Who was he?
Robert Ross aka Bob, served as a technician in the US Airforce as a tech. A military branch that is the total opposite of what Bob became best known for- his whispered tones and his joy of paitning. After he left the military, he devoted his life to painting and became a television artist that had many glued to the TV. A mysterious person that became a pop culture figure.
We rhetorically analyze the podcast that speaks on the Netflix documentary Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal and Greed. Patrick Hinds and Gillian Pensavalle present this dramatization that fills us in on a side and the secrecies that we were all unaware of.
Happy Accidents is a documentary that falls in between pessimism and optimism. The first five minutes of the podcast begins with a conversation about broadway, that eventually builds onto the real issue. Bob Ross’s only son Steve is recorded saying “I have been wanting to get the story out, I have a lot to say”. What does he have to say? He discussed the lesser known fact and more so on the appeal. When Bob Ross found his passion, he got sent to Alaska and fell in love with the landscape. One of the painting techniques that Bob Ross is known for is called the “Alla Prima”. A technique that applies this wet-on-wet look by continuously layering the oil paint. Which started off with Bill Alexander-the creator of the technique. The dramatization frames the appeal to females. Patrick and Gillian focus on the whispered tone that attracted a lot of females to the point where he would get mobbed. Besides the fact that he would get mobbed, his love life wasn’t ideal.
There was a person in a particular that taught Ross. John Thamm was teaching a class when he found out that Ross had tremendous talent, yet he continued to downplay the fact that his peak had to do with that class that was the beginning of his breakthrough
Who were the Kowalski’s? Annette and Walt Kowalski were known for being Bob Ross’s business partners. They went from sharing ideas to forming an empire and holding the ownership of Bob Ross inc. If you ever find yourself holding a mug with his face on it or a christmas ornament that has his name on it, it’s probably coming from the inc. Patrick and Gillian both focus on the secrecies behind the business. Where scandals played out and legal battles that have been going on to protect Bill’s name.
While people continue to look over his videos, and whispered tone, there is more to the man in a canvas and a brush.
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