Let's Find Out - Flipping through a Bob Ross magazine (short biography) | ASMR, Soft-spoken

Episode Date: October 26, 2021

This was the pre-cursor to my 16-hour series on Bob's life, legacy, and philosophy. (See more recent episodes for those more in-depth looks at Bob Ross) "Talent is a pursued interest. Anything that you're willing to practice, you can do." ― Bob Ross ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ ► If you'd like to show support for the channel: ▸Patreon (monthly donations) ........ https://www.patreon.com/LetsFindOutASMR ▸PayPal (one-time donation)......... https://www.paypal.me/LetsFindOutASMR ......... [e-mail] ▸Or if you shop on Amazon, using this link will support the channel at no extra cost to you: https://amzn.to/2LnNXd6 ▸Or see my Amazon Wishlist if you'd like to purchase a gift for the channel: http://a.co/9vUJ8eF ▸📪 If you'd like to mail me something: Let's Find Out ASMR (Rich) P.O. Box 1582 Palm City, FL 34991 ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ ► My Contact Information: ▸📧 Discord.................https://discord.com/invite/PyUfaN7 (* I'm not very active here yet) ▸📧 Email................... [e-mail] The podcast (audio versions) of my content: ▸🎧 Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2u11T58 ▸🎧 iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/letsfindoutasmrs-podcast/id1448116527?mt=2 ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Equipment used: ▸(mic) Rode NT1-A https://amzn.to/2Da4CBa ▸(other mic) Blue Yeti https://amzn.to/33jNrYA ▸(USB interface) Scarlette 2i2 https://amzn.to/316c7kG ▸(computer) MacBook Pro 16" https://amzn.to/3jXRuzT ▸(camera) iPhone 11 (1080p, sometime use 60 fps) https://amzn.to/2PjT2pz ▸(mic mount) Desk-mounted mic boom https://amzn.to/33kMK1s ▸(mouse) silent-click mouse https://amzn.to/3jZMrit ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ ►my ASMR playlists... ▸Space: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVojBLpecXuXY66IZixixYf8aE-FOozO1 ▸History: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVojBLpecXuV3POreugMZyg9XTgxUZgGx ▸Science: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVojBLpecXuU3-fEgM4V1T5P8U6l2_p2D ▸Philosophy: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVojBLpecXuU5kJPgNLyObyNQwyjmxOgy

There we go. See? All there is to it. Just the corner. Think about shape and form. Drop these little rascals in wherever you want them. When I go home, the only power I have is over the garbage. I can take it to the street all by myself.

But here, I can do anything. And then, the most fun part of this whole technique is washing the brushes. Since these are oil paints, we're washing our brushes with odorless paint. with odorless paint thinner. Shake off the excess and just beat the devil out of it. That's really the most fun part of it. That's the fun part. There we go.

Shake it off, beat the devil out of it. And just beat the devil out of it. Because I get even with the crew for picking on me here. Maybe we'll do two. Really good. and cover everybody in the studio. Actually, I'd just like to get eaten with a cameraman because he gives me a hard time.

You don't have to be crazy to do this, but it does help. Richard's been with me since the first series, and as you can see, Richard has finally got smart, and he now wears a raincoat. He got tired of all of his clothes being painted. And today, you experienced the joy of painting and from all of us here, Until the next show, I'd like to wish you happy painting, and God bless my friend.

So much for that pair of pants. I'll tell you what. Last year in the beginning of the pandemic, maybe even one of my first ventures out back into the grocery store, I came across this guy, this warm, good-natured gentleman, Bob Ross, in the checkout line, just inviting me to pay $1399 dollars. to check out his life story. And you know what I did? I sure did, because I didn't steal this.

So from his fro to his finger, to his childhood, to the little bit of the business aspect, although we're not going to get into the very popular Netflix series about all the drama between his son and his old business partner, who apparently are really at odds. and his son is not making a penny off this and his old business partner and her husband and daughter

apparently are making all the pennies off this. So I'm not going to really make judgment on that other than that fact because it did portray her and that documentary portrayed her as a shady very domineering business figure but on the other side a little bit of research at least one thing I read said that the son who was the protagonist of the documentary apparently went in the hiding or made himself very hard to contact for

