9 December

Bob Ross died 30 years ago, but he's become an international star posthumously. His painting videos are used by millions as relaxation aids, because of his gentle delivery and the sound of the paint going onto canvas using his variety of techniques. His paintings would fall under the realist-kitsch genre for art lovers (possibly because they're instructional), but if you watch you'll see the genius of something they missed. Ross doesn't try to create an image in a drawing sort of way. He uses the physical properties of the oil paint in interaction with brushes and painting knives to make textures, that create amazing likenesses with landscapes and buildings. The landscape emerges from the physical textures of his instruments, paint and canvas. Watch and you'll see (go to youtube and search for Bob Ross), how entire mountain ranges or clouds or forests appear as if by magic from some quick brush strokes, or scratches of his painting knives. It's enormously liberating for any new artist, there's no need to try to reproduce the complexity of a landscape, it's already contained virtually within the tools and materials. In this way he's like Cezanne or Pollock, the whole universe is present virtually in every thing, including a blob of paint and a brush. He releases or actualises it, no need to draw anything or try to create something from scratch. In a way his approach is more sophisticated than either of those giants of art.