8 Little-Known Facts About Bob Ross
Most people who watched his show never painted anything
“To me, painting represents freedom, because on this canvas I can create any kind of world that I want, and so can you.” — Bob Ross
Robert Norman Ross was born in Daytona, Florida. He had an interest in nature since early childhood and took up painting for the first time when he joined the U.S. Air Force aged 18. Many years later, he would become famous for his instructional show, “The Joy of Painting,” which aired a total of 403 episodes — not all of which featured him — between 1983 and 1994.
Millions of viewers loved Ross’s painting technique as well as his calm, relaxed way of teaching it. But relatively little was known about the television artist while he was alive because he was a very private man. Still, in recent years, some interesting facts have come to light.
1. Soft Spoken
One of Ross’ most notable characteristics was his pacifying and soothing voice. But he didn’t always sound like that. When he was in the military, he served as a master sergeant and had supervisory and managerial duties. As such, he had to yell at younger recruits in a manner similar to drill instructors at boot…