years up in really until I think 2017 I think I read so I you know I'm not going to make judgment one way or not other but it seems on the surface of it a little sad that Bob Ross's only son isn't reaping any of the profits from this trademark here but anyway we're gonna get into this guy's common wisdom you don't have to be crazy to do this but it does help and evolution of military career SMR what but the guy is you know undoubtedly I mean look at that smile the warmest I don't know he just seems like such a straight shooting artistic

beautiful man and I wanted to get to know more about what led such a honest blue collar fella to get into painting let alone start his own quiet soft spoken which I'm very much the one of the many descendants in progeny I guess of he just seemed like such an interesting guy and he's left such a solid stamp on the culture of art in all shapes and sizes into his early life the painting studio situation the aspects of ASMR that it inspired and the legacy of his company a little in the gallery at the very end some selections I'll show you guys if you're not familiar with them my favorite one is actually one of his earliest it's a beautiful painting

depiction of the Alaskan auroras there we all right Bob experienced the bright dancing lights the Aurora Borealis during his first his time in Alaska in the US Air Force I think maybe what drew my I do is just because most of his paintings aren't at night. I don't think actually I've seen any of them be at night. Undoubtedly the guy was a great talent. Many great people I'm always interested. That's how we learn and what to do and what not to do with our short fleeting. Possibly if we make the right moves, deeply, deeply meaningful existence. And this guy, he made some right moves. spreading the joy. I thought it was time-sake and copyright reasons. I won't read this word for word, but this guy, Jim Needham, was a manager of the studio that ultimately became the home for the series, the joy of painting in Muncie, Indiana. This is a pretty beautiful letter.

of essay about some of the more perception of Bob and his work relationship with him. And it said that came in in the studio and to start the Joy Painting Series and they immediately jumped on the opportunity and came in with his business partner, Annette Kowalski. She's the villain of the documentary, Affirmat. But this wasn't actually his first time or there him and that's first time making Painting show I believe later in this magazine They uh it's like three or four different sort of mini bios written by different people so there is overlapping stories This was the beginning of the relationship. I guess out Weston, Virginia

I think He had tried kind of dissolved the initial series that him and the net tried to create but it's cool to think that he was sure of himself in the sense that he's quoted in here multiple times that if you have the passion for something the money will follow in hindsight it seems like he was a guaranteed win for any television producers but you would have guessed like this is for instance a glimpse into the rig and apparently this was in a big kind of a dining room situation with a camp a fire a fireplace behind him and they decided he initially wanted to do like a log cabin and make it a really natural intimate setting which which he ultimately was able to tap into just simply by his voice and intonation and

demeanor while walking you through his art but the obviously they ended up going with a black it's a very simple straightforward black we'll get a better picture of it graceful as possible because I got a tight set up here I mean look at that camera and that looks it's got like counter balancing weights on it It looks like it's got like sandbags weighing it down so it didn't tip over. Just imagine all this and like a million other features is cramped into our phones that I'm recording right now. This little, you know, pounder two pound phone.

No, not even. I was able to create this beautiful, not only painting, but a beautiful vision. I don't know it just seems so out of place for television this is the mid 80s I think they started it so inspirational to think that this guy was a a trendsetter he some of this was you can watch in the documentary it's much more concise than this is gonna be but this guy named

hmm what's his name this German painter was who Bob was influenced, who did the exact same setup, but with much more vibrant, to put it politely, demeanor. And Bob didn't like the guy, but it's, I would say it's similar in Bob, is where Bob broke ground. Maybe he was influenced by Fred Rogers or even vice versa. I don't know, but he was almost certainly an influenced to be soft-spoken and have a more intimate approach to conversing with who he assumed was watching. You know, he was just talking to a camera and had to, as I am doing right now, I have to make the leap and assume that you guys. And this, this, this German guy apparently got a little bitter that Bob kind of, you know, took what he was doing, put his own more gentle, soft-spoken spin on it and really really really took off and unfortunately his

life was Bob's life was cut short I think he died at 52 and with lymphoma type of very aggressive cancer in 94 I think it's so brilliant I it's inspiring for me to know that this guy took what the German guy was doing and the German guy was just like a vlogger like a very loud Logan Paul type vlogger when I use that was firing I love that word fire in because I really so firing like this I hate to go on the I want to be fresh I want to be powerful I want to be the commander the chief the butter washer and then it works for me it works for everyone if you do it just like that and it's like Bob was like let's do that but do the ASMR version of it. I like to fish but I'm not a very good

fisherman because I catch him and take them out of the water and take the hook out and put a band-aid them a little CPR pat him on the tutu and put them back in there so they'll be there the next time I come and you know that's really who would have helped so many people relax and then he got a lot of feedback as well here he kind of recognized that what he was doing was therapeutic I guess therapeutic's a good word good adjective it's cool to know that even though you might not the a lot of people might not be able to see that he had the vision and he says at one point that he talks to people as though or maybe he was someone close to him describing his his

style talk to people as though he's uh he's in bed with them you know having a conversation just between them very intimate and uh one could argue he was trying to exude a little bit of sex appeal with his open collar shirt that you could see here you know this is obviously him in a more casual outdoor eating setting but he's got the the open caller there's the guy and Bill Alexander this is the German painter who Bob was inspired by he was a television personality but he was very boisterous very you know loud to put it crassly um extraverden Bob was the introverted version of this guy and I think it's just a beautiful

beautiful thing that Bob put out into the universe to be able to talk about something he loved while doing something beautiful creating something beautiful on the fly and he interestingly another one of the many interesting bits of trivia in this book here is that he pre-p he made three copies of every painting that we see made one as a template so that he could reference it he made the second one live on camera while looking at the reference painting that he had been able to take his time on right off camera so it was it was him actually painting on the fly and actually doing that unlike a cooking show you know where they mix the ingredients together and then already have a pre-made version in the oven ready to pull out so you don't actually have to wait for the baking time no he made that entire painting the second one live in 25 minutes or so something like that and then to auction off for any in the crazy um the more you learn about him the more admirable this guy is he made the third one to auction off so he was able to spend a little more time on it for

charitable reasons with the local public television stations that he was being aired on so it's really amazing here's a lot love the times you read a little more about people you're inspired by and you come away with a less less admiration for them and this guy was the exact opposite he inspired me even further to really I guess kind of be all the behind the scenes people said he was the same as behind off camera as he was on so it's it's cool yeah he you know we tried to exude an intimate if one could say slightly tinted with sexual persona sexual vibe But, you know, he was just trying to be quiet but charismatic, inviting, warm, teacher, yet, yet humble, and just spreading joy while painting.

So I loved it. Let's try to see what else we can clean off this little article here. Work ethic was unreal. He would record, let's see, barless of distraction. of travel and guest appearances across the country as his show gathered its audience Bob recorded 13 shows every three months and he didn't do it across three months he did it in like one week and uh come into the studio now like it partnership thrived under the I remember this guy was the studio manager here um in charge of the crew and all that and uh

thrived under his friendship and professionalism I respect people who are able to be just friendly and casual and yet be able to have their stuff together enough to be very professional it's cool it's just inspiring to see people be very competent and so competent in fact I guess is really what it inspires me that they're able to take on the informal demeanor of you know someone who like they don't have to go out of their way to prove and flaunt their competent sense of humor in inspiring optimism in a crystal clear vision about what he wanted on his show so he would

come into the studio a typical week here for him every three months to make this happened. Actually, let's get this studio set up on Sunday nights. Tape the opens and closes Monday. On Tuesday and Wednesday, in two days, he would tape all 13 episodes, all 13 episodes, half hour episodes where he would paint an entire painting in like 25 minutes. It's amazing. On Thursdays and Fridays tour the countryside around monthly. He looked. for Albany glass collecting hobby Bob had developed along with with my wife Jim Needham Jim didn't need him but apparently Bob liked collecting the Albany class so it was really Bob who needed him play practical jokes like this my favorite story about him the

guy says Jim need him a couple from a small town east of Muncie Indiana had one a bid to purchase one of these paintings that Bob had painted on air that night. So they arrived at 11.30 p.m. pretty late. A place where we held the auction had a number of stairs, but the lady was disabled. So she waited in the parking lot. Bob fetched the painting, quickly descended the steps, and hugged her. And what she said has stuck with me to this day. she said you're the best part of my day to Bob obviously um every day i'm in constant pain and i sit

on the couch and watch you paint and when i'm watching you the pain goes away thank you for making my time with you the best part of every day man i thought that's so cool that's uh and then he says yeah i realize exactly the effect that a good-natured warm, positive person, talking directly to them. And it's so true. Vision of happiness, focusing on what is good and happy in our and fortuitous in our lives versus always looking at the negative. Bob chose to see what's good and pure and lovely and to focus on what we can do, not what we wish we could have done. And at the end of every show, Bob chose to sign off a blessing by blessing. each viewer with his parting gifts. Happy painting and God bless. This day you had a fantastic day and today you experienced the joy of painting.

