8.6 /10 1 Votes
7.9/10 TV Country of origin United States No. of seasons 31 Running time 30 minutes Final episode date 17 May 1994 Language English | 9.4/10 IMDb Starring Bob Ross Original language(s) English No. of episodes 403 First episode date 11 January 1983 Theme song Interlude Original network PBS | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Similar Lap Quilting with Geor, Sewing with Nancy, Hometime, Computer Chronicles, Joanne Weir's Cooking | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Joy of Painting was an American half-hour instructional television show hosted by painter Bob Ross which ran from January 11, 1983, until May 17, 1994. In each episode, Ross taught techniques for landscape oil painting, completing a painting in each session. The program followed the same format as its predecessor, The Magic of Oil Painting, hosted by Ross's mentor Bill Alexander.
Contents
Production
Broadcast by non-commercial public television stations, the show's first season was in 1983, and initially produced by WNVC in Falls Church, Virginia, then by WIPB in Muncie, Indiana, from 1984 until the show ended in 1994, and later by Blue Ridge Public Television in Roanoke, Virginia. Most of the series was distributed by what is now American Public Television.
Format
Each 30-minute show usually begins with Ross (or a guest) standing in front of a blank canvas against a white or black background. Guests included Ross's long-time friend Dana Jester, along with Ross's son Steve, his old instructor John Thamm, and many others. Within the 30-minute program, Ross painted an imaginary landscape, using the wet-on-wet oil painting technique, in which the painter continues adding paint on top of still-wet paint rather than waiting for each layer of paint to dry. Combining this method with the use of two-inch and other types of brushes, as well as painting knives, allowed him to paint trees, water, clouds, and mountains in a matter of seconds.
Each painting would start with simple strokes that appeared to be nothing more than colored smudges. As he added more and more strokes, the blotches transformed into intricate landscapes. As he painted, he instructed viewers regarding the techniques he was using, he added comments describing the "happy little clouds" and "happy little trees" that he was creating. He would also mention snippets of his own life, including his military career and the time he spent in Alaska, family anecdotes, and his affection for small animals, which he raised and set free. The show would occasionally feature a video of Ross with a baby squirrel, deer, raccoon, or another small animal. Each program was shot in real time with two cameras: a medium shot of Ross and his canvas, and a close-up shot of the canvas or palette.
Legacy
As part of its launch of Twitch Creative, Twitch.tv streamed every episode of The Joy of Painting over a nine-day period starting on October 29, 2015, what would have been Ross' 73rd birthday. Twitch reported that 5.6 million viewers watched the marathon, and due to its popularity, created a weekly rebroadcast of all 31 seasons of The Joy of Painting to air on Twitch each Monday from November 2015 onward, and will have a marathon of episodes each October 29. A portion of the advertising revenue has been promised to charities, including St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. This event was also repeated on October 29, 2016 for his 74th birthday.
In 2015, full episodes of The Joy of Painting were added to the official Bob Ross YouTube channel.
In June 2016, Netflix began streaming Ross's other painting television series Beauty is Everywhere.