Table Of ContentPraise for BoB ross
“I love Bob because he was sincere.”
—Kenny Scharf, artist
“Bob Ross represents the kitsch that is America, and in so doing became
the everyman’s Sunday painter. He took art to the masses, and like Andy
Warhol, was set on the democratization of imagery. Both Bob and Andy
became just as recognizable as the art they produced, and I dare say that
their hair had a bit in common as well: big and bold.”
—eric c. Shiner, director of the Andy Warhol Museum
“Even now, years after his death in 1995 . . . Bob Ross may still be the
most famous artist on the face of the earth. . . . His purpose was as much
to massage souls as it was to teach painting.”
—Michael KiMMelMan, author and art critic for the New York Times
“Paintings should always be magic and there was a moment in any of the
Bob Ross TV shows where something appeared from nothing and that
was like pure thrilling magic—plus he had the most consistently relax-
ing voice to nap to; when he was dabbing one could doze perfectly and
dream well.”
—Bill arning, executive director at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston
“Bob acted like what he did was super simple and made you think that
anyone could do it. He was a holy man.”
—larry “Mo” Violett, agricultural inspector and artist wanna-be
“Bob Ross, with his awesome Afro, snowcapped mountains and ‘magic
white,’ will live on forever in my memory.”
—charleS M. Blow, visual op-ed columnist for the New York Times
“Thanks to Bob Ross, I met lots of new friends and learned the joy that
showing someone how to paint in this basic wet on wet oil painting style
. . . brings.”
—DaVy turner, the Painterman and retired utility company worker
“Bob Ross was the first man to softly sensualize nature for me. Every
time he asked me if I could feel the soft mountain tops or the wispy
clouds, I felt soothed by him and I could feel them all, the purple and red
mountain ranges, the chartreuse clouds, the hot pink trees with the dark
orange shadows.”
—KiM holleMan, artist and creator of Trailer Park: A Living Mobile Public Park in
a Trailer (If you can’t go to the park, this park can go to you!)
HaPPy Clouds,
“I’m sure most of us visual artists, a generation of artists in fact, were in
some way, large or small, influenced in our formative years by this iconic HaPPy Trees
pop-artist.”
—aaron JaSinSKi, artist, quote from http://screamingskygallery.com/index
.php?id=220
“Probably without even knowing it, Bob Ross was a model for art as a
therapy. Ross encouraged the viewers, with an attitude of ‘you can do
this too,’ allowing the viewer to feel that they too can be an artist.”
—MeliSSa Diaz, art therapist and installation artist
“I remember watching The Joy of Painting as a teenager. Bob Ross gave
me the confidence to study art and pursue it as a viable career. He was
the master of his technique and made painting look easy.”
—Pete halVerSon, book designer and artist
HaPPy Clouds,
HaPPy Trees
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The Bob Ross Phenomenon
Kristin G. Congdon, Doug Blandy,
and Danny Coeyman
University Press of Mississippi ! Jackson
www.upress.state.ms.us
Designed by Peter D. Halverson
The University Press of Mississippi is a member of the Association of American
University Presses.
All trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners. Rather than put a trade-
mark symbol after every occurrence of a trademarked name, we use names in an
editorial fashion only, and to the benefit of the trademark owner, with no intention of
infringement of the trademark. The publisher and the authors make no claims to any
material owned or trademarked by Bob Ross, Inc.
Copyright © 2014 by University Press of Mississippi
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
First printing 2014
∞
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Congdon, Kristin G.
Happy clouds, happy trees : the Bob Ross phenomenon / Kristin G. Congdon, Doug
Blandy, and Danny Coeyman.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-61703-995-9 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-61703-996-6 (ebook)
1. Ross, Bob, 1942–1995—Psychology. 2. Ross, Bob, 1942–1995—Appreciation. 3. Art
teachers—United States—Psychology. 4. Artists—United States—Psychology. 5. Art
and society—United States—History—20th century. I. Title.
N89.2.R67C66 2014
759.13—dc23 2013033562
British Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data available
To all those who dare to paint
And to Bob, with thanks
!
ConTenTs
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ConTenTs
Acknowledgments ix
Chapter 1.
Introduction: The Bob Ross Phenomenon 3
ParT i. THe life and Times of BoB ross
Chapter 2.
Rob Ross, Birth to Death 15
Chapter 3.
Promising Joy: Bob Ross as Artist and Teacher 27
ParT ii. THe legendary life of BoB ross
Chapter 4.
Bob Ross as Shaman 37
Chapter 5.
Bob Ross as Media Star 47
ParT iii. refleCTions on BoB ross and His Work
Chapter 6.
Bob Ross as the Best-Known Teacher “Alive” 59
Chapter 7.
Assessing Bob Ross’s Paintings and His Approach to Art 69
Chapter 8.
The Bob Ross Network 93
Description:Readers will know Bob Ross (1942-1995) as the gentle, afro'd painter of happy trees on PBS. And while the Florida-born artist is reviled or ignored by the elite art world and scholarly art educators, he continues to be embraced around the globe as a healer and painter, even decades after his death.
