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Bob Ross’ patient teaching and “wet on wet” painting techniques helped introduce thousands of amateur painters to the art world. The “serious” art establishment might not have had much time for Ross—and the contempt was mutual—but even now, 14 years after his death, Ross’ iconic show The Joy of Painting still enjoys a large following in syndication. Let’s take a look at five things you might not know about the man who brought us so many happy little trees.
1. He Was a Military Man
Ross’ quiet voice and gentle demeanor made him the perfect host for The Joy of Painting, but those traits might have kept him from being the perfect soldier. Before Ross became a TV painter, he spent 20 years in the United States Air Force and retired with the rank of master sergeant. In fact, an early assignment to Alaska helped expose the Florida native to the snowy mountains and evergreens that would become staples of his art.
Viewers might find it surprising that the serene Ross was an Air Force sergeant, and it sounds like the painter thought it was a little odd himself. He later told the Orlando Sentinel, “I was the guy who makes you scrub the latrine, the guy who makes you make your bed, the guy who screams at you for being late to work. The job requires you to be a mean, tough person. And I was fed up with it.”
When Ross retired from the Air Force, he allegedly vowed never to scream again, a plan that seems to have worked perfectly.
2. He Worked for Free
The Joy of Painting ran new seasons on PBS from 1983 to 1994, so even at public broadcasting rates the show must have made Ross quite a bit of loot, right? Not quite. Ross actually did the series for free; his income came from Bob Ross Inc. Ross’ company sold art supplies and how-to videotapes, taught classes, and even had a troupe of traveling art instructors who roamed the world teaching painting. It’s tough to think of a better advertisement for these products than Ross’ show.
How did Ross find the time to tape all of those shows for free? He could record a season almost as fast as he could paint. Ross could bang out an entire 13-episode season of The Joy of Painting in just over two days, which freed him up to get back to teaching lessons.
3. He Didn’t Sell His Paintings
Despite being all prolific and popular, Ross didn’t show his paintings in galleries or sell any of them. In a 1991 interview with the New York Times, Ross claimed he’d made over 30,000 paintings since he was an 18-year-old stationed in Alaska with the Air Force. When Ross died of lymphoma in 1995, most of his paintings either ended up in the hands of charity or PBS.
That’s not to say there aren’t any Ross paintings floating around, though. While he generally didn’t sell his canvasses, Ross did sell some souvenir gold pans during his stint in Alaska. At the time, the amateur artist got $25 a pop for a gold pan with an Alaskan scene painted in the bottom.
4. He Had a Dr. Doolittle Streak
Before he ever picked up a paintbrush, Ross was an animal lover. During his childhood in Florida, he once shocked his mother by trying to nurse a wounded alligator back to health in the family’s bathtub. Throughout his adult life, he maintained his soft spot for animals; his Florida home usually housed any number of critters that Ross was trying to help rehabilitate. At various times he played host to birds with broken wings, orphaned baby squirrels, and an epileptic squirrel that lived in his empty Jacuzzi.
Ross liked animals so much that he would tape squirrels in his backyard. During the early 1990s, Ross had hoped to develop a new non-painting show that would introduce children to a variety of new wildlife.
5. He Didn’t Love the ‘Fro
It’s hard to think of Bob Ross and not immediately key in on the giant bushy mushroom cloud of hair that exploded off of his head, and Ross knew it. Unfortunately, he also supposedly hated the haircut. Ross had an uncanny knack for marketing, though, so he knew that trimming his locks down to a more conservative ‘do would probably undercut part of his business. Ross decided to stick with his trademark look and even had his permed visage emblazoned on every tube of Bob Ross Inc. art supplies.
‘5 Things You Didn’t Know About…’ appears every Friday. Read the previous installments here.
Comments (41)
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“Ross liked animals so much that he would tape squirrels in his backyard.”
When I first read that, I was imagining a bunch of squirrels duct taped to trees all around his yard… of course they were happy squirrels.
posted by Jud on 11-13-2009 at 10:45 am
Jud, I thought it same thing. It took another reading to click, haha.
Of course they were happy! We reference Bob Ross all the time in my art classses, just for fun.
