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  • - Hi I'm certainly glad you could join me today.

  • You ready to do another fantastic painting with me?

  • (bright music)

  • - [Narrator] You recognize his iconic image.

  • - Who's this?

  • This is Bob Ross.

  • This is the most famous painter

  • in the history of the universe.

  • - [Narrator] Signature phrases.

  • - A happy little cloud that floats around it,

  • just has fun all day.

  • - [Narrator] And soothing voice.

  • - Anything that you want you can build here.

  • This is your world.

  • - [Narrator] Bob Ross is one of public

  • television's most beloved personalities.

  • - The Bob you see on the show,

  • is the Bob that we all knew even behind the scenes.

  • - I used to watch Bob Ross all the time.

  • The thing I remember was his positivity.

  • He made you want to do that.

  • - He wasn't only a painter, he was

  • an entertainer in his own right,

  • without any flash, his paintings spoke for him

  • and he kind of took you by the hand and

  • led you along the way.

  • - I talk to only one person when I'm filming

  • and I'm really crazy about that person.

  • - [Narrator] Some watched for his

  • easy to learn painting technique.

  • - When I watch his method, I go it is,

  • wow how does he do that?

  • It's amazing and

  • he makes it look incredibly easy,

  • but the interesting thing is that when

  • people actually try to do it, they have success.

  • - Once you have the technique down,

  • all you need is a dream in your heart

  • and a desire to put it on canvas.

  • - [Narrator] And some we're just

  • captivated by his calming demeanor.

  • - And I think maybe that's part of the magic.

  • I think his voice was part of it, his presence,

  • his manner, his tone.

  • I think his sincerity came across,

  • and I think people relate to that,

  • they still relate to that.

  • - Every legend has an intangible

  • aura or something and I just imagine

  • whenever you're encompass of greatness

  • you know people just want to be around it.

  • - [Narrator] Bob Ross is public

  • television's most recognizable artist.

  • - Everybody knows Bob Ross and especially his hair.

  • - [Narrator] This is the story of a young painter

  • with a dream to share the joy of painting with everyone.

  • - My father, he spent most of his time

  • when he came home from work, watching public television.

  • He would have us watch Bob Ross,

  • where we would learn how to paint

  • and learn how to use our imagination.

  • - I'm sure the word magic gets used a lot

  • but I mean it really is like magic.

  • I mean, he'd mix up this color and

  • I'm gonna take a little bit of this yellow

  • and stick it in this black, and you think

  • what, right.

  • That's so counterintuitive, and then

  • takes like a palette knife and gets a little thing and

  • (whooshing) and there's a tree,

  • and it's like how'd you do that?

  • - People continually say I can't draw a straight line,

  • I don't have the talent, Bob, to do what you're doing.

  • That's baloney.

  • Talent is a pursued interest.

  • In other words, anything that you're

  • willing to practice, you can do.

  • - [Narrator] This is Bob Ross, the happy painter.

  • (bright music)

  • But before Bob became one of the

  • most popular artists on television,

  • Robert Norman Ross was just a

  • boy from Daytona Beach, Florida.

  • He was born on October 29, 1942

  • and grew up in the Orlando area.

  • Each of Bob's parents helped

  • shape his life in critical ways.

  • His father Jack was a builder.

  • - [Bob] I used to be a carpenter years ago.

  • My father was a carpenter and he taught me that trade.

  • I tell you what, it isn't that

  • easy to make a shed on a barn.

  • - He lost a finger helping his father.

  • When there's a pallet shot you can see the missing finger,

  • but because it was on his left hand and not his right hand,

  • it didn't affect his ability to hold the brush.

  • - Lender brushes are very very soft.

  • My father used to say their tender as a mother's love

  • and in my case that was certainly true.

  • I'm very prejudiced but I think I

  • had the greatest mother there was.

  • - [Annette] She had the largest influence on him.

  • She's the one who taught him the love of wildlife.

  • Second to painting or maybe even more than painting,

  • Bob loved wildlife.

  • - [Bob] I think when I was a kid I must

  • have had every kind of pet imaginable.

  • I lived in Florida so I had access to a lot of creatures,

  • but I had a pet snake.

  • I mean he got out of the cage and was

  • lost in a house for a long time.

  • My mother got up and went to the bathroom one night,

  • he was in there and scared her.

  • - [Narrator] But Bob's childhood wasn't all that easy.

  • - [Annette] Bob says that they were not wealthy

  • and really I think he viewed these wild animals,

  • anything he could get his hands on

  • as toys and entertainment.

  • - [Narrator] His mother and father

  • separated when Bob was very young.

  • His mother remarried briefly and had another son,

  • Bob's brother Jim.

  • - [Bob] When I was a kid I used to sit around and

  • you know my brother and I we'd look at clouds

  • and we'd pick out all kind of shapes,

  • we'd see the mean old which or the

  • or the Candy Man or whatever.

  • - [Narrator] 20 years later,

  • Bob's mom married his dad again,

  • but they didn't have long together.

  • Bob's father died soon after they remarried.

  • School was also tough for Bob.

  • - Do these little X's, see?

  • Little X's.

  • There, that's just the way the teacher

  • used to grade my paper in school.

  • She just run across it and go (clicking).

  • - [Narrator] When he was just 18 years,

  • old Bob joined the Air force.

  • - I spent half my life in the military

  • and I used to come home, take off my little soldier hat,

  • put on my painter's hat.

  • - [Narrator] He got married and had a son, Steven.

  • - He has been painting I think since he was born.

  • He was about 12 years old before he

  • realized everybody didn't paint.

  • - [Narrator] But Bob soon found

  • himself raising a son on his own.

  • His first marriage didn't last long.

  • Bob and his son had a close relationship

  • and years later after The Joy of Painting series took off,

  • Steve would occasionally appear on the program

  • and eventually became a certified Ross instructor, himself.

  • - Steve travels all over the country,

  • teaching hundreds and hundreds of people

  • the joy of painting and I've asked him

  • to come in today and show you what

  • he can do in just a few minutes.

  • So I'm gonna turn it over to Steve

  • and I'll be back at the end of the show.

  • Steve?

  • - Thanks a lot, dad.

  • - Steve was incredibly talented.

  • Bob said he talks better than I do

  • and he paints better than I do,

  • but Steve never was someone we could convince

  • to come on and work with the show,

  • and I always regretted that because

  • I thought he had enormous talent.

  • - [Narrator] Bob and Steve lived in Florida

  • for several years until the military transferred them

  • to Alaska when Steve was a young boy.

  • - I had been born and raised in Florida,

  • and was 21 years old before I ever saw snow.

  • - [Narrator] Bob remarried and settled down

  • near Fairbanks, Alaska with his new wife, Jane.

