Bob Ross' legacy live on in new 'Joy of Painting' series

A new generation can learn how to paint happy trees and to make happy accidents with a TV series teaching the Bob Ross -method of painting using some of the prolific artist’s work that have never been seen before.

Before Ross died in 1995 from cancer, he had completed seven paintings to use in season 32 of “The Joy of Painting.”

“He was so sick, but he was still working on his next series because he wanted to be able to keep going,” said Joan Kowalski, President of Bob Ross, Inc. Her parents, Annette and Walt Kowalski, co-founded the company with Ross.

Those works were stored away for almost three decades. Certified Bob Ross instructor Nicholas Hankins has studied those seven paintings and paints them from scratch on camera in “The Joy of Painting with Nicholas Hankins: Bob Ross’ Unfinished Season,” which started airing this spring in some markets on American Public Television. Some episodes are available on PBS’ website.

The opportunity to “take these paintings and do what Bob ultimately wanted done with them, (to) have them out in the world making people happy is gratifying” said Hankins recently over Zoom. He teaches at the Bob Ross Art Workshop and Gallery about 15 miles from Daytona Beach, Florida, and oversees instructor certification. Hankins also uses six of his own paintings in this new “Joy of Painting,” which was filmed and produced at WDSC-TV Daytona State College.




(Derek Sanford/WDSC-TV via AP)