Beloved painter and TV host Bob Ross died 20 years ago. But Oct. 29 is his birthday, and the Internet is celebrating it in the most unusual of places: Twitch.
The social video platform secured the rights to all 404 episodes of Ross’s art-focused TV series, The Joy of Painting, and they’re all set to be broadcast at twitch.tv/bobross between Oct. 29 and Nov. 6. The event coincides with the launch of the new Twitch Creative channel.
“The Creative community was born from the gaming community on Twitch, as top broadcasters began broadcasting creation of fan art during gameplay down time,” Twitch Creative boss Bill Morrier said in a statement. “This attracted more broadcasters to the platform whose primary focus was on artistic endeavors. With their passion, variety, camaraderie, and sheer organic growth, they inspired us to put a much larger spotlight on their community.”
Known for his soft-spoken demeanor and absurdly impressive perm, Ross used the Joy of Painting series to help viewers find a simple, accessible entry point into artistic endeavors. He had a particular way of narrating his creative process that made the show feel welcoming, and he stuck with simple, inexpensive materials that would encourage viewers to paint along with him.
Ross was also a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, having enlisted when he was 18. It was during his military service that Ross first encountered The Magic World of Oil Painting, a TV series hosted by German artist Bill Alexander. This led him to study with Alexander, who taught Ross the trademark wet-on-wet oil technique that he was using on his series. Ross eventually left the Air Force when he realized he could make a career out of being an artist.
The Twitch stream doesn’t appear to have started yet, but tune in at the link above to make sure you don’t miss a moment of this unexpected (yet totally welcome) Bob Ross marathon.
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Originally posted on mashable