  • She was a civilian worker with the Air Force.

  • For more than a decade Bob worked mainly

  • as a medical records technician at the air base hospital

  • and cultivated his love of painting.

  • He was inspired by the snow capped

  • mountains that surrounded him,

  • and sold his paintings to tourists.

  • (upbeat bright music)

  • - He was a part time bartender,

  • and he was painting gold pans in Alaska

  • and selling them in the bar to make money.

  • - [Narrator] One day the tavern's

  • television was tuned to a PBS station.

  • Bob looked up and saw a painting show

  • hosted by a German man, named Bill Alexander.

  • - How long can you hide a dream?

  • How long can you have creative power?

  • You need that almighty creative power.

  • - [Narrator] Alexander was painting scenery

  • that Bob was familiar with, and he was using a

  • centuries old painting method called alla prima,

  • which means direct painting or all at once.

  • The basic premise is that a thin paint

  • will stick to a thicker paint.

  • Alexander called it the wet on wet technique.

  • - Years ago Bill taught me this fantastic technique

  • and I feel as though he gave me a precious gift,

  • and I'd like to share that gift with you.

  • - [Narrator] This method allows you to layer colors of paint

  • on top of one another and blend them right on the canvas.

  • Traditional oil painting requires you to

  • wait for each application to dry before adding a new color,

  • but the wet on wet technique is more user friendly

  • because it allows you to paint very quickly

  • and if you make a mistake you can just blend it away.

  • - [Bob] Because as you know we don't make mistakes.

  • In our world we only have happy accidents

  • and very quickly, very quickly you learn to

  • work with anything that happens on this canvas.

  • Anything.

  • - [Narrator] This painting style was

  • exactly what Bob was looking for.

  • - I remember when he was in the Air Force up in Alaska.

  • We went up there and he was excited about

  • watching someone on television and he says,

  • "That's what I want.

  • "I want to paint before the bubble bursts.

  • "I want to get my painting on the canvas

  • "before I lose my idea."

  • - About 1975 I saw Alexander on television

  • and like millions of other people I fell in love with him,

  • and it took me about a year to find him.

  • I studied with Bill and when I retired from the military

  • they offered me a position with his Magic Art Company

  • as a traveling art instructor.

  • - [Narrator] Bob's wife Jane and his son Steve

  • stayed in Alaska for a couple more years

  • until Jane was eligible for retirement.

  • - So she allowed Bob to leave Alaska with $1,000

  • and told him to either go out and

  • make his fortune or come back home.

  • He promised her, "I'll go and do this,

  • "if it doesn't work I'll come back home

  • "and do domestic stuff and be a good husband and father."

  • And so she stayed in Alaska and waited.

  • - [Narrator] Although he was leaving the land of snow

  • covered mountains, they left an indelible mark on Bob.

  • - I lived in Alaska for about a dozen years

  • and it has some of the most beautiful

  • mountain scenery there that I've ever seen.

  • Absolutely gorgeous.

  • - [Narrator] That breathtaking scenery

  • would serve as his inspiration for the rest of his life

  • and would eventually become Bob's signature subject.

  • He took that thousand dollars and set out

  • to try and spread the Joy of Painting.

  • Bob was teaching Bill Alexander

  • classes all over the country.

  • He happened to land one in his native state of Florida

  • and that's how he met Annette Kowalski,

  • in one of his painting workshops,

  • and Bob's life would never be the same.

  • - I had just lost a child and was still in mourning.

  • My husband would have done anything

  • to pacify me and make me happy.

  • So he said, "Okay, I'll drive you to Florida,

  • "which is the only place you can

  • "take a Bill Alexander class."

  • So I called the Alexander Company in Oregon

  • and they said, "Yes, we have some classes in February."

  • Unfortunately Bill Alexander has retired

  • and there's this guy named Bob Ross

  • who's teaching his classes and I was so unhappy.

  • - [Narrator] Annette enrolled in a seminar

  • that was five full days of painting.

  • - [Annette] During that five days, I became aware

  • of an effect that Bob was having on these students.

  • Very calming effect, very quiet.

  • I had never seen anything like it I was mesmerized by him.

  • - She kept insisting that there was some

  • something there that had to be packaged or bottled

  • and that's what I was hearing almost every single night

  • as we had dinner and I think that was the driving force.

  • - [Annette] So the last day that we

  • were in Florida on a Friday night,

  • we went to a local hamburger joint

  • and we invited Bob to join us, and he agreed.

  • I said to Bob, "I sure wish you would come

  • "to Washington DC and teach a class."

  • So he said, "Okay, okay. I'll do that."

  • - [Narrator] So Bob quit working for the

  • Alexander Magic Company and formed a partnership

  • with Walt and Annette Kowalski,

  • who were living in Northern Virginia.

  • Teaching their own painting classes sounded like a good idea

  • but getting people to enroll wasn't easy.

  • No one had ever heard of Bob Ross.

  • - [Walt] We tried to get Bob into a shopping mall

  • and demonstrate and in turn try to recruit students

  • for the classes that would occur maybe three days later.

  • - [Annette] We didn't have much success,

  • even though we ran expensive newspaper ads

  • and paying all the salary, and no students.

  • - [Narrator] They thought maybe the classes

  • weren't filling up because people

  • were working during the day.

  • So Bob decided to offer an evening class.

  • - One man came to our evening class,

  • and I said, "Bob we're not gonna

  • "stay here teach this one man."

  • And he said, "Oh yes."

  • And at the end of the class the man said,

  • "I'm so impressed with you.

  • "The idea that Bob would take the time

  • "to teach just me to paint,

  • "I'd like to make you a proposition.

  • "I'm a business man," which was his

  • way of saying I have a lot of money.

  • "I would like to offer you a million dollars,"

  • and in return he wants 40% of what we do

  • for the rest of our lives.

  • - [Narrator] They turned down that offer

  • and decided to keep pursuing their dream on their own terms,

  • teaching painting classes in art stores and shopping malls,

  • but they had meager attendance and mounting expenses.

  • One of the ways Bob tried to save money

  • was by getting his straight hair permed.

  • - [Annette] He thought that if he got his hair permed

  • he wouldn't have to pay for haircuts,

  • and he could save the thousand dollars Jane had given him.

  • - He was the best man in our wedding

  • and one day a number of years later

  • my kids were looking through our photo album.

  • They kept saying who is this man in these wedding pictures?

  • I said, "Well you know who that is."

  • I said, "Well that's uncle Robert."

  • They said, "Nah-ah."

  • (laughs)

  • And I said, "Yes, it is."

  • And they said, "Well he don't have curly hair here.

  • I said, "That came later."