And maybe I could paint better if Bob Ross was still around taping his show :-)
posted by Meg on 11-13-2009 at 10:55 am
I can’t stop thinking about the epileptic squirrel. I can’t properly weigh whether that’s more sad or cute.
posted by Bubba on 11-13-2009 at 10:55 am
I so love that guy. Or loved… ?
posted by Amanda on 11-13-2009 at 11:26 am
Bob. What a legend. Love him.
posted by MN on 11-13-2009 at 11:48 am
i wonder why it never occurred to him to cut his hair and buy a wig?
posted by casual_observer on 11-13-2009 at 12:14 pm
Another thing that’s hard to believe about Bob Ross is that before he came to love animals, he used to try to run over ducks in a special truck which had the words “Can’t Duck the Truck” decaled on the side.
posted by tom on 11-13-2009 at 12:56 pm
Hey Jud, that’s the funniest thing I’ve read today! Thank you.
posted by Derik on 11-13-2009 at 12:59 pm
My ex-father in-law took one of his classes by one of ‘his traveling troupe’ of teachers. I still have a few Bob Ross’s hanging up around my house.
I did love watching him on TV though, I was unemployeed in the early 90’s and it was either him or soap operas! YAY for HAPPY LITTLE TREES!!!! =)
posted by disco on 11-13-2009 at 1:31 pm
Another one of these soft guys in the military. I mean first Mr. Rogers in the Marines and now this.
posted by Crazieshamrock on 11-13-2009 at 1:33 pm
Ya gotta love Bob. I remember his predecessor on PBS William Alexander. The two seemed like polar opposites. Bob was laid back and Bill was full of fire. I always thought that would be the perfect hour of television: first Bill Alexander and ‘ze almighty brush!’, and then Bob Ross and his quiet peaceful brush.
posted by crocostimpy on 11-13-2009 at 1:36 pm
Ever since I was a kid oneof my favourite ways to relax was to watch Bob’s show. To this day watching him paint his happy little trees completely calms me down.
posted by Colin on 11-13-2009 at 1:50 pm
Wow. I’m finding out about all sorts of celebrities in the Air Force. First, Chuck Norris, then Bob Ross. Now we’re tougher and happier by associaion. : )
Mr. Trex, just FYI, people in the Air Force are NOT soldiers. We’re airmen. We don’t like to be confused with the Joes. It’s a nit-picky territorial thing….
posted by Hannibal Schlechter on 11-13-2009 at 1:57 pm
“I was the guy who makes you scrub the latrine, the guy who makes you make your bed, the guy who screams at you for being late to work. The job requires you to be a mean, tough person. And I was fed up with it.”
“Alright, private, so what you’re gonna do is take this toothbrush…just like that, that’s right…and just start brushing that toilet bowl….right…just gonna…brush away that happy little piece of turd that some guy left…yeah, like that…right…little scrap of corn, right there…no problem.”
posted by Two Worlds on 11-13-2009 at 2:46 pm
My mom would tape Bob’s show for me and my sister’s on VHS and then play them for us when we were going to bed. Best way to relax even today. I was 8 when he died but our mom failed to mention it to us sadly we found out seven years later. Through the Internet..
posted by Christina in Cali on 11-13-2009 at 2:48 pm
My mother-in-law used to play these shows for my husband as a toddler because they were the only thing that would put him to sleep. To this day I’ll come home and catch my husband asleep on the coach with a Joy of Painting re-run on in the background.
posted by HappyEditor on 11-13-2009 at 4:01 pm
I did research a few years ago on celebrity cemetary plots and visited his in Orlando. At the time, he was buried underneath a happy little tree like he always painted.
posted by Ben on 11-13-2009 at 5:21 pm
FYI: Bob did actually sell his paintings, my mother attended a couple of his classes where he was the actual teacher. at the end of these classes he would sell off the painting(s) he’d made while teaching the class :)
posted by beverley on 11-13-2009 at 7:15 pm
I learned to paint from watching him and from his books, and while I’m no great artist, I got a lot of fun out of it and am in his debt. Long live his legacy!
posted by Siobhan on 11-13-2009 at 7:45 pm
Kurt Cobain listed him as an influence.
posted by skook on 11-13-2009 at 9:25 pm
Bob’s great.
Just wanted to point out that an Air Force enlistee is an \Airman\ not a \Soldier\. A Soldier is in the Army.
