Robert Norman Ross (October 29, 1942 – July 4, 1995) was an American painter, art instructor, and television host best known for his show The Joy of Painting, where his soft voice and relaxed approach to creating his art pieces introduced viewers to an ASMR experience before ASMR was even a thing.
Ross was born in Daytona, Florida, and spent his adolescence caring for injured wild animals before joining the United States Air Force at age 18. While his formative years inspired not only his interest in painting and the contents of his iconic landscapes, as well as his quick painting technique, his experience being The Mean Guy (having attained the ranks of Master Sergeant and First Sergeant) in the Air Force led him to adopt a far more mellow personality after he retired from the military in 1981 (See ASMR comment, above).
Ross studied painting under German painter Bill Alexander, and subsequently started the show The Joy of Painting in 1983, describing his methods to the viewer as he created his paintings in real time. His permed hair, soft voice, and happy little trees defined a generation of prospective artists and brought hope that even beginners could produce beautiful landscapes.
He died at the age of 52 on July 4, 1995, due to complications from lymphoma. He created an estimated 30,000 paintings over his lifetime, most of which he donated to charity.
In the 2023 film Paint, Owen Wilson portrays an artist who's Ross in anything but name.
Trope Namers:
Works:
Documentaries:
Let's put some happy little tropes here:
- Cool Teacher: Bob Ross made painting cool and attainable to his audience.
- Doing It for the Art: Ross donated every single one of the paintings he created for The Joy of Painting to various charity fundraisers.
- Drill Sergeant Nasty: His The Joy of Painting persona was developed as an aversion to his previous military persona. He had said that he loathed yelling at trainees, and so once out of the Air Force vowed that he would never take a job where he would have to raise his voice ever again.
- Friend to All Living Things: He grew up taking care of injured wild animals he found around his home, and even when he released them back into the wild, many of them stuck around.
- Memetic Hair: Ross’s iconic afro started as a money-saving measure, but soon became a personal trademark and inspired a Chia Pet.
- Pet Baby Wild Animal: He had more animal friends than Snow White growing up.
- Secretly Dying: Ross was a very private person, and the only people who knew of his lymphoma were his family and the crew of The Joy of Painting.
References to him in media:
Anime and manga- Daimos: Kyoshiro Yuzuki's signature look of a bouffant afro, rose-tinted glasses, a katana, and a trench-coat heavily resembles Bob Ross. Not to mention, Bob Ross was in the air force, and Kyoshiro flies a Cool Plane.
- The Boondocks: In Riley Wuz Here, the art teacher is a blonde, beardless Bob Ross.
