Bob Ross

That's right...this guy!

Now I have no idea whether Bob was a great guy but I'm pretty sure he was. His calm demeanor and obvious passion for what he did really drew me in. I'm sure I stumbled upon him on a Saturday afternoon and wondered who was this very mellow guy with the afro and beard. You could not help but get caught up in him transforming a blank canvas into a beautiful landscape with seemingly little effort. I was amazed and decided I would give that a try. I am not nor will I ever be a great painter but Bob inspired me to try and for that I am grateful. There have been times over the past 20 years where I have been quite prolific a painter and other times such as the current when I have not. I miss it and look forward to taking it up again. If you know me you may call me uptight but when painting I transform into mellow Bob, I mean Dave and focus on the imaginary landscape I am creating. It is very therapeutic. I have given several of my paintings away over the years and hope they are still out there somewhere. It is on my bucket list someday to own a Bob Ross original and hang it proudly in my man cave which I also hope to have one day. Maybe this one:

I honored Bob in the late 90's by dressing as him for Halloween.  The costume was a hit but most thought I was Ted Kaczynski...the Unabomber.  Would the Unabomber nurse injured squirrels back to health?  No!  And did he have a great sign off like "happy painting and God bless my friends?"  No....only Bob!

Bob died much too early but his legacy lives on and he was even honored by Google on what would have been his 70th birthday with a Google Doodle.

Pretty cool

Until tomorrow,

Dave