  • - [Annette] Probably one of the most important

  • things Bob said to me was,

  • "If you do what you love, the money will come.

  • "Don't think about money,

  • "just do what you like."

  • - To me the first step of accomplishing anything

  • is to believe that you can do it.

  • - [Narrator] But they needed a next move,

  • a turn in the right direction.

  • So Annette called Bill Alexander

  • and asked him to make a commercial

  • with Bob promoting his classes.

  • I hand over that almighty brush to our mighty man, Bob.

  • - Thank you very much, Bill.

  • We've had so many cards requesting classes in this area that

  • we've decided to set one up here and

  • we will have a class going in the near future.

  • We'll produce some almighty painters.

  • - [Narrator] But the commercial wasn't

  • recorded on a standard size tape.

  • It needed to be converted to a format

  • that television stations could air.

  • So they took the commercial to their local

  • public television station in Northern Virginia, WNVC.

  • - When they saw Bob painting on this tape,

  • they got very excited and they came to us

  • and said, "Wow this guy is wonderful.

  • "Would you agree to do a television series?"

  • And we said would we ever (laughs).

  • - [Narrator] They came up with the idea for a

  • show and called it The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross.

  • - Hi, I'm Bob Ross and for the next 13 weeks

  • I'll be your host as we experience The Joy of Painting.

  • - [Narrator] At the beginning of the show,

  • Bob would start with a blank canvas

  • and finish less than a half hour later

  • with a completed oil painting.

  • - [Annette] Bob told me that he

  • went through every brush stroke

  • in his head when he was in bed at night

  • of how he would execute that painting on TV.

  • - [Narrator] Every element of the show was thought out,

  • from Bob's standard long sleeved dress shirt and jeans

  • to the soothing tone of his voice.

  • - [Annette] He said, "Annette, these television

  • "programs could go on for years."

  • Little did he know.

  • "I want to be sure and wear something

  • "on television that looks as good 30 years

  • "from now as it does now."

  • I think the hair he was a little sorry about,

  • and he couldn't change that because

  • we had made a logo out of it.

  • - He hated his hair but it was his trademark

  • and he had to do it, and it really really bothered him.

  • - I talked to him about it a couple of times

  • and said you know, "Have you thought

  • "about changing your hair?"

  • And he said, "No, this is my trademark,"

  • and he had decided that's what he would look like

  • and people loved it.

  • - What a signature look.

  • Yeah, I mean, it's like fantastic.

  • - [Narrator] Even the simplicity of the set was no accident.

  • - It was just a black curtain environment.

  • Bob and his easel, three cameras.

  • I ran the camera that Bob talked to.

  • - Richard's been with me

  • since the first series

  • and as you can see Richard has finally got smart

  • and he now wears a raincoat.

  • He got tired of all his clothes being painted.

  • - Bob's original idea was to have this elaborate set

  • that looked like a trapper's long cabin, whatever,

  • and this was the original intent,

  • but it finally dawned on Bob that

  • he would not create the intimacy with the viewer

  • with all of that in the background.

  • - He liked the intimacy of the small space

  • and it allowed him to feel the kind of intimacy

  • and to sound intimate and be intimate with us, the audience.

  • - [Annette] He said he pretends

  • like he's talking to one woman in bed.

  • - I talk to only one person when I'm filming,

  • and I'm really crazy about that person.

  • It's a one on one situation that I think people realize that

  • and they do feel that they know me

  • and I feel that I know them.

  • - [Narrator] Bob wanted to publish a how to book

  • to go along with The Joy of Painting program.

  • - WNVC said, "I'm sorry we can't publish the book,

  • "if you want a book you're gonna have to publish it,"

  • and it was going to cost thirty thousand dollars.

  • So Walt mortgaged our house

  • and we published Bob's first book.

  • - [Narrator] The book had the same step by step

  • approach of his television program.

  • They would go on to produce a book for

  • every series of The Joy of Painting,

  • and Bob would dedicate each one to

  • someone meaningful in his life.

  • - [Annette] Bob gets all the credit for these books.

  • After he filmed a painting in front of the cameras,

  • we would then go back home and

  • he would repaint that painting,

  • and I would stand behind Bob with

  • my Canon 35 millimeter camera and he would make me

  • take about 50 photographs, the whole time he was painting,

  • and those were the how to photos

  • that he wanted in that book.

  • - [Narrator] Series one aired on many public

  • television stations on the East Coast

  • but the audience was small.

  • - And the time you sit around worrying about it

  • and trying to plan a painting you could

  • have completed a painting already.

  • - [Narrator] And the quality of the audio and video

  • was so poor that the first series of The Joy of Painting

  • was never aired again, and the book that

  • goes along with it is a rare find.

  • The partnership with WNBC dissolved.

  • - I think we'll call that finished

  • and I want to thank you very very much for watching us.

  • I hope to see you again in the near future.

  • - [Narrator] Bob would have to look

  • for a new home on public television.

  • With series one of The Joy of Painting under his belt,

  • Bob forged ahead teaching painting classes

  • across the country and looking for a new

  • television station to partner with.

  • - Our dream was to move this inland to the Midwest.

  • Walt was tracking where Bill Alexander's

  • program was popular.

  • Those were the cities that we

  • wanted to hit with our classes.

  • Phil Donahue was very big in those days

  • and he was coming out of Chicago.

  • We wanted to run commercials on the Phil Donahue Show,

  • but where would we get a commercial?

  • - [Narrator] Once again he turned to public television.

  • This time in Muncie, Indiana,

  • just across the state line from Chicago.

  • - In 1981 funding for Public Television got really bad

  • and a committee was formed in Congress

  • called The Temporary Committee For Alternate Funding,

  • we called it TCAF, and out of that committee

  • there became a legislation that allowed for

  • 10 public television stations to actually sell commercials.

  • WIPB was one of those stations.

  • Well I was sitting in my office which happened

  • to be the upstairs bedroom of this television

  • studio which was an old house,

  • I look out the window and this VW bus pulls in the driveway

  • and we're thinking okay and this bushy haired man gets out

  • and this lady with him and they come walking up to the door.

  • He says, "Well hi.

  • "My name's Bob Ross and we're doing a demonstration

  • "and some classes at your mall down the street,

  • "and was wondering if you could give any publicity to us?"

  • And I looked at our production manager and I said,

  • "Have we got a deal for you."

  • - [Narrator] WIPB be produced a commercial

  • promoting Bob's painting classes

  • and aired it before and after Bill Alexandra's program.

  • Walt and Annette also bought

  • airtime on the Phil Donahue Show.

  • All that advertising paid off.

  • The class was such a success that Bob thought about making

  • WIPB be the permanent home of The Joy of Painting,

  • so he went to see the general manager.

