# What was that painter guys' name? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 5, 2010, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-painter-guys-name/563018 "2010-12-05T07:20:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2010, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-painter-guys-name/563018/21 "2010-12-05T20:01:42Z")
[Another Bob Ross tShirt](http://www.etsy.com/listing/62374881/bob-ross-t-shirt-custom-shirts-for?ref=sr_gallery_18&ga_search_query=bob+ross&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=&order=&includes%5B0%5D=tags&includes%5B1%5D=title&filter%5B0%5D=handmade) [Bob Ross Finger Puppet](http://www.etsy.com/listing/61756041/bob-ross-finger-puppet?ref=sr_gallery_10&ga_search_query=bob+ross&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=&order=&includes%5B0%5D=tags&includes%5B1%5D=title&filter%5B0%5D=handmade) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2010, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-painter-guys-name/563018/22 "2010-12-05T20:16:59Z")
> [@Meme\_Chose](#): > > I loved watching Bill Alexander, especially when he HEEPnotized the canvas. Yeah, the technique is to pretty much saturate the entire canvas with what he called (and marketed) “Magic White”, which was just white pigment and linseed oil. This provided a good medium for the rapid application of other pigments. You can do an entire sky in about five minutes, using a 4" brush. Those cool-looking evergreen trees are done with a 2" brush. ---
**Author:** ![RachelChristine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7ab992/32.png) [@RachelChristine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RachelChristine)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2010, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-painter-guys-name/563018/23 "2010-12-05T22:36:39Z")
Whenever we catch Bob Ross on TV now, my five year old is immediately mesmerized. My husband, who did not grow up in a family with much extra money, said his mom actually bought the Bob Ross quit for his artistic sister. So cool! ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2010, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-painter-guys-name/563018/24 "2010-12-05T23:50:27Z")
My brother and I watched Bob Ross when we were kids. I miss him, actually. I remember him painting a MTV logo for an MTV commercial, too. ---
**Author:** ![big\_alex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e56c9b/32.png) [@big\_alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/big_alex)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2010, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-painter-guys-name/563018/25 "2010-12-05T23:56:01Z")
Is this the “God” referred to on “Peep Show” ? ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-painter-guys-name/563018/26 "2010-12-06T01:46:02Z")
If that’s the UK Peepshow then almost certainly not. I would imagine they’re referring to the multi-talented [Rolf Harris](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolf_Harris), who in addition to doing the quick artist thing did a few songs as well. ---
**Author:** ![dzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@dzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzero)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-painter-guys-name/563018/27 "2010-12-06T05:50:40Z")
I think the longest I ever watched that show was a few minutes. It was intriguing what he could do just with technique. But since my drawing ability isn’t even on a par with cave paintings, I always moved on. Well, there was also his manner. I understand why it would be soothing. It wasn’t just the tone but he was also telling you a story of sorts in the process. For whatever reason though I had a hard time listening. Same thing with Mr. Rodgers, but he really was creepy - at least from my point of view. I didn’t get a creepy vibe from Ross. ---
**Author:** ![dzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@dzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzero)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-painter-guys-name/563018/28 "2010-12-06T05:53:58Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > Bob Ross died of lymphoma. [NYT article for anyone interested.](http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CEFD7143BF930A25754C0A963958260) It is a footnote in the wikipedia entry. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-painter-guys-name/563018/29 "2010-12-06T05:56:15Z")
I always liked Bill Alexander better. He didn’t have “happy” trees, he had MIGHTY trees! Next to a MIGHTY river! It was a bit like watching Brother Theodore paint. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-painter-guys-name/563018/30 "2010-12-06T06:48:59Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > I remember hearing years ago that he’d actually been a drill sergeant, but the Wikipedia article doesn’t make this claim and I suspect it was an exaggeration by whoever I heard that from. It is funny to imagine a drill sergeant with the same manner of speaking used by Bob Ross on his show, though. “Why don’t you drop and give me twenty? That’s right, some happy little pushups. Up and down…” That jarring juxtaposition of personalities makes it kind of a popular [theme for urban legends](http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/knotts.asp) (Don Knotts was a drill sergeant, Fred Rogers was a sniper, etc.) No idea on Bob Ross and what he did in the military, but I’d assume the drill sergeant story along the lines of this. ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-painter-guys-name/563018/31 "2010-12-06T08:02:16Z")
