08/10/2023
August is typically a month of reflection and reminiscence for me and this August is especially poignant as it marks 30 years since I began painting along with Bob Ross via his Public Television show. I feel a requisite degree of bittersweet at the realization that so many years have passed since a day I remember so vividly. I’ll never forget finally getting my hands on my very own Bob Ross Basic Paint Set in August of 1993 and poring over the literature included with the paints and brushes during the drive home over the mountain from Asheville, North Carolina. I felt an indelible excitement that day which has grown exponentially over the past three decades.
I felt I had become a part of something so much bigger than myself with that paint set in my clutches. Little did I know how much bigger and impactful, upon myself and others, that seemingly benign little purchase would prove to be. Thousands of paintings and classes and miles and laughs later, painting remains my enduring passion and one of the greatest joys of my life. For that, I owe a debt of gratitude to Bob and Jane Ross, Walt, Annette and Joan Kowalski, Jim and Linda Needham and a tremendous host of other wonderful people which I can never fully repay. What a marvelous movement The Joy of Painting has proven to be and what a pleasure to be a part of it. Never in my wildest dreams would I have dared to imagine that I would be reaching out to share this joy with so many others. I'm humbled and overwhelmed by the opportunity to carry on a legacy of joy in the spirit of Bob this September with the introduction of “The Joy of Painting - Series 32” to Public Television.
I had the luxury and privilege of studying Bob’s Series 32 paintings for several months which afforded me exceptional insight into Bob’s process and methodology. Holding these precious works by my painting hero in my hands was simultaneously emotional, insightful, educational and enthralling. Once comfortable that I had distilled the procedures necessary to share these final works with his legion of friends and fans, thirteen new episodes were filmed over the course of three months this year to accommodate the production schedule between and around my teaching schedule. I’m very grateful to the exceptional staff of WDSC-TV and Blue Ridge Public Television for their professionalism and flexibility. They have worked tirelessly with me to continue the Joy of Painting and ensure that this happy phenomenon is carried forward for a new generation as well as those who already know Bob as an old friend. I’m very pleased as well that, at long last, all of Bob’s painting friends will have access to instructions for the final paintings he prepared for television. (As well as several brand-new paintings I developed especially for the series!)
The fact that this frenzy of momentous, exciting and sentimental activity happens to coincide with celebrating my 30 years of Bob Ross style painting along with 40 years of “The Joy of Painting” on Public Television is probably what Bob would call a “happy accident”, but I prefer to think of it as the culmination of lots of positivity and love coming to fruition at just the right time. I hope that you will tune in this September to enjoy the new series and most of all, I hope that you’ll be motivated to pick up a brush and join me in experiencing the Joy of Painting!
