Ross was well known for phrases he tended to repeat while painting, such as "let's add some happy little trees". [26] The landscapes he painted, typically mountains, lakes, snow and log cabin scenes, were inspired by his years in Alaska, where he was stationed for the majority of his Air Force career. He repeatedly said everyone has inherent artistic talent and could become an accomplished artist given time, practice and encouragement. Ross would say, "we don't make mistakes; we just have happy accidents." [30]

Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal What’s Revealed in “Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal

One controversy I wondered if you could speak to was the flower painters, Gary and Kathwren Jenkins, and their description of your mother, Annette, and her rival flower-painting books and video. They seem to believe that she and Bob Ross Inc. targeted them to diminish a business rival. They also suggest in the documentary that Annette improperly copied aspects of their instruction books. Schonfeld, Zach (August 30, 2018). "Inside the whispery, wonderful, inexplicably relaxing golden age of ASMR". Newsweek . Retrieved March 21, 2021.

Even in the comments under the YouTube videos, usually one of the more poisonous forums on the internet, nearly all of the posts are appreciative. Under a video with nearly 30 million views, the top comments run along the lines of “If art teachers were all like Ross, no one would fail, no one would feel ashamed to show their work, no one would dread to come to art class. He is so inspiring!” And: “He didn’t paint to show how good of a painter he was. He painted to show how good of a painter you could be.”

Bob Ross: Art of Chill Game | Board Games | Zatu Games UK

I was in a room on the side of a big-box craft store in the suburbs north of Dallas, about to start a class taught by John Fowler, a Bob Ross–certified instructor—which means that he spent three weeks in Florida learning the wet-on-wet painting technique Ross employed on television. A tall, bespectacled man in his 60s, with a light beard and a deep voice and soothing cadence reminiscent of Ross himself, John explained that he has a few things in common with the puffy-haired painter. They both spent many years in the Air Force, for example, and both retired with the rank of master sergeant. I’d learn he also uses some Bob Ross vernacular, sprinkling instructions with expressions such as “We don’t make mistakes, we just have happy accidents.” In August 2021, Netflix released a documentary called Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed exploring Ross's life, career, legacy, and the controversy surrounding the Kowalskis versus Bob Ross's family. [62] [63] The Twitch streams created a new interest in Ross and caused his popularity to grow. [16] His videos subsequently became popular with devotees of ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response). [14] ASMR refers to a pleasant form of paresthesia, or tingling, often brought about by specific visual or auditory stimuli. [67] Many viewers found that listening to Ross triggered an ASMR response. According to Joan Kowalski, the president of Bob Ross Inc.: "He's sort of the godfather of ASMR... People were into him for ASMR reasons before there even was an ASMR." [14] See also Bob Ross’s tutorials were always meant as a guide. He gave the basic instructions, but he allowed room for flexibility. A painting could have as many or as few trees or mountains as desired. The 2D side scrollers of the Drawn to Life games are largely that premise. Albanesius, Chloe (October 29, 2012). "Bob Ross Paints 'Happy Little Trees' for Google Doodle". PC Magazine . Retrieved October 29, 2012.Porter, Matt (November 9, 2015). "5.6 Million People Watched Bob Ross's Twitch Marathon". IGN . Retrieved November 9, 2015. The documentary noted that they didn’t attend his funeral. And that does strike me as a bit surprising given their long relationship. I don’t remember the first time I saw Bob Ross on TV, but I have distinct memories of watching him when I was a kid. If I was flipping through channels, I couldn’t help but stop whenever I saw his signature perm. I was mesmerized by the way he seemed to wave his paintbrush like a wand and create delicate pine trees and majestic mountains. I was hypnotized by the soft scratching sound of the brush hitting the canvas and by his gentle voice—just a smidgen louder than a whisper—narrating each step and encouraging the viewer every chance he got. Bob Ross: Art of Chill Game is the kind of game that I would refer to as a “Palette Cleanser”. In our gaming group, people tend to get very involved in games and this can mean we need something low energy and low-stakes to break the tension afterwards. At the minute, we use Takenoko and Dixit to calm people down before we return to something very competitive. Bob Ross: The Art of Chill definitely falls into the same category. Moving at a gentle pace, this game is quite cute and requires mild strategy, but nothing too taxing. It is engaging enough to get everyone involved, but not so stressful that arguments break out. Bob Ross channel on Twitch". The Joy of Painting Marathon – Celebrating the official launch of Twitch Creative! #painting #oilpaint #bobross. October 29, 2015.

Bob Ross - Island in the Wilderness (Season 29 Episode 1) Bob Ross - Island in the Wilderness (Season 29 Episode 1)

As many fans as he had, Ross was never taken seriously by the contemporary art community. Because he was on TV. Because he used the wet-on-wet technique—piling layers of paint on the canvas before any of it dried. Because critics thought his work was frivolous. Because he was everything that he was. Morfit, Cameron (November 18, 2001). "The Mellow, and Undying, Magic of Happy Little Trees". The New York Times . Retrieved January 20, 2011.Bob Ross Biography". The Biography.com. Biography com. August 4, 2016 . Retrieved September 15, 2016. Newfound interest in Ross occurred in 2015 as part of the launch of Twitch Creative. Twitch hosted a nine-day marathon of The Joy of Painting beginning on October 29 to commemorate what would have been Ross's 73rd birthday. [53] [54] [55] Twitch reported that 5.6 million viewers watched the marathon and, due to its popularity, created a weekly rebroadcast of one season of The Joy of Painting each Monday. A portion of the advertising revenue was promised to charities, including St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. [56]

Bob Ross Inc. Would Love It If You Stopped Hating Them Bob Ross Inc. Would Love It If You Stopped Hating Them

Bob Ross using a large paintbrush to touch up one of his large seascapes in his studio at home (Photo by Acey Harper / The LIFE Images Collection via Getty) Rife, Katie (April 16, 2014). "Study the happy little numbers with a statistical analysis of Bob Ross's Joy Of Painting". The A.V. Club. Now the artist is enjoying a posthumous second act as pop culture figure on the internet. Rofé adds: “If you fast-forward to around 2015, we’ve got the advent of streaming platforms and all of these apps and technology and now a whole new generation is discovering Bob Ross for the first time. He becomes an iconic figure, I would say, at a level that he hadn’t even reached previously.”Gault, Matthew (November 24, 2020). "Bob Ross Is Coming to Magic: The Gathering". Vice . Retrieved November 25, 2020.