Bob Ross painter, why had i never heard of him?

[Samcro]

Just watching a random tv show on Bbc 4
Just him painting. He is amazing.
Even my ds had heard of him.

[RaelImperialAerosolKid]

He's kind of a cult in my DS(16) circle they watch you tube videos of him after parties. I always preferred Nancy Kiminski!

[ArriettyJones]

Yes DD (20) showed me his videos a year or so ago. They all watch him on YouTube. The youth are strange.

[puzzledpiece]

He's on You tube and TV. I love him, listening to him is so soothing and his paintings are amazing. Apparently he never made any money from the actual paintings, although that may be a folk myth!

[ShaunaTheSheep]

He’s in loads of memes.
DS had made a Lego minifigure Bob Ross.

[ArriettyJones]

He probably made much more from having his programme syndicated all over North America for 30 years!

His art isn’t to my taste but he is incredibly good at what he does.

[Prokupatuscrakedatus]

happy trees and happy clouds

[SurreyHillsGirl]

He is very big in the ASMR community. He was such a lovely, gentle man.

[EatsShootsAndRuns]

It's your world so calming.

[ThousandsAreSailing]

Are you the wrong age op?
I grew up watching him and he seems to have got cult status with 16-20ish year old.
You should watch his son

[NervousInYorkshire]

He's so relaxing! I sometimes just listen to the show instead of watching what he's doing
Apparently he used to be in the military, and was so soft spoken because when he left he said he never wanted to yell at anyone again. He seems like he was a really nice person.

[MintyMabel]

First time I saw him I was at a restaurant at lunch time with TVs at each table and he was painting a naked woman. It was bizarre.

[ExclamationPerfume]

My Dd's love him. He is so relaxing to listen to. It's the way he says white it's lovely.

[Samcro]

I am old, my adult ds was all, oh yes he,s great.
Such a calm half hour watching him.

[FedUpAtHomeTroels]

My 31 year old son used to watch him on PBS in the US. Very calming, all my kids watched him in turn. I love that he has become so poular here. He didn't even make money doing the show, he did it to sell his painting supplies in his shop.

[corlan]

Bob died in 1995, but he is very big with teenagers at the moment!

[LevoMental]

I could watch him all day. His voice is so soothing.

[applepineapple]

Beat the devil out of it!

[SummerBreeze20]

My DS (aged 9yrs) has just discovered Bob Ross, and he loves watching him. Bob has a lovely voice, but the sound of the brush on the canvas makes me want to leave the room!

[cleanasawhistle]

We thought the same.......then read about William Alexander

[Lightsareon]

I love him, DH loves him, even DD(11) loves him I used to watch him at about 3am when DD was newborn, perfect watching for night feeds.

[FrothyB]

Well he died around 25 years ago and he was on air from 83-94. I don't know if his show was ever aired in the UK back then.

His story is quite interesting. How he became so big now though? I'm not sure, the internet has a bizarre way of making cult figures out of the most random people. When I were a teen it was Chuck Norris for example. People just seem to capture the collective consciousness of the online space.

I like to think people found enjoyment from his videos because they were something of a tranquil island in the sea of toxicity that is the internet at large. Since 2015, although more likely 2012 if you're of a certain age and a gamer, the online space has really gone to shit. Wherever you fall on the political spectrum, commentators are angry, they want you to be angry, they want you to hate the other side and the opposing views. You couldn't really escape it in 2016 if you were on Twitter or YouTube regularly, and I'm sure the tendrils of division made it to plenty of other places aswell.

Yet there, in the middle of it all, was a kindly man with a soothing voice, who loved what he was doing. His art isn't complex, he's not trying to make any bold statements, but it's accessible. For the time you are watching him, the problems of the real world fall away as you watch him guide you through the creation of his world and he assures you that you are capable of creating your own little worlds, full of happiness and peace. He's that reassuring voice that I think alot of millennials especially were drawn to.

[RB68]

I have childhood memories of a sewing programme, bob and nancy and being facinated

[deste]

My DD is 34 and I remember watching him when she was a baby.
I also remember Nancy Koninsky that someone else also mentioned.

[Friedbluetomatoes]

My 12 year old dd loves Bob Ross (she is very much I to art), I was really surprised when I found her on YouTube glued to this 70’s looking clip. He was great though.

[lazyarse123]

My dh and dd 30yr old love him. Daughter taught herself to paint watching him on youtube and she has done a fantastic landscape "i'm not biased." I did catch myself while out driving when I saw a lone tree on a hillside and thinking to myself "I hope that's a happy tree.