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Bob Ross: The Joy of Painting
A celebration of the life and work of the pop-culture icon who gently encouraged millions to explore their creativity.
Known for incorporating "happy little" clouds, mountains, and trees in paintings he would create in just twenty-six television minutes, Bob Ross had an encouraging and soothing demeanor that made his instructional television shows the most recognized and watched in television history.
Ross created nearly 30,000 paintings in his lifetime, most using the wet-on-wet method employed by Caravaggio, Cezanne, and Monet. This fully authorized collection of more than 300 pieces of his art features his most famous quotes about painting and life, including "And success with painting leads to success with many things. It carries over into every part of your life" as well as techniques that will inspire readers to create their own art.
Originally airing in 1982 on PBS in the United States and various outlets throughout Canada, Latin America, and Europe, the more than 400 episodes of Bob Ross's two series, The Joy of Painting and Beauty Is Everywhere are now available on YouTube and Netflix. He is a figure beloved by multiple generations and is seen as an icon rivaling, if not surpassing, any other modern-day painter in terms of the scope of his work, societal influence, and popularity.
Known for incorporating "happy little" clouds, mountains, and trees in paintings he would create in just twenty-six television minutes, Bob Ross had an encouraging and soothing demeanor that made his instructional television shows the most recognized and watched in television history.
Ross created nearly 30,000 paintings in his lifetime, most using the wet-on-wet method employed by Caravaggio, Cezanne, and Monet. This fully authorized collection of more than 300 pieces of his art features his most famous quotes about painting and life, including "And success with painting leads to success with many things. It carries over into every part of your life" as well as techniques that will inspire readers to create their own art.
Originally airing in 1982 on PBS in the United States and various outlets throughout Canada, Latin America, and Europe, the more than 400 episodes of Bob Ross's two series, The Joy of Painting and Beauty Is Everywhere are now available on YouTube and Netflix. He is a figure beloved by multiple generations and is seen as an icon rivaling, if not surpassing, any other modern-day painter in terms of the scope of his work, societal influence, and popularity.
- GenresArtNonfiction
208 pages, Hardcover
First published October 10, 2017
2 people are currently reading
127 people want to read
About the author
Bob Ross
71 books184 followersBob Norman Ross was an American painter and television host.
With his calm, patient nature, Ross came to prominence as the creator and host of The Joy of Painting, a long-running television program on public broadcast stations in the United States. Ross died of lymphoma at the age of 52.
With his calm, patient nature, Ross came to prominence as the creator and host of The Joy of Painting, a long-running television program on public broadcast stations in the United States. Ross died of lymphoma at the age of 52.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 25, 2018
I love this man. I used to watch his shows all the time, had them recorded even. He painted with such ease and effortlessness, beautiful sceneries. Just watching him brought me tranquility. A man who loved his art and wanted to share with the world.
This would get 5 stars, but there's not much to read, and I would have at least wanted a little background on Bob, the man.
Here are some of my favorite quotes in the book:
It's not failure if you learn from it. Anything that you try and you don't succeed, if you learn from it, it's not a failure.
You can move mountains, rivers, trees. You can determine what your world is like.
Anything we don't like, we'll turn it into a happy little tree or something. Because as you know, we don't make mistakes, we just have happy accidents.
This is not something you should labor over or worry about. Enjoy it. If painting does nothing else, it should make you happy.
And one on him:
Bob was a self-proclaimed "nature freak" who loved to walk through the woods near his home in Alaska. He believed that nature needed to be understood in order to appreciate life, and that philosophy is evident in his paintings. He thought that painting taught you to see--rather than just look--at nature.
This would get 5 stars, but there's not much to read, and I would have at least wanted a little background on Bob, the man.
Here are some of my favorite quotes in the book:
It's not failure if you learn from it. Anything that you try and you don't succeed, if you learn from it, it's not a failure.
You can move mountains, rivers, trees. You can determine what your world is like.
Anything we don't like, we'll turn it into a happy little tree or something. Because as you know, we don't make mistakes, we just have happy accidents.
This is not something you should labor over or worry about. Enjoy it. If painting does nothing else, it should make you happy.
And one on him:
Bob was a self-proclaimed "nature freak" who loved to walk through the woods near his home in Alaska. He believed that nature needed to be understood in order to appreciate life, and that philosophy is evident in his paintings. He thought that painting taught you to see--rather than just look--at nature.
February 12, 2018
I loved getting to see the paintings up close! I didn't really learn anything about him or his work that I didn't already know, though.
October 13, 2020
Wholesome
October 4, 2018
Tips you can use for acrylics also, from brush selection to getting the roll of paint on your palette knife. This is a great addition to the series and I'd recommend it for every Bob Ross fan.
November 15, 2023
I read this book for the 52 books in 52 weeks realing challenge. I used the 2023 November mini challenge prompt read 2 non fiction books from differant genres. it was very relaxing to look at the differant paintings and read the steps to the different projects. i wish i could paint like that. maybe in the next life.
April 26, 2020
Bob Ross The Joy Of Painting
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 30, 2022
I really enjoyed this. I liked it for what it is.
July 23, 2025
he was a wholesome celebrity
November 25, 2020
A wonderful find of Bob Ross works. A materials list, canvas prep, and detailed explanation on how to paint the picture. Once you get the technique you can paint just about any of his pictures. With Ross's encouraging quotes and more than 300 paintings and 15 step by step instuctions. A must for any fan or artist. Only disappoint is the size 11×8.5 but has 207 pages!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews