A Harsh Military Career
It’s no secret that the military is not a calm and relaxing environment. Ross was 18 years old when he enlisted in the Air Force, and he worked as a medical records technician. His role eventually brought him to snowy Alaska, and it was here that Ross first saw those soon-to-be famous snowy mountains and happy little trees.
Ross needed to be a tough guy on base, often barking orders which, as you can imagine, wasn’t comfortable for a gentle soul like Ross. He actually made the resolve to never raise his voice outside of the army.
Breaktime Hobby
While the Air Force hours were grueling, Ross learned his iconic wet-on-wet painting technique that allowed him to finish pieces in under thirty minutes, and that beautiful Alaskan landscape was the perfect muse for his new hobby. Pretty soon after, he was giving tutorials to fellow army guys, and he did this throughout his 20-year (!) military career. He struggled to find a style and technique that he resonated with, and he was pretty disillusioned with the abstract painting obsession that he felt too many art instructors possessed. And it’s a good thing for us that he did! Can you imagine tuning into a Bob Ross episode and seeing something Jason Pollack would have painted? No offense, Jason.
An Angel in Human Form
You may not know this about Bob Ross, though you won’t have a hard time believing it, but he refused to charge PBS for producing and carrying his show. He made his money through art supplies an tutorials and the like, but the idea of getting paid for teaching people how to paint? Preposterous!
Even in times of global hardships with people locked indoors, TV channels around the world ran re-runs of “The Joy of Painting,” because who else would be fit for the job of calming the entire world?