October marks what would have been the 76th birthday of Bob Ross, beloved artist and host of The Joy of Painting, which has been airing on public television uninterrupted since 1983. To celebrate his ongoing legacy of art-for-all, The Quarto Group and Express Yourself are hosting a celebration on October 23. The fun begins at 5:45 pm, when Certified Ross Instructor, Bernie Oropallo, will lead Express Yourself students through the project “Distant Mountains,” from the new book, Painting with Bob Ross (published by Walter Foster Publishing, an imprint of The Quarto Group). Following the student workshop, Express Yourself board members and invited guests will have the opportunity to paint along with Oropallo, as well. The Quarto Group will be live-streaming the evening’s demonstration, beginning at 7:30 pm, on its QuartoCreates Facebook page.
Currently celebrating its 25th anniversary, Express Yourself has a mission to immerse young people in the arts, where they find a powerful tool for self-expression, uncover inner strength, and deepen their connection with others. With art as a springboard, at-risk youth and young people with mental illness move from alienation to belonging, learning to express themselves in healthy, positive ways.
Though their young students may not know his name or trademark hair, Joan Kowalski, president of Bob Ross Inc., believes Bob’s message of acceptance and confidence will shine through during the class. “Bob Ross’s biggest desire was to show people how to create their own paintings,” says Joan. “He was always much more interested in the process of painting instead of the finished product. He realized that the act of creating built confidence and happiness in people. That was his goal—and ours too—to make sure that Bob’s desire to teach the world to paint is fulfilled every day.”
It was this message of self-acceptance and self-confidence that led Walter Foster Publishing to publish the new title, Painting with Bob Ross. “As a heritage brand with nearly 100 years of publishing excellence in the instructional art and craft space, we are delighted to partner with Bob Ross Inc., introducing a new generation of beginning and established artists to Bob’s personal approach to painting in oil,” says Rebecca Razo, publisher of Walter Foster. “We’ve really endeavored to capture the spirit of Bob and his unique approach to teaching. In this book, Bob guides artists every step of the way, while offering his trademark reassurance that every artist, quite literally, has ‘the ability to move mountains’ and that ‘we don’t make mistakes; we just have happy accidents.’”
This special event begins at 5:45 pm on October 23 when Oropallo leads students through the first painting demonstration, followed by the adult painting demonstration at 7:30 pm. During the invitation-only evening event, The Quarto Group will livestream the class on Facebook so painters across the globe can follow along during this celebration. Online participants can follow @QuartoCreates on Facebook to join.
Painting with Bob Ross, published by Walter Foster Publishing, an imprint of The Quarto Group, publishes October 9. This full-color paperback book features 128 pages of step-by-step painting tutorials and retails for $21.99 USD. Its ISBN is 9781633226524.
For more information, visit www.exyo.org and quarto.com.