And from all of us here until the next show I'd like to wish you happy painting and God bless my friend. Learned about his early life. And here they chose to display a picture of an ocean which Bob they mentioned didn't typically pay. Oh no, they mentioned with rare exceptions, Bob's painting, put nature front center, the ocean, forest, the mountain, but they didn't typically, he didn't typically paint, paint. I don't think he ever painted people, but he didn't even typically paint man-made structures like buildings. Sometimes, though, he did. Inside the intensively private life of the painter with the most famous perm, and that's a really good depiction. That could be a little more. I'm broken up, but imagine this guy. He probably painted this one in 30 minutes. Superhuman. But that's the other aspect of him. He was always, he didn't make it about himself. The entire point of the show was that anyone could find the joy in painting. And he always was positive

and encouraged others to be able to paint. All right, you got your brushes warmed up yet and you're ready? You can do this. You can do this. I know you can. I get letters every day from people all over the country that say they never believe they could paint and they're doing it. Their friends and neighbors don't believe it when they look at their paintings, but they are doing it. There, I'm going to put a little stick lives right there, a little tree.

Maybe this little tree died and he's naked now, just a skeleton hanging out here. that happens in nature. That's what Molly, my wife always says to with drawing and we actually had a conversation about this recently about she has a

good friend of her who's a really, really exceptional artist and she doesn't even, she just does it as a hobby and she's amazing and we're talking about how sometimes

you'll run into people and I'm not as good as her but I like to draw and doodle and you know I made occasional drawings that I'm proud of and when someone says or you know I play the guitar I'm like so-so but if someone who doesn't play hears it and says wow you have a gift in a way yes it's a compliment but in a way it's a it's also an excuse for them to think that it's a gift. And maybe there might be a genetic component to it, but I think more people they realize are capable of creating art. It's the message I like to spread, at least.

So here's a picture of Bob here. Really isn't much that I've found about Bob. He, uh, again, up in Florida near Orlando about two hours from there it's pretty cool and he really was private I think one of the interesting things and you know obviously he would have given a lot more interviews and a lot more would have been known about his private life if he had lived longer I'm sure but he he said that one point he was before he died when he was gaining popularity a newspaper asked him why there weren't more interviews from him and he simply said he would

he admitted that he kind of made himself a little hard to find but if asked he would always oblige an interview but he was rarely asked so interesting i guess people weren't as determined to go out and find them to get the interview but as they should have been this caption says back in the days when we used to listen to what's a quote by Bob Ross from 1990 back in the days when we used to listen to the shows on the radio before TV was popular enough for my neighborhood for my neighborhood to have one I used to listen to some of the radio shows and they'd be sad Sad at the end and they'd be sad at the end and I'd threaten my brother if he ever told anybody

that I got sobby-eyed over some of these things. I had to but yeah the that clearly shows he was a He was an emotional fella a soft soothing soft-spoken manner in his immediately recognizable mop of curls Bob Ross wasn't a sort of flashy art world star like to generate headlines and we have an idea here of his at least one of his backgrounds he was a medical records technician in the US Air Force in Anchorage Alaska or I think he was stationed in Fairbanks before he took up his first painting lesson at an Anchorage Alaska USO club and that's another amazing fact is that you know he was I'm sure he was always

artistically inclined but he was a working man he dropped out of high school was a apprentice carpenter with his father and then I think he had an early kid at a very early age with his wife who ended up leaving so he had three different wives one who he had that kid with who I think was the center of that documentary and she left him with the boy and so he went into the Air Force and and met his his second wife shortly after and you know decided to re go as far away from Florida without going to Hawaii as as as is possible and relocated to Alaska. I don't know whether that was on his accord, you know, or not.

