The first thing that I noticed while going through “ A Perfect Winter Day” is just how much fun Bob Ross is having. Within the first minute and a half, he’s already laughing and smiling, pulling the audience with him as he goes. The way he can tell a story AND teach at the same time… all while keeping it engaging is a beautiful show of skill.
The next thing that caught my eye is that he doesn’t do anything overly technical, all of this seems like simple movements just done in a professional manner- resulting in something that looks stunning while seeming effortless.
The theme of giving everything a chance and showing that it has a purpose is a recurring theme I found throughout the beginning and middle of the video. Between your “happy little accidents” and giving the big brushes a “chance to do marvelous things” – everything here is a positive! Obviously, we all know Bob Ross is the king of positivity, but I bring this up because most instructional videos will just give you a fair warning if something is potentially going to be hard to use and can scare people away. The approach that Bob takes in letting you know that it is going to be potentially rough, but never saying that and only telling you what it could do and how to do it makes it much more approachable.
The way that he emphasizes being a “lazy painter” also translates to how he lives his life and something that I think we should adopt – especially after the craziness of the past two years. We’re doing too much! Sometimes we need to slow down and take the concise but well-done path instead of the overly done just to say we did it to the umpteenth degree. A good product is a good product . . . whether you took all the fancy steps or all of the fundamental and technical steps.
Bob’s ability to make fun of himself is something that I think is key to being a good storyteller. Mishaps happen – no matter how good you are. The ability to make fun of yourself and point out a mishap but keep the story rolling and keep everyone engaged is huge!
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed watching this video and I didn’t realize how fast time went by! The end result of the painting was amazing! His ability to make it seem like that cabin was the only thing out there for miles on a canvas so small was beautiful! I’m really looking forward to seeing what else happened in everyone else’s videos!
Here is the finished result for anyone curious:
