Happy painting

Bob Ross was born 29 October 1942 in Daytona Beach, Florida. While he was best known for his snow-covered mountains, cabins, and happy trees, his roots would occasional show through.

When speaking about his paintings, Bob Ross generally spoke about the mountains in the west and the time he spent in Alaska. Yet, during the thirteenth series of The Joy of Painting, he put together a gorgeous swamp scene entitled “Emerald Waters.” During the piece’s creation, he stated, “I was born in Daytona Beach, and lived around Orlando most of my life. And back in those days people thought Orlando would never amount to anything but just a swamp, and now it’s one of the most fantastic cities in Florida. And Disney World is there, and it’s a super place to go now.”

Bob Ross was one of those shows that no matter where I lived, I always tried to find a way to watch or record it every week. As for “Emerald Waters,” I cannot count the number of times I stumbled across a similar scene during my backwoods adventures growing up in Central Florida.

Bob Ross eventually returned to Florida, where he passed away in July of 1995, but his paintings, catch-phrases, and calming nature live on for future generations to enjoy and learn from.