Happy news for happy people. Bob Ross, the artist and TV personality who came to fame in the ‘80s for his PBS series The Joy of Painting, is now finding a second life on YouTube. As of Friday, Oct. 23, the first episode of the first season of the hit show from 1983 is now available to a new generation of would-be artists.
Ross was best known for his calm, soothing voice and large permed hair, as well as phrases such as “happy trees” and “nice little bushes.”
His educational show initially debuted in January 1983, but Ross, who died in 1995, likely didn’t anticipate it to be the cultural phenomenon that it became during its 11-year run.
“For the next 13 weeks, I’ll be your host as we experience the joy of painting,” he says in the premiere episode, adding, “I think each of us sometime during our life has wanted to paint a picture.”
“I think there’s an artist hid in the bottom of every single one of us. You know, we have avoided painting for so long because I think all of our lives we’ve been told that you have to go to school half your life, maybe even have to be blessed by Michelangelo at birth to ever be able to paint a picture,” he continues. “And here we ant to show that that’s not true — that you can paint a picture right along with us.”
In the first episode, Ross also introduces viewers to his “Almighty” assortment of tools and colors.
“Anybody can paint,” he says. “All you need is a dream in your heart [and] a little practice.”
