In honor of the 70th birthday of painter and TV star Bob Ross, Google is celebrating today with a new doodle. The doodle, which replaces the search engine’s official logo on its homepage, features Ross in front of his easel, painting the second G in Google in a nature landscape. A squirrel, which was a frequent guest on his PBS show, ‘The Joy of Painting,’ sits on his shoulder.
Ross was raised in Florida and began painting at age 18, after he joined the Air Force and moved to Alaska. He regularly used the wet-on-wet technique, which features layers of wet paint on top of previous layers of wet paint. Ross taught his style across America as he toured the country in the early 1980s.
In 1983, Ross made his television debut with ‘The Joy of Painting, which ran until 1994. He became known to his audience as a soft spoken, upbeat artist who encouraged his followers to paint “happy little trees.”
Ross’ soothing tone and his encouragement of his audience turned him into a pop-culture icon. He has been featured on such shows as ‘Family Guy, ‘Conan O’Brien’ and ‘The Boondocks.’ He died in 1995, after a battle with cancer.
Written by: Karen Benardello
