Bob Ross is memorialized through more than just his paintings. An annual Bob Ross bar crawl takes place in Chicago every year, and his company, Bob Ross Inc., sells merchandise like ornaments and bobble heads to adorning fans. For his fans, Bob Ross wasn’t just an artist and art teacher. He was their daily motivation and encouragement, materialized into 25 minute painting episodes filled with “happy little accidents.” For example, in a 2018 Artsy article, photography professor Krista Svalbonas said that despite her poor painting skills, Ross made her feel like she could accomplish anything. Ross’ voice, which at points in his episodes was no louder than a whisper, has become a source of modern-day ASMR, only adding to his list of accomplishments. The premise of his show, The Joy of Painting, was simple: teach people how to paint. But, it was its execution that has brought Ross to fame. As he tells the viewer to “paint whatever feels right… in their own little world,” it is clear that his impact on his audience is not just art related; Ross’ legacy has seeped into facets of society that are completely removed from art. Ross’ belief that anyone can paint, and his general outlook on life, has established him as a therapist figure that normalized conversations around mental health and created an accessibility to art.

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    Ross’ personal philosophies of kindness and compassion are at the forefront of his artistic work as a television art instructor. As he blots wet paint into trees, he tells the viewer that everything is okay. The prickly sound of his brush tapping the easel is the only disruptive sound in the entire show, because in Ross’ world, there’s no need for agitation. A fan once wrote to him about his always calm disposition, and Ross said it was why he painted: it was his own world, and he could create it however he pleased, which usually included “happy little trees”; in fact, 91% of his paintings include at least one tree. 

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    After leaving the military as a first sergeant where he spent most of his career based at Eielson Air Force Base, Ross made a promise to himself to not be mean anymore. In an interview with The Orlando Sentinel in 1990, Ross said, “the job requires you to be a mean, tough person. And I was fed up with it. I promised myself that if I ever got away from it, it wasn't going to be that way any more." This personal philosophy is evident in Ross’ 403 episodes of The Joy of Painting. In the show, there is an emphasis on togetherness; Ross has said he never wanted to intimidate his viewers. When one is painting with Ross, everything is hypothetical. In his episode, Sunset Aglow, he continually suggests but doesn’t require. “Maybe in our world, there lives a big old cloud right up here. He just sort of floats around and has a good time all day.” In the end, the painting is just “something to make you feel good inside.” With Ross, the goal of creating art was to feel better than one did before the episode started. Threaded between sounds of brush swipes and soft television static were Ross’ words of gentle encouragement, like the parent behind the bike of a new learner. For 25 minutes a day, the viewer was in Ross’ world.

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    Ross’ therapeutic impact on his viewers is evident since before his show. One of his students at the time, Annette Kowalski, took his 5-day art class after her son was killed in a car accident. Kowalski said for the first time since her son’s death, she felt at peace. After suggesting to him to start a business, what resulted was an everlasting legacy and a net worth of $10 million at the time of his death. There is a reason art critics like Mira Schor draw comparisons between Ross and Fred Rogers, who hosted Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Both are known for their tranquil voices, and for using their platform as a way to encourage viewers to be the best versions of themselves. These characters in pop culture are eternalized for reasons beyond their art. 

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    By creating an atmosphere of inclusion, Ross, with tools that consisted of the same 4 brushes, also dispelled the myth that as he put it, someone needed to be pat on the head by Michaelangelo to be a successful artist. He brought art to those without formal training, something his critics were not fond of. Art by instruction is generally looked down upon due to the lack of creativity, and in her critique of the revitalization of Bob Ross, Julia Friedman points out that Ross never painted spontaneously on camera; each painting was methodically planned out and completed beforehand. However, Ross didn’t promise to bestow virtuosity upon his viewers. The Joy of Painting was the symbolic dipping of toes in a pool before cannonballing in. In his book, Bob Ross wrote, “talent is a pursued interest. Anything you’re willing to practice, you can do.” Ross, with his various on-screen moments of perspicacity, encouraged viewers to try, regardless of their chances of becoming a professional. This ability to entice viewers into a hobby they thought they could not succeed in is what made Ross efficacious, not his ability to create groundbreaking art. Although only 20% of his show’s viewers actually painted along with him, and despite clear instructions on how to emulate his work, his art itself was and still is valued in the art world. He helped redefine what it meant to create art, putting emphasis on the process of creating, as well as the end result.

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    On YouTube alone, there are over 200 videos with Bob Ross’ voice as meant to be used as sleep aids and anxiety-reducing methods. His impact on society, partially thanks to internet sites and meme trends, is profound. The Joy of Painting wasn’t just about what the title suggests; it was about the joy of life itself, and the abandoning of perfection. Through his art, Ross encouraged and represented the tumultuous moments and emotions that are part of the human experience. Shortly before his death, Ross said, “You gotta have a little sadness once in a while so you know when the good times come. I'm waiting on the good times now.” This admittance of struggling due to the death of his wife, brother, and his diagnosis of lymphoma humanized him and provided viewers with someone they felt emotionally akin to. Ross stands apart from the greats- Michelangelo, Picasso, Monet- because his legacy as an artist was about the totality of life lived, rather than art produced. It didn’t matter if someone was painting for the very first time. Ross believed there was an artist in everyone, and by the time The Joy of Painting ended, millions of people believed so too.