You know, it's not until you try someone else's craft and fail miserably, that you truly learn
to appreciate what goes into it. That was Bob Ross in a nutshell. Not only was he an amazingly gifted
painter, but he could do it while holding a conversation, a personal one, one that made
you feel like you were alone in a room together and he was teaching just you. He had the skill,
he had the looks, personality, experience, and a legacy, a legacy that we're saluting in this
video. Here is the true story about Bob Ross! 10. He Worked For Free
His famous TV show, The Joy of Painting, ran for 11 years, but he never made a cent from it! All
of his income came from Bob Ross Inc., which sold art supplies, how-to videotapes, taught classes,
and even hired out art instructors to teach all over the world. His TV show was basically
advertising for all of the other services and products he sold with his company. So, did he sell
off all of his paintings before he died? Records show, he did not. According to Annette Kowalski,
Ross's longtime business partner, "Selling the paintings was never really Bob's thing."
The vast majority of Bob's paintings are stored at the Virginia headquarters of Bob Ross Inc.,
and protected under the watchful eye of Annette, and her daughter Joan. They claim to have only
donated a few paintings to the Smithsonian to be part of a permanent exhibit at the
National Museum of American History. 9. Each Painting, Three Copies
Though many of the elements in his paintings are seen throughout his work, no one can say he
ever used a painting twice. He’d only repeat them for very specific production purposes. The first
painting would serve as a guide, just off-camera to use as a reference throughout the show. The
next one would be done on camera during the show, and finally, he’d do a third with a little more
detail for his instructional books. That’s all. 8. Master Content Creator
An entire 13-episode season of his show could be finished in just two days. That means he’d
be painting about 40 paintings total in two days on top of shooting the show itself!
That’s tireless work that would then free him up to teach painting lessons and manage his business.
But Bob didn't look at it as work, because he truly loved what he did. In his lifetime,
he purportedly completed over 30,000 paintings - that's enough to do 1 painting every single
day for over 82 years! On his television show alone, he completed approximately 1,100 paintings.
7. He Rejected Oprah To this day, being anywhere
near Oprah means that you made it, but not to Bob Ross. After being invited to be on Oprah,
he turned down the invitation after he found out the real subject of the episode. First,
he thought he’d be painting for a live audience which excited him. Later, it was revealed to him
that the show would be about couples that are in business together but don’t live together.
He didn’t want to go on TV to talk about his personal life so he decided not to go on at all.
6. Missing A Digit What’s up with artists missing bits
and pieces of their body? Van Gogh was missing an ear and Bob Ross was missing part of his left
index finger. Unlike the self-mutilating Van Gogh, Bob lost it in an accident when he was a kid.
His father was a carpenter and after a woodworking project, he was left without part of that finger.
He’s lucky that’s all it was and it never bothered him much as he went on to become maybe the most
prolific artist of his time. If a missing finger won’t stop a painter, what's stopping any of us
from achieving our dreams? 5. A Military Man
Not a short career, either! He was in the Air Force for 20 years and retired with the
rank “Master Sergeant”. Do you know what that means? All that money from Bob Ross
Inc. was his side hustle money because he was already on a military pension.
Before being the most famous painter in America, he was actually stationed in Alaska, which makes
sense when you look at a lot of the scenery and the snowy mountains in his landscape paintings.
4. He Spoke Quietly on Purpose After his time in the military,
he switched careers and swore off the raising of his voice that was common during his career
in the Air Force. His soft and soothing demeanor helped calm many and made him into what can only
be described as 1980s ASMR. The tough guy was in his past and seeing him in his new
career you’d never have known he used to be a strict military man. It was so soothing that
people with insomnia can now listen to him tell a story on an app called Calm in order to doze off.
4. PBS Claims 90% of Viewers Just Watched His entire goal with the show was to have
viewers paint along with him, but according to PBS, most would just watch him paint.
Can you blame him? He’s mesmerizing! Only a very faithful 10% would follow along with him.
It’s like watching cooking shows, who is really cooking along with Jamie Oliver? I’m eating pizza
and drinking a pot of coffee. 3. Bob Ross Museum
If you’re ever in New Smyrna, Florida, drop by the Bob Ross Museum, which exhibits over 300
original art pieces by the artist himself donated by PBS. Not only is it fascinating to walk through
and feel a little piece of his soul tied to every single piece, you can even take
art workshops inspired by Ross and his techniques. It’s not too late to learn to paint like Bob Ross!
It’s nice to know that his art isn’t gone and we still have so many ways to connect with his work.
2. He Hated His Hair If we ever saw Bob Ross without his big,
curly hair, there's a chance we might not even recognize him. Little did everyone know,
he didn’t actually like it! He had it permed so he wouldn’t have to cut it very often and ended
up getting used to the look to the point where it became his signature style. He actually hated it,
but once his image was everywhere and the face of a whole company, he didn’t have much of a
choice but to keep it. Check out what he looked like before the perm, a whole other guy, right?
1. An Animal Lover As if he couldn’t get any more
wholesome, Bob Ross, on top of everything else that’s sweet and nice in the world,
was an animal lover. He’d often feature raccoons, owls, and other small animals in his paintings
and his family vouched for his love for animals since he was very young. In fact, growing up in
Orlando, he’d often come upon injured animals and bring them home to take care of them.
He took home squirrels, armadillos, snakes, and even an alligator or two. Just watch him interact
with animals - it’s so endearing. It’s not tough to imagine why he considered starting a whole show
to teach kids about wildlife called “Bob’s World”. Thanks for watching and brushing up on your Bob
Ross knowledge! What new info did you learn about him? Let us know in the comments.
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