Contents
Bob Ross
Teaching relaxed landscape painting on television through The Joy of Painting.
The Joy of Painting · A Walk in the Woods
- Born
- 29 October 1942
- Birthplace
- Daytona Beach, Florida, USA
- Died
- 4 July 1995
More people
Bob Ross
Bob Ross made the act of painting feel approachable through patient explanation and a calm on-screen manner. His mountains, trees and lakes mattered as demonstrations of a process that viewers could attempt themselves.
Early life
A Florida childhood
He grew up in Orlando and worked with his carpenter father after leaving school.
A different landscape
Air Force service took him to Alaska, where snow-covered mountains later became recurring subjects in his paintings.
Career
- 1961–1981
Military service and painting
During a twenty-year Air Force career, he developed his interest in painting and began selling landscapes.
- Early 1980s
Teaching full-time
After retirement from the military, he taught a wet-on-wet oil-painting method influenced by Bill Alexander.
- 1983–1994
The Joy of Painting
Public television carried his step-by-step demonstrations across more than thirty series.
- 1980s–1990s
A teaching network
Classes, materials and trained instructors extended his approach beyond the television programme.
Selected work
The Joy of Painting
Each television lesson builds a landscape from blank canvas to finished scene.
A Walk in the Woods
A forest path after rain takes shape in the first episode, demonstrating the method that would anchor the series.
Beyond work
Animals in the studio
His affection for wildlife appeared in stories and occasional animal visitors on the programme.
A son who painted
Steve Ross learned the method and appeared as a guest instructor on the show.
Sources & photo credit
Life and career ↗Institutional or specialist reference ↗First programme painting ↗Television teaching ↗Photo: Unknown author Unknown author. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
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