With his curious hair and his whisper of voice, Bob Ross was perhaps an unlikely TV celebrity. But he became one of America’s most famous painters – not just for his creativity, but for his positivity.
“We don’t make mistakes; we have happy accidents,” he told the audience.
It was like watching a magician reveal the secret of his craft.
“Look at that. Isn’t it a nice little tree?”
But at the height of his fame, at just 52, Bob Ross died of lymphoma. That was 26 years ago. And yet, the “happy little painter” is perhaps more relevant now than ever.
“We were at a time when things were so hectic and people were so stressed, and Bob Ross is the King of Chill,” said Jessica Jenkins.
But what many may not know is that when Ross entered our home years ago, he made it out of a home in Muncie, Indiana.
“No one really thinks where the show was made,” said correspondent Lee Cowan.
“So many people are surprised when they come in and think, ‘This is not a TV studio, it is a living room!’ Yes, it’s a living room! “laughed Jenkins, who is the curator of that living room – which is now the Bob Ross Experience at Muncie Minnestrisa museum.
This same place is where for years “A Alegria da Pintura” was recorded. Your brushes, your palette and, of course, your easel are here.
“In each episode, he would have a moment when he would take the devil out of the bush – he would take it and it would be fair thump thump thump thump thump“said Jenkins.” People come and recognize that [spot where the brushes were beaten] and they know exactly what it is. “
Bob Ross
But why Muncie? Because that was the home of the local PBS station, WIPB. Traveling through the Midwest on a teaching tour, Ross approached the station with the idea of teaching in front of a camera.
Cowan said, “He was an unknown painter at the time, I mean, nobody knew who Bob Ross was.”
“They didn’t know who he was, but he had a lot of charm,” said Jenkins.
Jim Needham was the general manager of WIPB and knew that Ross had something. “His mantra was, ‘I will never do anything more difficult than my audience is also capable of doing.'”
“It wasn’t just about painting; the show was much more than that,” said Cowan.
Needham said, “I think the program was about giving someone freedom and doing what they wanted or doing something they were afraid to do. And I’m not talking about painting. I’m talking about life.”
Ross practiced his paintings for TV for days, making sure he could finish them in front of the cameras in less than half an hour. Jenkins said, “He was very planned and very methodical.”
“But it certainly wasn’t like that,” said Cowan. “It was very spontaneous and calm. It wasn’t like he was running!”
“That’s Bob’s problem: you know that inside he was on a speed watch to get past that painting, but outside he was so relaxed and it made everything look so easy.”
Part of the Bob Ross experience is trying to paint. For certified instructor Bob Ross Doug Hallgren, the discovery that anyone can do this is the real joy of painting.
“Sometimes we take their hand and say, ‘It’s going to be okay, let’s do this together, just trust me’, and they’re like, ‘Oh, it worked!'” Said Hallgren.
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It was a remarkable boost for everyone’s ego here. A young guest, Elia, said: “After sitting down and painting a picture, I really believe I could do anything!”
Ross’s simplicity, however, often brought criticism. The art world had mixed reviews about him, said Jenkins: “Certainly many people have classified him as kitsch art. But if you look at the canvases Bob made in his own time, they are complex.”
Like this elaborate seascape that hovered in your own home:
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Hallgren said, “The later he got older, those paintings became more and more sharp and clear.”
Ross rarely made a penny from any of his paintings and never expected any of his works to be hung in a museum. But the Smithsonian recently acquired four paintings by Bob Ross to add to his permanent collection.
In this, at least, the man who just wanted to paint a happy little world cemented his place in it too.
Jenkins said, “The message of having self-confidence, of trying new things – it doesn’t age. And because of that, I think it continues to resonate generation after generation.”
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Story produced by Jon Carras. Editor: Carol Ross.