The short answer: Bob Ross learned to paint in stages. He took a first class at a U.S.O. club in Anchorage, Alaska, while serving in the US Air Force. He then taught himself the wet-on-wet technique by watching Bill Alexander on television, and after retiring in 1981 he studied with Alexander and became one of his instructors. He was not a natural who simply picked up a brush.
"How did Bob Ross learn to paint?" is a question I'm asked at nearly every class, usually by someone who's slightly nervous about picking up a brush for the first time. The honest answer is quite encouraging: Ross wasn't born with a gift. He learned it the same way you can, from a first class, from a good teacher, and from a lot of practice.
Step one: a first class in Alaska
Robert Norman Ross joined the United States Air Force at 18 and spent most of his 20 years of service in Alaska. It was there, at a U.S.O. club in Anchorage, that he took his first painting class. It wasn't the start of a grand plan. He was a serviceman looking for something to do with his spare time, and he found he enjoyed it.
Alaska itself became his other teacher. The snowy mountains, frozen lakes and endless evergreens he saw every day are the scenes he painted for the rest of his life, which is why so many of his paintings have a cold, wintery, snow-on-the-peaks look.
Step two: discovering wet-on-wet on television
The turning point came when Ross saw The Magic of Oil Painting, presented by Bill Alexander. In under half an hour, Alexander produced a finished landscape using the wet-on-wet method: a thin white base coat, then every colour blended into wet paint, with no waiting for layers to dry.
For someone with limited spare time, this was exactly what he needed. Ross began painting in Alexander's style and started selling his Alaskan landscapes to tourists, some of them painted on gold-mining pans. He was learning by doing, which is still the best way to learn this technique.
Step three: studying with Bill Alexander
After he retired from the Air Force in 1981, Ross studied with Alexander directly. He became one of Alexander's instructors and travelled to teach the method and sell supplies. This is the training that turned a keen hobbyist into a confident teacher. If you want the full story of that relationship, including how it ended, read my article Who Taught Bob Ross to Paint? The Bill Alexander Story.
Step four: his own series
On 11 January 1983, The Joy of Painting aired for the first time. It ran until 1994 and made 403 episodes. By then Ross wasn't just copying his teacher. He'd developed his own calm teaching voice, his own Liquid White, and his own way of breaking a landscape into simple steps for people who had never painted before.
A quick timeline
- 1942: Born in Daytona Beach, Florida.
- Air Force years: Serves for 20 years, mostly in Alaska, and takes a first painting class at an Anchorage U.S.O. club.
- Alaska: Discovers Bill Alexander's television programme and starts painting wet-on-wet.
- 1981: Retires from the Air Force and studies with Alexander, becoming one of his instructors.
- 1983: The Joy of Painting begins.
- 1995: Bob Ross dies, aged 52.
What this means if you want to learn
I think Ross's route is a lovely model for beginners. He didn't start with years of theory. He took a class, found a method he could follow, painted a lot, and learned from someone who'd mastered it. That's exactly how my one-day classes are designed. You paint a full landscape in a day, stage by stage, with help at your easel, so you learn by doing.
If you'd like to try it, see the upcoming class dates in Whitstable, or start at home with the free video lesson and the complete guide to the wet-on-wet technique.
"Nobody is born knowing how to paint a mountain. Bob Ross learned it, and so can you, usually faster than you think." – Mark Terrell
Frequently asked questions
How did Bob Ross learn to paint?
Bob Ross took a first painting class at a U.S.O. club in Anchorage, Alaska, while serving in the United States Air Force. He then learned the wet-on-wet oil technique by watching Bill Alexander on television and, after leaving the Air Force in 1981, studying with Alexander and becoming one of his instructors.
Where did Bob Ross learn to paint?
Mainly in Alaska, where he was stationed in the Air Force. His first class was at the Anchorage U.S.O. club, and he practised the landscapes he saw around him. He later trained with Bill Alexander's company in the United States.
Who did Bob Ross learn from?
His main teacher was the German-born television painter Bill Alexander, presenter of The Magic of Oil Painting. Ross also had a first painting class in Anchorage before he found Alexander's programme.
Who was Bob Ross's mentor?
Bill Alexander is usually named as Bob Ross's mentor. Ross studied under him, taught his method as one of his instructors, and credited him in the first episode of The Joy of Painting, although the two later fell out.
Was Bob Ross self-taught?
No. He had a first class and then formal training in the wet-on-wet method from Bill Alexander. What he did largely by himself was practise: he painted constantly, selling landscapes to tourists in Alaska before he ever appeared on television.