But it's interesting that it's across the country. As far away from Florida as you can get. As different from Florida as it gets, too. Bingbury Mountainous, Florida is really flat. Maybe Florida's really human. Maybe Alaska's humid too, with all the snow. but flat and hot and salty in Alaska's fresh water if you're not by the ocean very a lot of elevation and obviously not you a famous kind of a Steve Harvey type

talk show host I don't know dr. Phil type guy in the 80s real famous guy without any flash says about Bob Ross without any flash his paintings spoke for him he took you by the hand and led you along the way he granted very few interviews much of what was known about Ross can be surmised by the occasional remarks he'd make while adding happy little trees to his paintings of him you know give you a second to guess which one he is because I I could just guess at first which one he was he's this guy slight chub to him I thought he was the guy getting married wow that looks like Jenna Fisher from the office doesn't it

kind of looks like Johnny Debb that looks like that's his brother I want to say it looks like famous astronaut John Glenn I think yeah that's Bob Ross we used to fight like cat and dogs you know you know how brothers are he says he's a good man though he's my best friend in the whole world there's uh as children bob and jim ran wild through the florida woods and shoot we were tough bob said we didn't even wear shoes back then don't think we had any don't think we had any it was dead no bob was born robert norman Bob being the nickname for Robert in 1942 man his birthday is actually coming up October 29th Daytona Beach Florida the furniture entrepreneurial artist the future the future

art entrepreneurial artist was the only son of carpenter Jack Rouse and his waitress wife Ollie and they soon moved to Orlando where young Bob which is the Orlando's only like an hour west of who enjoyed an especially strong bond with his mother developed a passion for the outdoors that would influence predilection capturing the natural world on canvas is really touching that Bob had a close connection with his mom so I think I do with my mom I get a lot of my softer and the largest influence on him said in neck walls She was the one who taught him the love of wildlife. Second to painting, or maybe even more than painting, Bob loved wildlife.

And he famously, towards the end, the early 90s brought animals and most famously a squirrel picture here. The TV. But I think I had the greatest mother there was. Ross, his parents separated when Bob was very young and his mother remarried briefly. He had another son, Jim. and and then Jack and Ollie would briefly reunite much later in Ross's life so the his parents split remarried two different people split up with those people and came back together at least for a little time being when I was a kid I used to sit around Bob said they had little in the way of toys so they turned to nature for amusement I would say sit around and my brother and I we'd look at the clouds and we'd pick out all kinds of shapes. We'd see the mean old witch or the candy man or whatever.

On camera he once commented that as he was offering instruction to the audience, you see these little X's there? That's just the way the teacher used to grade my work. My papers. She'd just run across it and go X, X, X, X. Poor vet, Stingray. He didn't know how to all. fly even though he was in the Air Force for whatever reason but I could see him here probably

coming back from a plane ride maybe she loved real fast home I think when I was a kid I must have had every kind of pet imaginable he says I lived in Florida so I had access to a lot of creatures I had a pet snake man he got out of the cage and was lost in the house for a long time. My mother got up one night, went to the bathroom and he was there. Scared her. And that his business partner said that she thinks that because they were pretty poor, he would use the toys, the animals as, you know, entertainment toys, you know, to take care of them. Ross dropped out of school in the ninth grade, so his dad taught him to be a carpenter. because he wanted

you know to have some sort of means to earn a living as any good dad would do I think that's great he's like I'll tell you what Bob said it isn't easy it isn't that easy to make a shed or a barn the lessons

had unforeseen consequence though he lost a finger during a woodworking project and it's funny none of these pictures I don't know if it's deliberate or not, but you know, after you read that fact, it's hard to not look.

One picture, that picture, but it's so small you wouldn't be able to see that. Hands are, oh he's got on. Yeah, it's just like, I think it was on his left hand, his palette. So it's right there, it's that one right? I can't see it. Hardly tell, no. Looks like, you know, it might just be to the unaided, the un, you know, who doesn't know. Just kind of tell. It's uh, yeah, it's probably easiest, not really the most high-deaf picture.

It's probably easiest to look at it from a distance. I mean, clearly, you know, like anybody, it's awkward to have to explain what happened. So, you know, I understand he'd naturally developed a way, he would naturally develop a way of holding his hand. But even there, can't even see it there. He's got it in positions. It's natural to probably, hold your hand in positions where you

you know you you uh had a snake I think he had a a gator at some point but it's right where uh on his left hand and not his right so it didn't affect his ability to hold him he didn't do carpentry for any more than a couple years at least

he listed in the military in the early 1960s so he uh interestingly I mean it's really again encouraging that he worked pretty much a full career before he stopped to do the joy of painting and he didn't start painting until I believe well into his life you know and into his 20s at least I think something like that so to me that's really encouraging and then that's probably a big reason why he

He was so encouraging the viewers to themselves and give it a try, give it a try. Lifted the knife. And shoot with that, I think we about have a finished painting. It's that easy. Let's take a little bit of the paint thinner, a little bright red, and we'll sign this little rascal. I really hope you've enjoyed it.