  • - He said, "Well we we'd like to talk

  • "to you about an idea we have."

  • And I said, "What's that?"

  • He said, "Would you would you go to lunch with me?"

  • And I said sure so we took him to lunch.

  • He said, "How about making a painting series?"

  • - We did the first one and he made the painting

  • in basically 26 minutes and 46 seconds

  • and so we said well my goodness.

  • How many of these can you do and

  • he says how many you want to do?

  • I said, "Well you realize we could

  • "do 13, we'd have a series."

  • So believe it or not in like a three day period

  • we knocked out 13 programs.

  • - [Narrator] The next step was to get

  • The Joy of Painting picked up around the country.

  • So they submitted the series to a national distributor

  • to see if there was enough interest from

  • other stations to carry the program.

  • - It went up for a vote and basically

  • Bob and Annette and I and a couple of others

  • were in our office, we were actually

  • watching this vote tally,

  • and by golly you know it was a hit.

  • They said oh yeah we'll take it.

  • They designed a marketing campaign

  • turning over Bill Alexander's technique

  • and his legacy to Bob Ross.

  • - I hand over now that almighty brush

  • to a mighty man and that is Bob Ross.

  • Congratulations.

  • - Thank you very much, Bill.

  • We look forward to seeing you right here on this channel

  • for The Joy of Painting each week.

  • - [Narrator] Now with a national audience,

  • Bob was on the hook to produce a

  • new program series every quarter.

  • The production schedule was grueling.

  • - We did the whole 13 programs that would be

  • in a typical quarter, in one week here at WIPB.

  • Bob would show up on Sundays,

  • he'd place the paintings actually around the studio

  • in which we're sitting right now,

  • and he'd pick out the order in which

  • he was going to produce them,

  • and we would do the opens and closes of the shows,

  • all of them on Monday,

  • and then we'd do probably two or three programs on Monday.

  • Then Tuesday we'd usually do eight or nine,

  • and Wednesday we'd do what was left,

  • and look at them again on Thursday

  • and if we had two we did retakes.

  • - The show was generally shot straight through live to tape.

  • Occasionally if there was a technical problem

  • or something like that they would go back

  • and do an edit but he was producing those paintings

  • as you saw it on television.

  • - [Annette] He was very proud of that,

  • that there's no trickery going on.

  • And I should mention here that those

  • paintings were not all that spontaneous.

  • There was always a finished painting hanging

  • off camera that Bob was referring to.

  • - Tell you what let's get crazy today.

  • - And he would say all these

  • funny things like let's get crazy

  • but he knew where he was going.

  • He knew where he was going, but he's taking

  • you on that ride with him, you know.

  • He's keeping you entertained and

  • painting all at the same time.

  • - [Annette] But Bob insisted that nobody

  • ever see the finished painting

  • because sometimes he didn't have time to do

  • everything that was in that painting.

  • And he would have to leave out a big tree

  • or a bush or a boat.

  • - [Narrator] There is one exception

  • to Bob's thoughtful planning,

  • he did series two completely off the top of his head.

  • - One night somebody broke into our motor home

  • two days before we were to start taping,

  • and they stole all 13 of the reference paintings.

  • And that was the most spontaneous series that Bob ever did.

  • - [Narrator] This new partnership with

  • the PBS station in Muncie, Indiana

  • was the right move for Bob.

  • He would go on to produce the remaining 30 series

  • of The Joy of Painting there.

  • That's almost 400 episodes.

  • - There's a lot of super people

  • that put a lot of work into making this happen.

  • It's not done just by coming up here

  • and painting a little picture.

  • There's a lot of people here in the studio

  • that work very hard to bring you a nice production.

  • They really do a good job.

  • - It was always fun to work with Bob.

  • It was always a week that I think we

  • looked forward to when he would come back.

  • - Bob had a wonderful sense of humor

  • and so our days were spent more or less

  • telling jokes and goofing off,

  • and then when it came time to be serious

  • and do the show you know then the Bob you

  • see on the show is the Bob that we all knew

  • even behind the scenes.

  • - [Narrator] And when the work was done,

  • Bob and some of the WIPB team would scour

  • local antique shops for forgotten treasures.

  • By 1984 The Joy of Painting could be

  • seen in most parts of the country,

  • but some stations still weren't carrying the program.

  • While Bob was teaching classes in upstate New York,

  • he gave every one of his students the home

  • phone number of the local PBS station manager

  • to convince him to carry Bob's show.

  • - [Bob] Give your station a call.

  • I don't know, let them know what you want to see,

  • and when they need some help give him a hand.

  • - [Narrator] Bob's wife Jane came down from Alaska

  • to work with Walt on the business side of things.

  • - Jane was very much involved.

  • She did the secretarial work and the office work.

  • - We were forever supplying Bob and Annette

  • when they were on on the road teaching classes,

  • and that's when we were in the basement of our home.

  • - I was in college when they started this,

  • you know crazy thing and

  • came home one day for Thanksgiving or something

  • and the house was just transformed it was no longer home.

  • It was like a warehouse and a shipping dock.

  • - [Narrator] At this point Bob and Annette

  • were on the road teaching painting classes nearly non stop.

  • - As Annette and I have traveled around the country

  • teaching people we have made so many fantastic friends

  • that have been with us for so long now,

  • and that might truly be The Joy of Painting

  • is the friends that you make doing it.

  • - [Narrator] But all that travel was necessary

  • for the sake of the business,

  • because teaching painting classes

  • was at the core of what they did.

  • - [Annette] I think we all had a good relationship

  • with our spouses, all of us did,

  • but Jane allowed Bob to go out

  • and do what he wanted to do.

  • - My wife Jane, she's stood behind us

  • and kept this thing going,

  • and it takes a special lady to live with a crazy man.

  • - It wasn't fun for them,

  • it wasn't necessarily a lot of fun for us,

  • but the encouragement was there from Jane

  • and certainly I was going to all lengths to

  • satisfy my wife as well.

  • - [Narrator] The Oprah Winfrey Show called

  • and asked if Bob would agree to appear

  • and I said, "Oh, yes.

  • "Should I bring the easel and the canvases and paint?"

  • They said, "Paint?

  • "No, we're just looking for couples that are

  • "in business together but don't live together."

  • - [Narrator] Without the opportunity to paint

  • Bob turned down the guest appearance

  • on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

  • - [Annette] To Bob it was all about painting.

  • It's always been about painting with Bob.

  • - [Narrator] But the stress of turning this

  • dream into a reality wore on them,

  • and many times Annette, Walt, or Jane

  • talked about throwing in the towel.

  • - Fortunately there was never a consensus.

  • Not all four of us agreed at the same time,

  • so it just sort of, we were on a shift.

