Bob Ross - Controversy and Criticism

So i've downloaded almost every season of Bob Ross - The Joy of Painting, and i'm planning on buying his DVDs once i start working.

During a few of his episodes he speaks about colleges criticizing him on his method of painting, and how it doesn't teach people the proper way of painting. I'm just curious if anyone here wants to throw there opinion out and maybe have a discusion about him and his painting.

 

I loved his shows and his painting. I thought it was really cool he used that as a way to deal with things after being in the military.

 

I don't see how he could be "controversial". He's simplified painting by creating a method the average person can do well without devoting there life to learning.

I've personally learned that method of painting and it's very enjoyable. Alot of other artist have tried claiming that the method leaves no room for improvement and that you'll hit an unbreakable plateau, and i can personally say that's false.

I started with his method and it helped me with my creativity, and gives you the basics of other popular methods. I think his criticism was fair, but not necessary.

The other controversy over his method was that acrylic pain doesn't last forever. And the liquid black, white and clear he used could also take time of how long your paintings last. But the reality of it is that painting for the most part is enjoyment and expression, not to become famous and have your paintings around forever.(not that we don't all secretly wish to make an impact on society).

 

Happy little trees! He definitely furthered the cause of people expressing themselves in art. I liked his technique, personally.

 

There is a proper way of painting? I'll be dipped. I can't believe such a positive happy person would receive such criticism.

 

bob ross is the man. he didnt make art some serious thing that must be taken seriously serious. you can tell he enjoyed what he did and just wanted to share that joy and love of art with the world. like weddingcrasher said there is no proper way of painting, bob ross just wanted to make a simple process of painting more accessible to the people. and i love him for it!

 

One of the things I love about painting or drawing is training your mind to see things more abstractly. Like, when you paint a tree, you don't necessarily paint a tree with leaves and bark..you paint what you actually see: colors, shapes, tones, etc.
The actual techniques of putting the paint on the canvas or, for instance, how to create a nice black by mixing paint, are kind of secondary.
(I think maybe a graphic artist might kind of think the opposite, but I'm not sure.)

I really haven't ever seen Bob Ross, so I don't know what he does exactly. Since a lot of responses mention that he teaches a "technique" of painting makes it seem like he focuses on how to apply the paint or mix colors or something and maybe specific ways to paint specific things. So, I'm not sure that I'd like it....if that is what he does.

I have a friend who teaches painting, and he always says that the worst thing would be if everyone in the class painted stuff that looked like what he might paint. He wants everyone to develop their own style.

I think for all artists it's a mixture of craft and art....techniques and style.

The important thing is to enjoy yourself and have fun, so it doesn't really matter.

 

That's actually what he does. He teaches you the most simple ways of painting nature. And he always encourages you to paint differently from him. You should check him out on youtube when you get a chance so you have a better idea of what he does.

 

I love Bob Ross. I watch his show whenever it is on. But I do agree with what those critics are saying about him, and I respect him for making that statement in his episodes about what he is doing. Bob Ross teaches you "how to" but not "why". He SHOWS you how to achieve levels of depth in paintings, but he doesn't teach the rules to achieve that, or why it is so. This leaves people unable to develop their own creativity in certain areas. They are always going to be mixing the paint and placing it on the canvas according to his instructions. If you educate yourself in other areas of art AND watch his show you can understand what he is doing and respect it on a different level.

 

The problem with the Bob Ross method is that if you learn to paint using it, you are able to paint little else except the nature scenes he's famous for. The other issue is that MANY painters know his style, so it makes your painting cheap and recognizable. There's very little to differentiate your style from say... the 50 billion other people painting like Bob Ross. If all you do is want to paint, he's perfect. You can paint, and do it easily. Great enjoyment to be had. Grab a few tools, a canvas, and a few tubes of paint, and away you go! But if you want to be an artist - and by that I mean make your living at painting, he's not good as a sole source of learning. That's the key criticism. You can't simply learn "Bob Ross" method and become an automagical best-selling painter. Just like you can't learn "van Gogh" method and become an automagical best-selling painter. Art comes from within and from style. And to make your living as an artist means you need to find your own voice and your own inspiration. Otherwise, you're just a cheap afterthought xerox copy.

 

I like Bob Ross's show which I used to watch very early in the morning when it was shown here on free view.He has a very natural talent.However I don't think I could paint like him and not sure if I would want to.His style is somewhat similar to production line painting,or factory painting,where you have lines of artists churning out the same pictures,to be sold cheaply with very little real aesthetic value.That said,Bob was/is a lovely guy.