There’s A Reason Bob Ross Didn’t Sell His Paintings.
They weren’t meant to be framed. They were demos.
I hadn’t thought about Bob Ross in decades until the year 2016. That year three students showed up dressed like him for Halloween. I’d come as Andy Warhol, but everyone thought I was Sia. “Campbell’s soup?” I said, holding up the can I carried as an accessory, hoping to jog memories — they’d learned about him during our lesson on Pop Art. “Fifteen minutes of fame? Marilyn Monroe?” Meanwhile my art students were celebrating the kid in the chambray shirt with a curly wig and a paint palette, practically lifting the kid up on their shoulders. The Happy Little Accident guy? I thought. Really? Him?
It’s amazing what 20 years and the Internet will do. What goes around can come back to bite you with a vengeance. There I was — happy my kids were excited about an artist. I was just worried it was the wrong one.
As an art student back in the 90’s Bob Ross was a bit of a joke. He had a squirrel in his pocket, seemed a little too goofy to be taken seriously (that hair for goodness sakes!) and as proof that he wasn’t a real artist: his artwork wasn’t for sale or shown in any gallery.
