PBS Remixed Bob Ross – Happy Little Clouds [VIDEO]

When I think of Bob Ross I think of a simpler time. TV wasn’t all about having to make the hardest decision of your life by choosing between twelve beautiful woman, or rich kids in New Jersey documenting all the people they sleep with. The kids may laugh, but it was actually fun to turn on the TV and watch a guy paint! Although Bob Ross has been gone for 17 years, I haven’t forgotten the times we spent together on lazy weekday afternoons. So, when I saw this song/video PBS put together I thought I would share…

As someone who has embraced the lifestyle of trying to be nice to everyone and find the positive in all things and situations it’s a no-brainer that I would like Bob Ross. Having held military positions that required him to be, in his own words, “mean” and “tough”, “the guy who makes you scrub the latrine, the guy who makes you make your bed, the guy who screams at you for being late to work”, Ross decided that if he ever moved on from the military, “it wasn’t going to be that way any more”, “vowing never to scream again”. He repeatedly stated on the show his belief that everyone had inherent artistic talent and could become an accomplished artist given time, practice, and encouragement, and to this end was often fond of saying, “We don’t have mistakes here, we just have happy accidents.” Ross was well known for other catchphrases he used while painting as he crafted “happy little trees”. In most episodes of The Joy of Painting, he noted that one of his favorite parts of painting was cleaning the brush, specifically his method of drying off a brush, which he had dipped in odorless thinner, by striking it against the thinner can and easel. He would smile and often laugh aloud as he “beat the devil out of it.” He also used a palette which had been lightly sanded down which was necessary to avoid catching the reflections of strong studio lighting. At the end of each episode, Ross was known for saying, “so from all of us here, I’d like to wish you happy painting, and God bless, my friend.”