One of his Facebook fan pages is titled, “Bob Ross can paint the heck out of some mother-effin trees.” I think that sums him up nicely. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-painter-guys-name/563018/32 "2010-12-07T05:12:15Z")
Whatever happened to his video game? ---
**Author:** ![Enuma\_Elish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5e9695/32.png) [@Enuma\_Elish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enuma_Elish)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-painter-guys-name/563018/33 "2010-12-08T06:00:26Z")
My Dad was an angry violent Lutheran Minister. When I was 5 years old, I didn’t know whether my mom’s name was ‘Whore’, ‘Bitch’, ‘Slut’, or just ‘Dumb Farm Girl’. I scraped my entire life to find something likeable in him, let alone loveable. When my Dad was in his 60’s, he found Bob Ross. My Dad started painting and got good enough to sell a few. He mellowed to the point that my nephews knew him as a kind decent Grandpa and won’t hear a negative word about him. Bastard! (Yeah yeah yeah I know. People can change, blah blah blah. I did everything to forgive my Dad before he died, but it still sticks in my craw to hear my nephews claim that he was a good man and never consider that for a large portion of his life, he may have been anything but…) ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-painter-guys-name/563018/34 "2010-12-08T06:05:59Z")
Sorry, but there’s something amusing to hear about a Christian minister at long last mellowing out and changing his ways, once he found Bob Ross. Halleleujah! ---
**Author:** ![Enuma\_Elish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5e9695/32.png) [@Enuma\_Elish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enuma_Elish)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-painter-guys-name/563018/35 "2010-12-08T06:12:38Z")
It would be funnier if my Dad had found pot, but I don’t deny your point. And don’t apologize. Honest humor is never bad. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-painter-guys-name/563018/36 "2010-12-08T15:05:03Z")
I was a teen in the 80’s and would watch Bob for a few minutes if I came across the show by accident. It did have a soothing quality, but heavily mixed with boring. The show seemed like perfect viewing for stoned folks. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-painter-guys-name/563018/37 "2010-12-08T15:54:48Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Yeah, the technique is to pretty much saturate the entire canvas with what he called (and marketed) “Magic White”, which was just white pigment and linseed oil… Any good oil paint should only have pigment and oil. Magic White, now called [Liquid White](http://www.amazon.com/Ross-Base-Coats-Liquid-White/dp/B0027A3F6W), just has a LOT of linseed oil. I like Bob Ross for his confident brush strokes, but I just can’t do wet-into-wet painting. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-painter-guys-name/563018/38 "2010-12-08T16:08:33Z")
ISTR he and Bill Alexander rarely used brushes per se, instead opting for an assortment of knives. That’s one of the things I found fascinating to watch. ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-painter-guys-name/563018/39 "2010-12-08T21:50:58Z")
Way back when, the condo complex my boyfriend’s grandparents lived in was filled with older retired couples. They used to actually try to find entertainment for the residents. At one point, they had Bob Ross teaching. My boyfriend’s grandfather and sister took lessons and both actually became very good. We have a few of grandpa’s in our house (in the living room and kitchen) and one of his sister’s is hanging above our bed. I used to love watching Bob Ross when I was a kid. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-painter-guys-name/563018/40 "2010-12-08T22:05:42Z")
> [@wikipedia](#): > > A Far Side cartoon shows Bob Ross on TV, talking about “happy little trees”, while the home artist has been crushed to death by a tree falling through the wall of his house. It doesn’t seem to be available on the internet despite plenty of other Far Side cartoons, and plenty of Bob Ross memorabilia. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-painter-guys-name/563018.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-painter-guys-name/563018.md?page=3)