« meh | Main | it's terrifying »

human quaalude

 
apparently that is what makes me want to watch bob ross create happy little trees for hours on end.
 
never in my life have i wanted to paint, nor have i had the urge to become a painter, nor have i ever particularly desired to watch painters paint on nationally televised programs. and yet i just spent twenty minutes of my life watching him form a mountain landscape out of nothing. my thumb hovered over the remote as i internally listed all the reasons why it was ridiculous to keep watching. i don't paint! i don't know the first thing about painting! there is no reason to kee--ooooooo, pretty waterfall...
 
i've always found his constant stream of consciousness monologue both ingratiating and infuriating. on the one hand, you wonder if he will ever shut up; on the other hand, it's what makes him so genuinely endearing. well, that and the huge fluffy afro.
 
catching the joy of painting is a little like falling through a double time warp: recorded mostly in the 80's, it already looked like it was recorded in the 60's, and finding it on pbs nowadays makes me stop for a minute and wonder how old i actually am. i know i can't be the only kid that was mesmerized by this calm soothing man on occasional afternoons after school.
 
and now i've not only spent part of my life watching bob ross, i've also spent part of my life writing a post about bob ross. wonders never cease.
Posted on Saturday, October 21, 2006 at 04:04PM by Registered Commentermdog | Comments14 Comments

Reader Comments (14)

What I always wished more than anything was that Bob Ross would do a self portrait on his show. Can you imagine him painting (and describing) his fro? Awesome.
Oct 23, 2006 at 09:34AM | Unregistered CommenterTB
haha! i definitely recall watching ol' bob ross at work. mesmerizing is definitely the word.
Oct 23, 2006 at 09:55AM | Unregistered Commentermar
I had to look up "quaalude" in the dictionary. Mdog, you rock.

I somehow never stumbled across Bob Ross on TV when I was growing up, and let me tell you, I feel deprived.
Oct 23, 2006 at 10:10AM | Unregistered CommenterJennifer
tb - there's something i never thought of. i think that would definitely require the two-inch brush. and maybe some burnt sienna.
Oct 23, 2006 at 10:29AM | Registered Commentermdog
don't forget the burnt umber.
Oct 23, 2006 at 11:01AM | Unregistered Commentermar
of course! and perhaps the one-inch brush for a happy little beard.
Oct 23, 2006 at 11:02AM | Registered Commentermdog
http://wii.ign.com/articles/699/699647p1.html
your very own bob ross game on nintendo wii! how refreshing!
Oct 23, 2006 at 11:13AM | Unregistered Commentermar
omg. best bit from the release: describing br as an "afro-enhanced painter".
Oct 23, 2006 at 11:25AM | Registered Commentermdog
you are awesome, and you have neat friends. Have I mentioned that before?
Oct 23, 2006 at 06:24PM | Unregistered CommenterSJL
I have to say that when my brother and I were little we spent many an afternoon watching Bob Ross with my mom.

In her pre-children days my mom was pretty artsy and crafty. Somewhere in a back cupboard you can find her paints.

'ol Bob definitely increased my color vocabulary I think my favorite was yellow ocher.
Oct 23, 2006 at 10:15PM | Unregistered Commenterkt
sjl - you may have noted that a time or two. :)

kt - ah yes, the yellow ochre. i seem to remember a cadmium yellow as well. and he used titanium white a lot. who knew the periodic table would be so useful in painting?
Oct 23, 2006 at 10:58PM | Registered Commentermdog
i too have found myself mesmerized by the formation of fluffy little clouds.. fun post doogs
Oct 27, 2006 at 09:55PM | Unregistered Commenterlana
The whole time I was reading this blog, I was saying to myself, "That's it! This is exactly how it was for me. I can't believe she just said that. Thumb over the remote control...that is exactly it!" What an excellent post, Doogs. Thanks.
Oct 31, 2006 at 10:45AM | Unregistered CommenterMOB
So guilty....

I was just talking to someone at work a couple of weeks ago about watching him make a totally awesome picture out of nothing but yellow ochre (and occasionally slapping a wet brush back and forth across his easel) and then he'd slap a big fat happy little tree smack in the middle of the whole thing, painting over all the cool stuff. Twenty minutes of feeling soothed and the last 10 being pissed off.

Bob Ross therapy would probably not work for me, but I still miss the guy....
Nov 5, 2006 at 09:38AM | Unregistered CommenterMisty

PostPost a New Comment

Enter your information below to add a new comment.

My response is on my own website »
Author Email (optional):
Author URL (optional):
Post:
 
Some HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong>