Pop Culture | TV | 90s | 80s
Libraries Have Started Hosting Bob Ross Paint-Alongs, But You Might Wait Months To Get In
If there is one person that we can all agree is a genuinely delightful person, it would be Bob Ross. Every single word out of his mouth feels like it's designed specifically to relax you, and every single piece of art he created was unbelievably amazing.
Everyone who has watched his show on PBS knows that he would start by slapping down a layer of liquid white, and then start applying paint in seemingly random areas. A little here, a little there, and then suddenly he's got this gorgeous landscape scene with a mountain, some fluffy clouds, and of course a happy little tree.
While the iconic painter passed away over twenty years ago, his presence in pop culture is more evident now then ever. His show has been released on Netflix and YouTube, so a whole new audience is discovering The Joy of Painting. And now, fans are lining up to take part in events in his honor.
You can get action figures, Chia Pets, and even a board game based on Ross, but now across the country people are lining up for a chance to enjoy his Joy Of Painting show in a new interactive way.
Libraries across America are hosting events where people can come in and pay a minimal materials fee and then follow along as Ross paints something stunning. And because Ross is an amazing instructor, the people are having an amazing time and creating beautiful images.
People are signing up months in advance to get to attend the events, and still there are people rushing in.
The thing is, Ross' show really isn't like anything else out there. It's calm, it's quiet, and it's not dramatic in any way.
Fans love it though. Felix Auer, a fan all the way in Austria said it best:
“YouTubers are packing their videos with action in fear of losing the viewers’ attention if they don’t provide something for every second. Bob however takes his time, often saying nothing and doing nothing except moving a brush for several seconds, and it all seems very genuine.”
Jen Scott, one of the organizers at a library in Salt Lake City, loves how his words become life lessons.
“They’re so many tips he says that are also life lessons, ‘It takes dark in order to show light.’ In these times when everything seems so controversial and everyone fighting with each other and all of this bad news all the time — it’s very uplifting to hear these things. People feel this connection with Bob Ross — that he’s their friend.”
Mike Fox, a fan from Pittsburgh shared his introduction to Ross, and how it changed him.
“I remember distinctly one of the first episodes that I watched he says, ‘Gotta have opposites, dark and light, light and dark in a painting. It’s like in life. Gotta have a little sadness once in a while so you know when the good times come. I’m waiting on the good times now,’ ” Fox said in an email. “These lines had immense impact. This famous painter, an accomplished artist by any measure, was like me: wearing a smile as a mask and struggling to persevere.”
More libraries seem to be adding this program to their schedules, and it's great. It helps people all over learn a new skill and and like Ross always said, it helps people build the world they want.
“I’d come home after all day of playing soldier and I’d paint a picture, and I could paint the kind of world that I wanted. It was clean, it was sparkling, shiny, beautiful, no pollution, nobody upset — everybody was happy in this world.”
Check your local libraries to see if there is a Bob Ross paint night, and if there isn't, you should probably take the initiative to set one up! It seems like people really do love them!
More on Bob Ross:
10 facts about Bob Ross that will prove he's exactly as wonderful as you thought he was.
One of his pictures has an extra special message that goes along with it.
Source - Washington Post