Soldier, Sailor, Airman, Marine–that’s the breakdown on the proper terms.
posted by Ted on 11-14-2009 at 12:36 am
Jud, that’s how you keep them still while you paint them!
posted by DillyRat on 11-14-2009 at 4:55 am
The wit and calm demeanor of Bob Ross was a balm for the psyche and senses . Iwached his show on Detroit’s Public z Tv station (WTVS- Channel 56). His clever abservaiton on life and nature made it a pleasure to wake up at 6;00 in the morning and catch hsi show before watching the national news . He will truly be missed!!
posted by Frederick D. Holland on 11-14-2009 at 7:04 am
This is my fanbrush
This is my gun
One is for blending
The other’s for fun
posted by Joe Maz on 11-14-2009 at 6:53 pm
sooo, there is something wrong with being a master sargent in the US airforce and being a wonderful person, not to mention an excellent painter. Shame on you. Really.
posted by sid on 11-15-2009 at 3:14 am
Yes, dear Bob Ross. His voice was soooo soothing.
I loved to listen and to watch him paint his happy little trees. Amen.
posted by Laura Reid on 11-15-2009 at 10:13 am
aww, bob. whenever i watch that show i can’t help but yell out “no bob! don’t do it!!’ whenever he throws in a big brown blob in the middle of perfectly good painting.
it always turns out nicely, but i still think he’s crazy midway through.
love that show.
posted by emmiline on 11-15-2009 at 12:31 pm
emmiline, you’re right on the money! My faves were always the ones where he magically pulled off a big oval outline and the whole painting was instantly matted… but then I really screamed when he said he was going to put in a happy little tree right on that beautiful line!!!
posted by hflipper on 11-15-2009 at 3:49 pm
Once I saw a t-shirt with his face, I didn’t know where to find it, can any body help me to get this t-shirt???
posted by Julian on 11-15-2009 at 4:27 pm
I miss Bob Ross. Happy Trees miss him.
posted by Harlowe Thrombey on 11-15-2009 at 8:18 pm
@ Julian
http://www.80stees.com/products/Happy-Little-Trees-Bob-Ross-T-Shirt.asp?referer=froogle_BROSS001 is one place to get a Bob Ross T-shirt, or you could just google “bob ross t-shirt” and you get about 243,000 results. Yay, interwebs!
posted by Megan on 11-15-2009 at 10:59 pm
I’m glad someone else mentioned William Alexander. I liked his paintings and style better but I watched both of their shows. But Bob was just plain cool and had more of a fan base. Bill Alexanders paints worked better for the style but Bob was much more marketable. They should’ve joined forces.
posted by skinny01 on 11-16-2009 at 12:34 pm
I loved Bob Ross’s show! I had a set of the Bob Ross paint supplies. Unfortunately, I never was able to paint anything with them even remotely as nice looking as the paintings he did on the show.
posted by Melissa on 11-16-2009 at 3:28 pm
He’s more soothing than Valium.
posted by Layla Morgan Wilde on 11-16-2009 at 4:01 pm
Great work and timeless craft!
posted by Megan Oneal on 11-16-2009 at 9:11 pm
bob ross t shirt
his website or urbanoutfitters.com
posted by skyler on 11-16-2009 at 10:09 pm
My first painting on canvas was watching Ross at the age of 10, putting happy little trees here and there. RIP Bob.
posted by pThomas on 11-17-2009 at 9:24 am
Yeah, this guy is an icon, just like me. The only difference is that I´m alive and he´s dead, seriously.
posted by Libor Soural on 11-17-2009 at 1:52 pm
Didn’t Bob once tape a show with a squirrel in his hair? Does anyone else remember that?
posted by LibraryGirl on 11-17-2009 at 10:50 pm
I am 61 years old now and I watched Bob whenever I could.I was amazed at how fast he could turn out a painting and make it look so real.I have been painting for about 20 years now and it all started with Bob.Thanks for the free lessons Bob, I know you are still helping me with my world…my happy little world.
Dan
posted by DanHawke on 11-18-2009 at 9:52 am
This guy was great to watch. Thanks for the interesting facts.
posted by Forex on 11-18-2009 at 7:53 pm