It's a very simple painting that you can do. And if you try it, I'd love to see some photographs. I'd love to see some photographs of what you're doing. So if you have time, take a photograph send to us. Let us hear from you. Until then, from all of us here, I'd like to wish you happy painting. And God bless, my friend. Join the Air Force.

At 18, married his wife, had a son, Steve. But their union was short-lived, leaving Ross to raise Steve on his own in Florida for several years, several years until the military transferred him to Alaska. He had never seen. I was going remarrying pretty quick, settling down near Fairbanks with his wife Jane, who was also a worker in the Air Force, civilian worker though. And for more than a decade, he was a medical technician and took his first painting lesson at an Anchorage USO Club.

He was there that he discovered in love for oil painting and began to spend his free time putting images to canvas. Oh and that's right. That's where he started doing it as a side hustle. He worked as a bartender. He would paint the side of gold mining pans. He would, you know, has little just trinkets. It was 1975, about 10 years before recorded his painting. 1975 is when Bill Alexander on public television painting. I saw Alexander on television like millions of other people. I fell in love with him. I fell in love with him.

In 30 minutes, Bob saw Alexander stand in front of a canvas, pallet in hand, speak directly to the audience as he completed a landscape painting. landscape painting that was hurting it's wet-on-wit technique allows them to be able to I guess blend the colors keep the background wet it just makes maybe it's it's easier on the mistakes you can but yeah I mean you couldn't and I love again the humility of Bob Ross he never snubbed this guy but he would was obviously not very and I'm sure there's more about his military career that we could there wasn't much in this magazine but he clearly had a love of painting and maybe the

military isn't exactly the organization for him to with you know he was doing it for a paycheck for his son and his family and it's really really cool I think that he was able to make make a show based on something that he started doing as he really learned as a hobby late in life tried to flip by selling paintings on the side and became an entrepreneur with it and I mean obviously there's a huge overlap with what I'm attempting to do with this channel it's been or could have imagined I'd you know 100 people watching my stuff it's just mind-blowing to be able to have that connection with people must have been so rewarding for Bob it's really amazing look they even have the easel the original easel made from a converted step ladder I would have taken that step out so I could

not get blocked I could stand closer to the painting but that's just me the Smithsonian Institution that Bob was. Nexting with Bill is that he, Bob saw him. Bill was on public television, Bill Alexander, the German guy. But he was also making a, maybe a majority of his income, probably, now that I think about it, teaching students. And I guess the general business model is if you get a big enough business, You could teach other students who are good enough to work for you by also teaching other, you know, more, more classes than you would otherwise be able to do as a one-man show.

And Bob became one of Bill Alexander's instructors, certified instructors. 15 years later, Bob would carry on that same business model. and this is a beautiful American dream story let's see Bob started pursuing it at the time he his income started increasing

selling the gold pans and the paintings of the Alaskan landscapes to tourists to the point where he started really being able to foresee and get closer to taking the risk of actually making it a full-time job. Study with Alexander in California,

quickly becoming his pupil, his star pupil. Ross said, I took one class. We got mommy and grandma doting on her in the bed. I'm sure you'll hear her, and I'll try to edit it out. Ross's wife remained behind Alaska with her son,

Steve, but she enthusiastically supported her husbands. She allowed Bob to leave Alaska with a thousand dollars in his pocket. Told me either, go out and make a fortune. and then I'll go and do this and if it doesn't work mystic stuff and be a good husband so she stayed in Alaska well I guess they're I was trying to look for a crazy

human like it they look more like a dog or a fox but they like sit on their eye and their haunches and they sit there with little something in their hand and they sit there and like eat it they hold food like a little little monkeys he retired he was offered a position Alexander's traveling art instructor and he taught classes across the country before he ended up back in Florida and that's where Annette his future business partner she was her and her husband was in he was a retired CIA officer and they both went took a class just by happenstance I think at Tampa around there with Bob Clearwater is a little north of Tampa on the west coast of Florida and she said I became

