FiLM REViEW
Review by B.C. Kowalski
Ross was as awesome as he was on TV, if the people around him weren’t Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal and Greed 92 min. | Rated PG-13 | Netflix I have to admit I was a bit nervous to turn on the Bob Ross documentary. Being a child in the 80s, I saw Bob Ross and his white man puffy afro on TV many times. His happy little trees, and happy little accidents, were firmly etched in my mind. It was a happy etching, and not one I was eager to shatter by learning something notorious about Ross. You can shatter plenty of my childhood illusions, Netflix, but don’t mess with Bob Ross! Turns out, it’s actually the opposite. By all accounts, ranging from people who just met him randomly in a park meetup to those who worked closely with him, the Bob Ross on TV was pretty much what you get. He had a disarming charisma and delighted in nothing more than seeing the look on people’s faces when they realized that yes, they actually can paint, and paint reasonably well at that. It’s some of the people around him who sucked. We learn from the documentary that Ross had a career in the U.S. Air Force, but always loved to paint. He quickly enamored himself of many of the artists on the scene in his area, and endeared himself to
2021 Wausau Festival of Arts
another TV painter, which led to him leading workshops, and led to his partnerships with the Kowalskis (Hey, familiar name!) who helped market him and bring about the TV show, The Joy of Painting. I was excited to learn Kowalskis were involved, until one foreshadowing comment that gave me an “uh-oh…” feeling. Are they the bad guys of the story? Yes. Yes they are. The Kowalskis, Annette and Walt, turned out to be money grubbers who happily exploited Bob Ross, putting his name on cheap paint supplies to earn more money (he had to fight them to make sure they used quality materials so people following his painting teaching could actually, you know, paint and have it look halfway decent). There are many things I learned from the documentary and some research after watching. I don’t want to spoil all of them for you, but here’s a few: Ross had a career in the Air Force, and retired in order to pursue painting. He loved changing his hairstyle, until he settled on the perm which everyone associates with him. (He called his salon visits every few months as “getting his springs tightened.) Ross produced some 30,000 paintings in his lifetime, and produced three paintings for every painting on his PBS show - one
Beauty and spirit is on full display at the Wausau Festival of Arts, and you’re invited! We’re preserving a legacy of art and togetherness that has lasted over 55 years in downtown Wausau. After a year off, we are excited to return, getting together to celebrate the joy of art and the comfort of our community.
Peruse a colorful harvest of beautiful offerings, from paintings and jewelry to sculptures, ceramics, and September 11th & 12th woven goods.
before the show, one while filming and one afterward. He and his family got screwed by the Kowalskis. Royally screwed. I’ll leave you to watch the doc to see how but it will make you angry. I disavow them as Kowalskis. Much of the documentary centers on his son telling the whole tale. Steve Ross is actually quite a talented painter in his own right, and Bob Ross’ dream was that his son would ultimately be a better painter and more famous than him. Steve doesn’t have the charisma of his father, but is still very effective at telling the tale of how his father came to fame, and how it all ended. You might leave ticked, but you will leave with an even greater appreciation of Bob Ross. What’s frustrating is that you will need
to feel guilty watching his videos in retrospect, since the Kowalskis’ company owns rights to them and is probably making a small mint from ad revenue on YouTube; not to mention all the other Bob Ross products. And not a cent is going to the family. They’re also part of the reason you don’t see many Bob Ross paintings in the wild, despite the 30,000 paintings he did. They have most of them. And others tended to be gifts Ross gave to various people, many of whom keep them on their walls and never really thought about selling. But the Bob Ross International owners could never sully the happy force that is Bob Ross. If anything comes through in this documentary, it’s what an incredible person Ross was. Nothing can tarnish that, no matter how hard some people try to continually profit off his name.
In addition to over a hundred artists, 1. LET WATERCOLOR PAINT ITSELF - Diane Shabino the square will be filled with live Sat., Sep. 11, 10:00-12:00 - Learn wet watercolor music, good food and cold drinks techniques. Create paintings and note cards. along with these favorites: 2. THE PAINTED PAGE - Connie Graham • Family Art - Many creative activities Sat., Sep. 11, 1:30-3:30 - Experiment with painting, for children with their parents. texturing and printing papers and create a collage. • Young Collector Market - Children 12 and up can view and purchase donated art.
3. FOOLPROOF PASTEL PAINTING - Andy Fenner Sun., Sep.12, 10:00-12:00 - Complete a pastel painting of a glorious sunset.
• Scholarship Silent Auction - Place 4. LIVE CREATIVELY WITH SKETCHBOOK your silent bids for art donated by JOURNALING - Nancy Laliberte participating artists. Sun., Sep.12, 1:30-3:30 - Use fun techniques with ink and watercolor in your journaling. • Still Young at Art - Reserve a space in one of these classes taught by Classes are limited. Each class is $25. professional artists in the upper To register & for more information go to: classroom area of the CVA next to www.wausaufoa.org/still-young-at.art the Grand Theater:
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Home Is Where the Art Is September 2-9, 2021
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