  • Those who objected or wanted to quit were in favor,

  • and then the others would switch over

  • and decided let's cash it in.

  • - [Narrator] But Bob's persistence kept them all going.

  • - [Annette] Well he never wanted to quit.

  • - No, he was probably one of the--

  • - And I was the one who most wanted out.

  • - [Narrator] His complete dedication to painting

  • and teaching others to paint was the driving force.

  • What ultimately led to Bob's unprecedented success

  • hosting a painting program, was his unwavering belief

  • that anyone could learn to paint.

  • - You often hear that to be an artist

  • you have to be blessed with your own talent.

  • I think Bob's really reversed that notion,

  • anybody can paint.

  • He said just a little bit of practice

  • and anybody can paint.

  • - You know just recently I was

  • doing a demonstration in a mall,

  • and I had a man come to me and he said,

  • "Bob I could never paint because I'm color blind,

  • "all I can see is gray tones."

  • So I thought today we'd do a picture in gray

  • just to show you that anyone can paint.

  • - That's the miracle of Bob Ross.

  • He starts very simply and it just

  • layer and layer and he builds, and anyone can do it.

  • - [Narrator] That was part of the magic,

  • Bob's unyielding encouragement.

  • He said all you need is a desire to take that first step.

  • - I remember putting my knife out for

  • the first time and just shaking.

  • From where I came from with absolutely no background in art,

  • not knowing anything about brushes, paints, canvases,

  • I didn't know anything and I actually sat down in

  • front of the canvas and did something.

  • I was amazed that what I could do.

  • - It's brought painting to the, or the ability

  • to create something to the average person,

  • and you know they know they're never

  • gonna be a famous artist, I think, maybe they will be.

  • But when they sit down they just

  • get into their own world and it's a nice place to get.

  • - [Narrator] Bob nurtured the confidence of his

  • viewers and for many people painting

  • gives them a feeling of accomplishment

  • and that's part of the joy that Bob was trying to spread.

  • - There is joy in that in painting

  • and creating something and being proud of it,

  • and you can see the looks on people's faces

  • when they're proud of their painting.

  • It's like they just can't believe they did that.

  • - You feel so important when you're doing that.

  • You know when you're putting that paint on that canvas,

  • you are doing something that up until that moment

  • was in a couple of tubes and a blank canvas sitting there.

  • I mean it wasn't doing anything for anyone,

  • and you're taking those same exact things

  • and with just a little bit of energy

  • you've taken this and made it into a creative

  • and a wonderful thing.

  • - [Narrator] But the fact that a first timer can

  • achieve immediate success using the wet on wet technique

  • is part of the criticism.

  • Traditional artists chastise the method

  • as being overly simplistic.

  • And some say his landscapes use color

  • combinations not found in the natural world.

  • - Most people think that art is something

  • that's very complicated that you have to go to school

  • for a hundred years to learn,

  • and we try to teach them that

  • that you can do a very good painting

  • with very little instruction,

  • a lot of happiness,

  • and teach them how to create.

  • - People don't believe that he had any real talent,

  • that he just put paint on a canvas.

  • In actuality, he does everything that

  • traditional artists do.

  • He just doesn't talk about it.

  • He just doesn't talk about it.

  • He doesn't say, he doesn't use the word perspective,

  • he'll say make the color light in the distance.

  • - I think the hardest part with painting is

  • is knowing the balance you know,

  • where the foreground and the background

  • and not putting things in the middle

  • and of course when you watch what he does

  • as a professional, you realize that

  • he does all of that for you,

  • but he's not telling you okay these are the rules,

  • you don't do this and you don't do that.

  • He just automatically does it.

  • - [Narrator] But Bob never let the critics get to him,

  • because it was not his goal to be regarded as a great artist

  • or even to teach others to be.

  • - You say out loud your work will never hang in a museum.

  • Bob!

  • - Well maybe it will but probably not this morning.

  • - Because why, Bob? What's the deal here?

  • What are you telling us?

  • - Well I'm trying to teach people

  • a form of art that anybody can do.

  • This is art for anyone who's ever

  • wanted to put a dream on canvas.

  • It's not something, it's not traditional art,

  • it's not fine art, and I don't try to tell anybody it is.

  • - [Narrator] His goal was to get people

  • to experience the joy of painting,

  • and he did that by removing the fear of failure.

  • - [Walt] I think that's probably the main ingredient

  • of Bob's technique, that he dismissed that

  • sort of fear of beginning.

  • - I think that you have to believe in yourself

  • and you need the confidence belief to carry on.

  • - I'd probably say he's done more for art

  • than anyone in the history of art.

  • He's got more people involved just because of his nature

  • and he told them they could do it and they can.

  • - [Narrator] Bob even acknowledged those criticisms

  • in a spoof he did as an HBO filler to run between movies.

  • Bob interrupts a formal art class

  • when he comes to paint the house.

  • When the class takes a break,

  • Bob gives it a try using his own tools.

  • With each series of The Joy of Painting

  • Bob's familiar image and soothing voice

  • filled more and more homes across the country.

  • - I think our first series we managed

  • fifty stations around the country,

  • and probably for the next two or three years

  • we didn't rise much beyond seventy five

  • of the public channels and then sort

  • of exponentially we went to 300.

  • - It's on almost every station in the country still.

  • It's like 95% of stations which is the highest

  • of any of the art programs.

  • - [Narrator] But most people who watch The Joy of Painting

  • are just watching, the Bob Ross Company

  • estimates that only around 3% of the show's audience

  • actually paints along with him.

  • Millions and millions of people watch him all over the world

  • and only a small percentage actually paint.

  • They watch him because they just enjoy him.

  • - I hear people to this day say you know I

  • watched that just so that I can hear his voice.

  • - My method of viewing Bob Ross was definitely

  • turn on the TV and watch and listen and just be captivated.

  • I couldn't possibly lift a brush while Bob Ross

  • was talking and working because

  • you just get so sucked into what he's doing.

  • It was amazing because his subject

  • matter didn't vary too much, but it never got old.

  • It never cease to amaze me.

  • - Every day I just come home from school and I

  • like I really unwind when I watch his show.

  • He's just like semi enchanting.

  • He really puts like a good feeling into my heart.

  • It's fantastic.

  • - [Narrator] The secret to Bob's success was Bob himself.

  • His warmth and gentleness were sincere

  • but once he got in front of the camera

  • he was well aware that his personality was part of the show.

  • - His manner, he just seemed like

  • the happiest guy in the world.

  • I think that for me was

  • very powerful seeing him and his happiness.

  • The things that he used to say

  • and the ways that he would always talk about

  • the world and you can see the way he saw the world.