very aware of an effect that Bob was having on the students very calming very quiet I'd never seen anything like it and I was mesmerized by him for her home in Northern Virginia the Kowalskies invited Ross out for a burger and pitched the idea of launching their own series of painting seminars and and remember and Bob agreed and they formed a business partnership and that was the start of the Bob. I was gonna say remember Brent was already laid out Bill Alexander and apparently he had a little resentful at Bob's success later on in life but they said that Bob in his first episode ever paid proper homage to Bill Alexander

and yeah Bill had already just made the blueprint and I think that's that's something to remember about the human story the more I read biography you learn about history there's always a blueprint even for great artist

and you know innovators like Bob with this innovative calm approach is that there's always something you need a blueprint to work from the canvas is never blank there's always an outline and then you put your own spin on it and you it doesn't inhibit you from using multiple outlines and superimposing them to create your

own unique product but that there's always actually just comes up with ideas completely a novel revolutionary idea out of nothing there's always stuff and so I guess the moral of that is that you want to learn and be exposed to as much information and experience and people in other lives and stories and imaginations as possible to inspire you and what you might create in the future. And so after this, I guess, you know, I'm going to have to, I'll make this part one, and this will be Bob's story leading up to the foundation of the Bob Ross Inc and the joy of painting.

So Bob was obviously already trying to be an entrepreneur, and this lady is future business partner, Annette Kowalski, and his acumen, obviously. And she had an eye. There she is right there. You know, seeing the vision of what Bob could be if he was to start his own business and have the exposure that television or his own company might be able to give him. I really had a grassroots situation going on there back then in the early 80s. Um, if they say, were it off in shopping malls. They would put ads in the paper. Even though we ran expensive newspaper ads, they wouldn't even have that much success. Another great lesson, not to be discouraged by initial lack of exposure and success and attention.

And at one point they even created 1-800 Bob Ross, a toll-free hotline. It was going slow, but Ross himself was patient. And I love this, this phrase. The first step in accomplishing, Bob said, to me the first step in accomplishing anything is to believe that you can do it. Probably one of the most important things for Bob, Bob said to me was, Kowalski says, if you do what you love, the money will come. Might be the core ethos of my channel. I never want to do anything artificial.

I just want to do what inspires me, what I love, what brings me joy, I guess. And this guy is certainly one of those things. Watching this guy is just a pleasant experience. It's a good time. So we see the general trajectory of where Bob's going. And it's a beautiful thing because we obviously know his ultimate success on TV. But it's really cool to see him to find out that he persevered through a lot of failures.

It's slow starts. And here we go about his air. with expenses mounting he decided he could save money if he permed his naturally straight hair to avoid the need to pay for regular haircuts a choice that would haunt him for the rest of his life because once he got that signature look

he couldn't ever ever change his hair and he was so mad about that Kowalski says he got tired of having that curly hair. It's interesting, though. That's a little bit of a nugget of maybe her very,

what's a diplomatic and tactful way of saying, domineering nature and attitude inside of things. Disrupt. Here we go. Here's a testament to the business acumen of Annette Kowalski. Here is that Bob, she had the good sense. to spend a little money and record a commercial and have the awareness to realize that his mentor, Alexander,

and it says retired mentor, so I'm assuming there was some obviously not bad blood if he was willing to be a part of, you know, this advertisement here. But Bill Alexander, they recorded a commercial of Bill Alexander literally passing off his paintbrush to his former pupil. Polsky's brought the clip of Bob painting to their local Virginia public television station, WNVC. The reaction they received was overwhelming. So they immediately saw it, and it was just a commercial bit, I guess.

And, um, but the television station immediately said, would you guys agree to do a television series? And she said, would we ever? And that series was titled The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross. First broadcast in 1983, it became a top-rated show among our programs on public television. Seems like kind of a small category. Biring viewers to try their hand at creating art the same way Julia Child had helped her audience learn to cook. Even as his cultural star began to ascend, he remained grounded as ever. I love again.

This is a beautiful aspect of this guy's life. He relocated back to Florida full time to live with his wife. and Steve is happy to share his passion on TV here I have people he says in their 90s doing their very first painting he told the New York Times I think from

the 91 interview I really believe that if you practice enough you could paint the Mona Lisa with a two inch brush you could paint the Mona Lisa with a two inch brush that's really amazing

It's inspiring. I'm Ross's adventure, the lead up to the joy of painting, the beginnings of Bob Ross. Thanks for watching and God bless.