This comes from Weird Facts on Bored Panda. These are compelling one-line stories. You can page through all 50 of the stories HERE. I include the link because this is a
Is this one true? I haven't found out. The treasure trove of Bob Ross's life is reward enough.
Bob Ross's biography has many more events that are stranger than this one. For example, he was never paid for his PBS series show. Another fact: his 30,000 paintings and the Bob Ross brand and name went to his partners after his death - Walt and Anne Kowalski, and not to his son and brother. A Netflix documentary tracks the legal battles over the rights to the Ross name after his death at 52. The Kowalskis had a painting supplies company in partnership with him and they backed his PBS show. They won the rights to his likeness and name squeezing out his son - even from painting for a period of time. And then there are all the plush toys and similar products.
"Ross painted an estimated 30,000 paintings during his lifetime. Despite the unusually high supply of original paintings, Bob Ross original paintings are scarce on the art market, with sale prices of the paintings averaging in the thousands of dollars and frequently topping $10,000. The major auction houses have never sold any of Ross's paintings, and Bob Ross Inc. continues to own many of the ones he painted for The Joy of Painting, as Ross himself was opposed to having his work turned into financial instruments. In contrast to more traditionally famous artists, Ross's work, described by an art appraisal service as a cross between "fine art" and "entertainment memorabilia" — is most highly sought after by common fans of The Joy of Painting, as opposed to wealthy collectors. The artwork circulating among collectors is largely from Ross's work from before he launched the television show."
And remember Bob Ross's voice? It had a calm, soothing tone. "Twitch streams created a new interest in Ross and caused his popularity to grow. His videos subsequently became popular with devotees of ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response). ASMR refers to a pleasant form of paresthesia, or tingling, often brought about by specific visual or auditory stimuli. Many viewers found that listening to Ross triggered an ASMR response. According to Joan Kowalski, the president of Bob Ross Inc.: "He's sort of the godfather of ASMR. People were into him for ASMR reasons before there even was an ASMR."
This is repeated in another article: "Even today, Ross has become an ASMR star... A video of Ross painting a mountain has a staggering 7.7 million views, with others regularly surpassing 2 or 3 million views."
A few of Bob Ross's words are notable and quotable:
We don't make mistakes, just happy little accidents.
“There's nothing wrong with having a tree as a friend.
“I guess I'm a little weird.
“Let's get crazy.”
“Lets build a happy little cloud. Lets build some happy little trees.”
