commercial in 2022 titled, The Joy of Dinner, with obvious references to Ross’ show and how he created works.