People
Bob Ross – Bio, Son, Wife, Children, Death, Net Worth
Bob Ross was an American painter, painting instructor, and TV personality. He began his career as a painter in the US Air Force, drawing mostly landscapes. Ross became a popular character in the ’80s thanks to his TV show, The Joy of Painting . On his show, he learned to paint using the wet-on-wet technique. Endowed with a cool demeanor and soothing tone, Ross simplified the art of painting for his devoted audience. He inspired people who had never picked up a brush to believe they had artistic talent. He also started a company that produced guidebooks and videos on painting. Ross died in 1995, but his legacy lives on. Google honored him with a Doodle on the 29thOctober 2012 (that would have been his 70th birthday ).
Bob Ross Biography
Robert Norman Ross was born on the 29th of October 1942 in Daytona Beach, Florida. His father, Jack, was a carpenter and a Cherokee Indian, while his mother, Ollie, was a waitress. He also had a half brother named Jim. As a child, Ross loved animals and would spend his time caring for injured animals that he encountered. After only a year of high school, he dropped out and went to work for his father.
In 1961, Bob Ross enlisted in the United StatesAir Force, where he would spend the next 20 years of his life. While in the Air Force, he was posted to Eielson Base, Alaska. In Alaska he began taking painting lessons. However, Ross was dissatisfied with the classes, as his teachers only sprouted abstract concepts without actually teaching you to paint. His frustrations subsided when he watched a PBS program. The Magic of Oil Painting .
The show’s host, Bill Alexander, used a 15th-century technique known as alla prima to simplify the art of painting. Also known as the wet-on-wet technique, this technique involves the continuous application of oil paint to the canvas without waiting for the previously applied paint to dry. As a result, a painting could be completed in 30 minutes, the same amount of time a television program would take. Using this technique, Bob Ross made numerous paintings of landscapes composed of the magnificent mountains of Alaska and snow. He sold the same to tourists, who made a fortune from it.
After that, he decided to retire from the army1981. Two years later, he launched his own PBS show, The Joy of Painting. The show ran from 1983 to 1994 and was a fan favorite. This has been attributed to many factors such as his ability to break down the process of painting into simple steps, his humble and positive attitude, laid-back demeanor, as well as his hippie style, which consists of a permanent afro, a shirt and jeans. Ross made at least 30,000 paintings in his lifetime. The final episode of his show aired on the 17th of May 1994.
Death
Bob Ross was diagnosed with lymphoma in 1994. Despite his outgoing personality, he was still a man who preferred to keep his personal life private. As such, he kept his illness away from public attention. Ross died on the 4th of July 1995. He was 52 years old at the time of his death and was buried in Gotha, Florida. Though Ross is more than two decades late, his legacy lives on. Episodes of his shows are now available on Netflix, YouTube and Twitch.tv. In 2013, some YouTubers held a competition between him and the famous painter Pablo Picasso. The competition video has been viewed more than 33 million times.
Family – wife, son and children
Bob Ross married three times in his lifetime. His first marriage was to a woman named Vivian Ridge in 1965. The marriage produced a son, Steven, but they divorced in 1977. Ross married Jane Ross for the second time in 1977. Their marriage lasted until Jane’s death in 1992. Ross remarried three years later, in 1995, to a woman named Lynda Brown. His marriage to Lynda lasted until his death that same year.
The painter has only one child, a son named Steven. Steven is a product of his first marriage and was born on the 1st of August 1966. Steven followed in his father’s footsteps and sold masterpieces of his own. He also appeared on The Joys of Painting show and became a certified painting teacher in the wet-on-wet technique. There isn’t much information about what Steven has been up to so far, other than that he lives in New York.
Wealth (income and earnings)
At the time of his death, Bob Ross had a net worth $6 million. His net worth didn’t come from his popular show as he wasn’t paid for it. Rather, it came from his company, Bob Ross Inc. The company sold instructional videos and books. They also offered wet-on-wet technique training. In addition, they earned money by working with manufacturers of painting supplies. In 2018, the Coy licensed Ross’ voice for the meditation app Calm.com. His voice will be used to create a series that will hopefully put people to sleep.
