The Joy of Painting

Infobox Television
show_name = The Joy of Painting


caption = Bob Ross at his easel
format = Art
camera =
picture_format =
audio_format =
runtime =
creator =
developer =
producer =
executive_producer =
starring = Bob Ross
narrated =
theme_music_composer =
opentheme =
endtheme =
country = USA
location =
language = English
network = PBS
first_aired = 1983
last_aired = 1995
num_seasons =
num_episodes =
list_episodes =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
related =
website = http://www.bobross.com
imdb_id = 0383795
tv_com_id =

"The Joy of Painting" was an American television show hosted by Bob Ross that taught viewers basic techniques for landscape oil painting. Although Bob Ross could complete a painting in half an hour, the intent of the show was not to teach viewers speed painting. Rather, he intended for viewers to learn certain techniques within the amount of time that the show was allowed.

Production

The show was broadcast by non-commercial public television stations; the show was first produced by WNVC in Falls Church, Virginia through the early-1980s, then WIPB in Muncie, Indiana from 1983 until Ross' death in 1995, and later by Blue Ridge Public Television in Roanoke, Virginia. Most of the series was distributed by what is now American Public Television.

As of 2006, "The Joy of Painting" was being shown in many countries worldwide, such as Greek state broadcaster ERT3, Turkish state broadcaster TRT (with the title "Resim Sevinci"), German television (BR-Alpha), Discovery Real Time (Sky Digital channel 250/Virgin Media channel 271) in the UK, NHK in Japan, EBS in Korea and Once TV in Mexico, ATV and ICable TV in Hong Kong, and the Colombian state channel Canal Capital.

The show continues to be broadcast in syndication on public television stations, and continues a multi-million dollar spin-off business bearing Ross' name that sells art accessories related to the show. Reruns are sometimes packaged under the title "The Best of Joy of Painting."'

Format

Each show began with Ross standing with a blank canvas in front of a black background. Over thirty minutes, Ross would turn the blank canvas into an imaginary landscape, using colors like titanium white, phthalo green (a color used often, but in small quantities), phthalo blue, Prussian blue, midnight black, dark sienna, Van Dyke brown, alizarin crimson, sap green, cadmium yellow (or "cad yellow" for short), yellow ochre, Indian yellow, and bright red. (On occasion, he used burnt umber and permanent red.) As he painted, he instructed viewers regarding the techniques he was using and added his trademark soothing comments describing the "happy little clouds" and "happy little trees" that he was creating with his brush. Some of his catchphrases were something like: "We don't make mistakes, we just make happy accidents" of which he became famous, too. Each program was shot in real time with just two cameras: a medium shot of Ross and his canvas, and a close up shot of the canvas or palette.

Video game

In March 2006, AGFRAG Entertainment Group announced that it was in the process of developing a video game based on "The Joy of Painting" for the Nintendo DS and Wii console systems and for the personal computer. The games would focus on the art of painting in the Bob Ross style. [cite web | last = Casamassina | first = Matt | title = Bob Ross Paints on Revolution: Yes, it's true - the famous cult painter goes virtual on Nintendo's new generation platform. | publisher = IGN Entertainment | date = 2006-03-31 | url = http://wii.ign.com/articles/699/699647p1.html | accessdate = 2007-10-21] In December 2006, Bob Ross Incorporated dropped developer AGFRAG from the project and began searching for a new developer. [cite web | last = Ashcraft | first = Brian | title = Bob Ross Game Still On, Folks | publisher = Kotaku | date = 2006-12-07 | url = http://kotaku.com/gaming/bob-ross/bob-ross-game-still-on-folks-219920.php | accessdate = 2007-10-21]

Parodies

In Canada, CBC's comedy series "This Hour Has 22 Minutes" sometimes has a segment called "Art Break" featuring Rob Bobberson, where it's almost a clone to the late Bob Ross, played by Gavin Crawford where he adds some touches to some artwork in a funny way.

In the movie "The Master of Disguise", Dana Carvey, who plays Pistachio Disguisey, did a little clip of him disguised as Bob Ross doing some painting during the movie's end credits.

An episode of The Boondocks features Riley being mentored in the art of graffiti by a character very similar to Bob Ross in appearance and inviting demeanor.

In an episode of "Family Guy", the character Peter Griffin is seen watching the show on television. Bob Ross tells the viewers calmly to draw a bush in the corner of their painting, which will be [their] "little secret". He suddenly becomes hostile, threatening the viewers that if they tell anyone that he painted the bush in that spot, he'll cut them. Peter's painting is revealed to resemble the opening sequence to "Family Ties".

Funding

* The Martin/F. Weber Company
* North Light Books
* The Artist's Magazine
* Hobby Lobby Stores
* Michaels Arts and Crafts Stores
* The Bob Ross Memorial Fund (for closed-captioning)

References

External links

* [http://www.bobross.com Bob Ross's official website]
* [http://imdb.com/title/tt0383795 IMDB site "The Joy of Painting"]
* [http://imdb.com/name/nm1470679 IMDB Bob Ross bio]
* [http://www.tv.com/the-joy-of-painting/show/35444/summary.html?q=the%20joy%20of%20painting TV.com site "The Joy of Painting"]
* [http://tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=2509 News article: "Bob Ross's 'Happy Little Trees' Come to DVD" (tvshowsondvd.com)]