  • - You just get swept off into this magical world

  • where you're taken out of the present moment

  • and you're taken into a fantasy reality,

  • and yes it's his but it can become your own.

  • - [Bob] You can make up stories,

  • because this is your world and in your world

  • you can have any fantasy that you want.

  • - [Narrator] Bob cultivated a relationship with his

  • viewers by engaging them in a one sided conversation.

  • - If you think about what Joy of Painting was,

  • it's TV death, right?

  • It's a dude

  • speaking softly

  • and painting a picture,

  • but it's one of the most beloved shows ever.

  • - The instinct when you go on television,

  • you see that red light go on,

  • you know it's (babbling), entertain the people.

  • The worst thing could happen to me was a moment of silence

  • and all of a sudden comes along Bob Ross.

  • Who's gonna put in a white cloud here you know,

  • I remember thinking how'd this guy get a show?

  • - [Narrator] And although Bob was speaking slowly and calmly

  • he was painting rapidly.

  • - Bob Ross for as mild as he was

  • he painted like a bulldog.

  • I mean he really like got in there was just,

  • I mean he worked that canvas, he worked that painting,

  • he expected a lot out of his materials and he got it.

  • - There's things you pick up watching him

  • like the way to do a pine tree with the fan brush

  • where you just you know go straight up, get the little

  • trunk and then you do little pieces

  • all the way down with the fan brush

  • and it's so fast and the next thing you know he

  • takes a brush and he does a couple of

  • swirls with gray and black and white and they're rocks.

  • It was like so quick what he was doing and

  • it's fascinating to watch.

  • - [Narrator] Bob had a passion for life.

  • - And of course he had a Corvette

  • and he loved that Corvette.

  • - [Narrator] And a passion for wildlife.

  • He was known for having small animals

  • or critters as he liked to call them on his show.

  • - [Jim] This was not something we were happy with

  • or encouraged but we allowed him to do it

  • because Bob was Bob.

  • - We had lots of creatures on the show,

  • and squirrels of course became his trademark.

  • He really loved squirrels and he had Peapod.

  • - That's the one that just became famous

  • and Peapod lived in his house with him for about two years

  • and finally he said you know he really

  • needs to be out in the wild and so he released him.

  • - [Narrator] Bob was committed to

  • rehabilitating injured or orphaned animals,

  • and he would build elaborate cages for them.

  • - Actually I lived a couple blocks from him

  • and every now and then he'd say,

  • "Oh I made you a cage today."

  • And he would have made me one of these enormous

  • wire cages and they were lifesavers.

  • They helped me so much.

  • - [Narrator] Bob rented an apartment in Muncie,

  • near the television studio.

  • It had a lake right out the backdoor filled with fish

  • and Bob would feed them every day.

  • - Well Bob had a heart attack while we were in Muncie.

  • And he was bedridden for quite some time,

  • and he worried about those fish.

  • I stayed in Muncie with him while he was sick.

  • So he said, "Annette, you have to go buy

  • "the bread and feed the fish."

  • - [Narrator] But even when he wasn't feeling well

  • Bob always tried to stay positive.

  • - He was always up, I mean he was a person that

  • and I know he had bad days,

  • he used to have terrible headaches,

  • and I know that he'd have bad days but

  • you would not know it if you didn't know Bob Ross.

  • - [Narrator] He rose to stardom

  • on the wings of public television

  • and he wanted to give back to the

  • system that had given him so much.

  • - Most of these paintings are donated

  • to PBS stations across the country.

  • They auction them often,

  • they make a happy buck for them.

  • So if you'd like to have one you know

  • get touch with your PBS station.

  • You know NBC or ABC gets a thousand phone calls

  • about a program and they say oh okay, we'll note that.

  • PBS gets a half a dozen phone calls from you

  • with a pledge especially they shut down and have a party.

  • (laughter)

  • - I'll never forget at an auction one time we were,

  • he was painting a painting live and we sold it

  • and the person that bought it said,

  • "I'm coming in will you wait for me so I can meet you?"

  • And the woman walked in with her walker

  • about 11:30 at night and had driven

  • for about an hour to get here,

  • and she started crying,

  • and she said, "I don't have too many good days anymore,

  • "but when I watch your show it's the best part of that day.

  • "I just want to thank you for that,

  • "that's why I had to have your painting."

  • And Bob thanked her and gave her a hug

  • and he said, "That's why I do this."

  • - [Narrator] But at this point the

  • main source of income for Bob's business

  • came from teaching painting classes

  • and selling instruction books,

  • and then a happy accident.

  • The Alexander Company called and said

  • they couldn't produce enough paint to

  • keep up with the growing demand and

  • suggested that Bob start his own line of products.

  • - [Annette] Bob also took that opportunity

  • to refine the product that Alexander had been using.

  • - He reduced the size of the largest brush that

  • Alexander was using, from two and a half inches down

  • to two inches, and he adjusted the formula of the paint.

  • - Bob was very adamant about what he wanted.

  • He was kind of a perfectionist,

  • because he knew the system that he developed would

  • work for a beginner if it was formulated a certain way.

  • - More than the colors being specific,

  • is the consistency of the paint.

  • It's very specific to the technique.

  • They're very very firm.

  • - [Narrator] Here's what it takes to make

  • the Bob Ross landscape oil colors.

  • - You measure, you put it in, you let it mix,

  • and then thicker products go over a three roll mill,

  • then the lab chemist comes and does a job on it

  • and then if he approves it then it goes

  • through to filling equipment.

  • - [Narrator] Each tube of paint was

  • printed with Bob's smiling face.

  • As his products hit commercial shelves so did his image

  • establishing his brand in the commercial art world.

  • Now Bob could focus on growing his business

  • and that meant training some instructors to go out

  • and teach the method and the message of The Joy of Painting.

  • As the demand for more television episodes

  • plus more painting classes, both steadily increased

  • Bob began to realize that he wouldn't have

  • enough time to devote to both.

  • In 1987 he created the first team of Bob Ross instructors.

  • These students would go out and teach in Bob's place.

  • - One of the things that we're trying to do is we

  • travel around and teach this almighty method

  • is we're trying to gather up an army of teachers

  • and soon we'll have teachers that travel

  • this entire beautiful country teaching this

  • fantastic method of painting.

  • - [Narrator] Seminars and demonstrations gave way

  • to guest appearances in big cities.

  • When he released his first hardcover book in 1989,

  • Bob hit the talk-show circuit.

  • - My next guest has been creating his magic

  • for the past 10 years on his own show,

  • The Joy of Painting which I watch all the time.

  • He is the author of several books on the subject,

  • his latest is called The Best of The Joy of Painting.

  • Please welcome America's favorite art instructor, Bob Ross.

  • (crowd cheering)

  • Nice to have you on.

  • - Thank you, very very much.

  • - Why are you so popular?

  • Most people can't paint, yet I find myself fascinated.

  • I sit and watch you paint.

  • - I think it's because that magic really

  • does happen in 30 minutes and

  • there's no editing to these shows.

  • What happens really happens.

  • - What is the easiest thing to paint,

  • if somebody wants to start out,

  • somebody in the audience or me,

  • what would be the first thing you would say to somebody?

  • - Probably just a little landscape because

  • nobody knows if a tree is incorrect.

  • If you put three eyes on there either you're Picasso

  • or something's wrong.

  • - [Joan] Show me, show me.

  • - You know it's very funny you think

  • that Bob would pull up in some big limousine

  • and he would jump out and the paparazzi

  • would be clipping and clip, clip, clip,

  • but in fact we were like dragging easels

  • and we were just a bunch of country folk

  • just in the big city.

  • - [Narrator] He was also invited to be a

  • celebrity guest at the Grand Old Opry.

  • Bob was a big fan of country music

  • and his friend Hank Snow brought him up on stage.

  • - And when they introduced him the crowd just went nuts.

  • And he went up there and he was a little nervous

  • at first and cracked a joke and everybody laughed

  • and they cheered and he was on his way

  • and they had a great interview.

  • It was just a really cool thing to walk in there

  • and have all these country music stars

  • come up the Bob and say oh you're my favorite,

  • I watch you all the time, I paint with you.

  • - Annette Kowalski and I had a private class

  • for one of country western's living legends Mr. Hanks Snow.

  • - I've learned more in the last couple of days

  • that I could learn in a year really.

  • - [Bob] Well thank you.

  • You're doing almighty things there.

  • - [Narrator] By the early 90s nearly 300 episodes

  • of The Joy of Painting were on the air

  • in the US and then Canada.

  • Soon translation started cropping up in Mexico,

  • Costa Rica, Colombia, the United Kingdom,

  • the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland,

  • Austria, Turkey, Iran, South Korea, and Japan.

  • - It was on in Japan they said no take

  • the soundtrack back up we've got to hear his voice.

  • I think his sincerity came across even

  • if you didn't understand the words.

  • - [Narrator] By now Bob was arguably one of

  • the biggest stars in the history of Public Television

  • and host of the most popular art show of all time.

  • - It's just wow.

  • This guy has got it and that's

  • kind of what it was,

  • but he didn't let it go to his head, not at all.

  • - I mean you would never know

  • that he had this program that clearly had

  • the attention nationally of people because he was

  • just kind of under the radar.

  • - [Narrator] When his second hardcover book came out

  • Bob was once again called up to the networks.

  • - Bob was looking at us and he's painting a mountain.

  • I don't know.

  • - Because he's famous for his landscapes.

  • He says millions of people harbor a

  • desire to paint and I think he's right.

  • Wouldn't you love to be able to?

  • - Well you know we've talked about this

  • before I frankly have no, there's his book,

  • I have no...

  • - Artistic talent at all?

  • - Absolutely not.

  • None.

  • - Tell you what if I can get you to pick up your palettes,

  • we have a palette prepared for each of them.

  • - That's this part, Reg.

  • - And just sort of put your thumb

  • right through the hole there, there you go.

  • Hold it like, oh you look good.

  • - Okay.

  • - [Bob] This is the fun part of all this.

  • We're just gonna paint a happy tree right here.

  • - [Regis] Oh look, what I'm doing here.

  • I'm painting.

  • (audience cheers)

  • - [Narrator] Bob rose to the status of

  • pop culture icon with a series of promotional spots for MTV.

  • - I do love to paint trees,

  • you can make it wiggly.

  • That's how I always do it.

  • MTV, it's all just fluffy white clouds.

  • - [Narrator] And a tongue in cheek

  • commercial for hair care products.

  • - Subtle color.

  • - A little bit of color.

  • - There's no ammonia or peroxide.

  • Even conditions your hair.

  • - You know people have done spoofs

  • on Saturday Night Live, they've done all sorts of things

  • and you know what can I say if you reach that stature,

  • it means something in life, whether you actually

  • like what they're doing or not,

  • the point is that they know who you are,

  • and he certainly had made a reputation

  • of being a visible icon.

  • - [Narrator] But Bob learned just how popular he was

  • while demonstrating his products on QVC.

  • When he got off the air a producer walked up to Bob

  • and handed him a phone.

  • He said, "Bob I got somebody on the phone

  • "who wants to talk to you,"

  • and Bob said, "Who's that?"

  • He said, "Marlon Brando's on the

  • "phone and wants to talk to you."

  • Bob, who was very humble, he was like, his jaw dropped.

  • He just like, Marlon Brando wants to talk to me?

  • It was phenomenal.

  • That's the kind of magnet Bob was.

  • - [Narrator] Although his career was at its pinnacle

  • his personal life was starting to come apart.

  • In 1992, he lost his wife Jane to cancer.

  • And his own health was starting to fail as well.

  • He was fighting his second bout of lymphoma.

  • He'd had surgery for the original diagnosis

  • long before The Joy of Painting started,

  • and had been in remission for years,

  • all of which was kept secret except to his closest friends.

  • - He really got tired easily and that

  • probably was a precursor to what was coming.

  • - [Narrator] But when Bob knew he was losing the fight,

  • he began making plans to carry on The Joy of Painting.

  • - We had a couple of years warning

  • that we were going to lose Bob.

  • He worried that when he was gone the landscapes would go too

  • and so he said, "Annette, I think you need to go

  • "public with the florals that you're painting."

  • - You know over the years I've got literally

  • hundreds of letters from people saying

  • teach us how to paint florals.

  • Well, I'm not really a floral painter,

  • I'm really a tree and mountain type person,

  • so I've asked a very dear friend to come in today

  • and help us with a little floral painting.

  • I'd like to introduce you to my partner

  • and longtime friend Annette Kowalski.

  • Annette welcome to the show.

  • - Thanks, Bob.

  • - [Narrator] Around that same time

  • they opened the Bob Ross workshop

  • in New Smyrna Beach Florida to train the

  • army of new instructors to carry on Bob's legacy.

  • - It's viral.

  • You teach five people to do it and they go out

  • and they teach ten people to do it

  • and then they teach 20 people to do it

  • and it just keeps rolling.

  • - That's what he wanted to happen is that

  • everybody would still pass that joy on to the next person.

  • - [Narrator] Then in 1994 about a year

  • before he died, Bob was invited to

  • be a guest on the Phil Donahue Show.

  • - I recall thinking,

  • you know when people watch the Donahue Show, you know,

  • we hope we're interesting and then you know

  • people will watch it and enjoy it.

