I don’t know how many readers are familiar with the art phenomenon that was Bob Ross. Love him or hate him, the guy made painting accessible for millions of hobbyists around the world, with formulas that relied on brushwork tricks, simple colorways, and solid composition. Cheesy as they were at best, Ross paintings of trees, streams, barns, meadows, and mountains kept an honesty that later formulaic celebrity art instructors have never quite matched. His scenes were like that dream camping vacation that you never really had as a kid (because the real ones were often filled with bugs, bears, storms, car problems, and sibling rivalry).
One of his stock phrases was ‘Happy Trees’, because just one tree in a scene was ‘lonely’, so it needed company.
A few years ago, while working at an art supply shop, I was dared to do some Russian icon versions of Bob Ross. The first one was woodburned onto a birch panel, in a very severe style with good old Bob posed stiffly with his palette as a shield and his paintbrush upraised like a sword. Alas, I sold it off the shop wall before I could get a scan of it. But I have the design sketches, and I might revisit it.
The second attempt started when I found a small molded plastic picture frame at a local outlet store. The frame looked like it had been modeled from some detailed medieval European goldwork, probably a reliquary or Bible cover. I hated the garish colors of the bosses that mimicked ‘gems’ – but props people never let an object’s initial condition slow them down.
With Painter 11, I sketched a digital portrait of Ross as a saint. Then, with a 30-step process I developed for glass micro-mosaics, I turned the sketch into a little mosaic. I set it into the refinished and painted plastic frame, then within a linen mat and a larger gilt wood frame. I loved the shimmery but friendly result. So did someone else, as that one also sold off the shop wall.
The next one, if I get around to it, will probably be modeled after a New Mexican santo icon in tooled brass and copper. I like the idea that other artists still share my sentimental appreciation for him.
Thank you, Bob. We miss you.
I watched him during my pre-teen years, when I used to paint with oil colors. He was amazing. At one point, he’d film his shows with his pet squirrels. 🙂
Awesome paintings. I was always amazed at the scenes he created.