You might remember a man named Bob Ross, a Floridian Air Force veteran with a white guy afro who attained what might be called a viral fame in the last ten years or so of his shortish life. He wasn't PBS's first happy-go-lucky painting instructor―that was Bill Alexander―but he defined that role for the public and is a rich subject for parody.
A friend today told me about Bob Ross Painting Parties, which I hadn't heard of before. It seems to have started in the late 2010s and is still going on. People get together, project Bob Ross videos on the wall, and have a go at painting.
If you're an actual artist this probably sounds more like dressing up as Brad and Janet for Rocky Horror screenings than what you do, and you're not wrong. But the crucial phrase here is "people get together." Social traditions have been disappearing and shrinking much faster in the 21st century than new ones can be created. So if a new one springs up, why carp about the sillier aspects? May the painting parties spread like wildfire from YMCA to church basement to parks in the summertime. Let a million Bobs bloom.
2 comments:
That's wonderful news about Bob Ross painting parties. We likely spent more time watching Bill Alexander and his 'happy little trees'
https://youtu.be/iALaPB00J5s?si=9RcPnxlgwmrZmTTx
than we did Bob's tv presentations. Still, it's good to know that it was watching Bill Alexander that inspired (and taught) Bob Ross to paint using the method of few colors and big brushes. It was never my style (I preferred pretty detailed watercolor illustrating and pen and ink ).
The funny thing is that a very long time ago I got mentored by a man who painted billboards using a similar method but I simply couldn't relate to the style. He was very good though.
Overall, though, you'e perfectly correct in seeing the good in anything that actually brings people together in the physical world. The more the merrier.
Bill Alexander was very enjoyable to watch. He brought a real joie de vivre to painting and to his teaching, although it feels a little funny using a French phrase about such a keenly German man. He seems like he would have taken pride in having a pupil reach such heights as Ross did.
Watercolor strikes me as possibly easier to do--paint sets for young children are often some kind of watercolor--but harder to do well. You can't really cover anything up once it's started to set. Something like Durer's hare can really make your jaw drop.
It must have been interesting taking lessons from a guy who had painted billboards. That kind of background seems like it would prep you to make big gestures, things that could be seen from a room away or more I know that James Rosenquist had a background in outdoor advertising art, although he seems quirky in any context.
Yeah, people doing things they like to do together feels like something we've had too little of in recent years.
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