  • When they watch Bob Ross

  • they went like this.

  • You were mesmerized by what he was doing.

  • I remember just leaning forward towards the television set.

  • I couldn't get over this guy.

  • I was crazy about the guy so,

  • what do you do when you're impressed

  • you invite him on your show which is what I did.

  • You know you don't necessarily jump out of a cake,

  • I mean you never were that kind of guy,

  • put a lampshade on your head.

  • - No.

  • - You know you are so cool,

  • you are so calm, you are yourself

  • and you put together some of the most

  • beautiful work I've ever seen.

  • Look at the light shining in, I mean this is wonderful

  • and so who's stupid to put his

  • painting up after Bob Ross, the pro.

  • All right, here I am,

  • I'm about to embarrass the whole Donahue family here.

  • All right?

  • This is what you can do if you apply yourself

  • and have more talent than I do.

  • There you go.

  • (audience applauds)

  • The audience was just totally into this

  • and you know when you're 29 years on the air

  • with an audience every day,

  • you get pretty good at reading audiences

  • and this audience at the time that he did our show

  • was totally wrapped.

  • Sir, you wanted to ask.

  • - [Man] Oh, my mom watches him all the time.

  • - [Donahue] Yeah.

  • - I go over there's she's always watching this guy paint,

  • and she says he looks so good

  • I wonder how they look in person

  • and they look terrific, mom, in person, they look great.

  • - [Donahue] Bob, thank you.

  • - [Narrator] By the end of 94 Bob became too weak

  • to continue to travel to Indiana from his home in Florida.

  • - It was pretty clear as he started

  • dealing with those issues that doing

  • four or five shows in a matter of three or four hours

  • was just getting be too much,

  • and that's when we really just

  • started saying we need to stop.

  • - The the worst part of all for him was his hair,

  • he was so upset because his hair, you know,

  • he did go through a certain amount of radiation and chemo

  • and his hair was falling out.

  • Of course he had a wig at the end there but,

  • you know, he had an image to keep

  • and that was very important to him.

  • - [Narrator] He had produced over

  • 400 episodes of The Joy of Painting.

  • The last series was number 31.

  • - Bob was unable to complete series 32.

  • I think he prepared ten or twelve of the paintings,

  • and then he couldn't paint anymore and so

  • we were never able to film or tape those programs

  • but we do still have the paintings.

  • - [Narrator] After he stopped recording The Joy of Painting,

  • Bob went home to Florida

  • and remained very private in his final months.

  • Bob's life had always been about sharing

  • the joy of painting with others.

  • And even as his life was coming to an end,

  • he wanted to find a way to share his love of

  • painting and wildlife with children,

  • and so he teamed up with a crew from Muncie

  • to produce a children's program called

  • The Adventures of Elmer and friends,

  • but he was too ill to travel to Indiana to shoot the pilot.

  • So the crew came to Florida and

  • recorded Bob's parts from his home.

  • - I'll bet the trees and animals knew all

  • about old Walters treasure like it says.

  • - But how does that help us?

  • - I think you should talk to a tree.

  • - Talk to a tree?

  • We don't know any trees.

  • - Oh yes we do. How about the happy little tree?

  • - The happy little tree?

  • You mean the one Bob always paints?

  • - Yeah that's a great idea,

  • we can ask him about the diamonds.

  • - But where is he?

  • - He's in your imagination but there might

  • be a picture of him in this book.

  • - It was really heartbreaking when we walked in

  • and saw Bob because we hadn't seen Bob in so long.

  • He lost a lot of weight, he'd lost a lot of hair.

  • Just not the Bob Ross that we knew

  • and God bless Bob he had the spirit

  • and he had the willingness to do it,

  • whether or not he had the energy was irrelevant.

  • - [Narrator] In the end Bob was only able

  • to participate in the pilot episode.

  • On July 4th 1995, Bob Ross died of lymphoma.

  • He was 52 years old.

  • - He really touched a lot of people and

  • made a difference in their lives

  • and I think the painting made a difference

  • but what he said made a difference.

  • I think we're all looking for hope in life, even today

  • and will always be and I think he was selling hope

  • as much as he was selling painting.

  • - He was just a wonderful wonderful man

  • and we were so lucky to have him come

  • and spend the time that he did with us.

  • He was our friend.

  • He was our best friend.

  • - [Narrator] Bob's legacy lives on

  • through the thousands of instructors who teach his method.

  • - When I'm painting I feel like

  • he's there with me, guiding me.

  • It's so funny, it's an emotional thing.

  • I can't describe how emotional painting

  • can be for people and for me.

  • - We continue to certify teachers at

  • the same rate as when he was alive.

  • There's probably 2,000 of them now

  • and they're all over the world.

  • - [Narrator] And Bob himself still lives on through his

  • TV series The Best of The Joy of Painting.

  • Blue Ridge PBS in Roanoke, Virginia

  • presents the program to America's public television stations

  • where more than 90% of the country

  • can still watch bob paint happy little trees each week.

  • - Who knew that like 30 some odd years later

  • the shows are still running on TV.

  • That's just fantastic.

  • - There was a lot of pressure on us right after we lost Bob

  • to replace him with another painter and we talked about it.

  • I think the smartest decision we ever made

  • was not to replace Bob with anybody else.

  • He just will live forever.

  • - This is 28 years later now and I can tell you

  • the phone calls that we get today

  • are identical to the calls we were getting 28 years ago,

  • this is a new generation of viewers now.

  • I don't think a lot of people

  • understand the age range and the lives he's touched.

  • College students, young kids, old,

  • middle of the road, it's incredible,

  • but yet the one thing is that man's legacy

  • does not go away, nor should it.

  • What he's given many people have imitated, never duplicated,

  • but what a ride it was.

  • - I miss him and I'm sure his millions of fans do as well.

  • - Until next time, on behalf of all the personnel here,

  • my partner's Walt and Annette Kowalski,

  • I'd like to wish you happy painting.

  • God bless my friend.

  • (easy bright music)

  • - The thing I love the most about it is he'll go,

  • and then we'll put a little tree in here,

  • dip dip dip do do, maybe it needs a friend,

  • and maybe another friend.

  • I just love that.

  • - And you'd see like there'd be a part of the canvas

  • that's done and he would be like oh I'm gonna put this here.

  • All of a sudden there's a cottage.

  • Where'd that come from?

  • - I don't know if I agree with Bob on that

  • that anyone can paint.

  • I think anyone can do it anyone can enjoy it,

  • so in that sense everybody should.

  • I've seen some paintings that shouldn't have happened.

  • (bright upbeat music)

- Hi I'm certainly glad you could join me today.

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