Cannot Have Light Without Dark

Bob Ross was born on October 29, 1942 in Daytona Beach, Florida. Ross was raised in Orlando, Florida.

Ross enlisted in the United States Air Force at age 17. The Air Force transferred him to Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska where he first saw the snow and mountains that later became recurring themes in his artwork.

During Ross' stay in Alaska, he worked as a bartender part-time, when he discovered a TV show that was called The Magic World of Oil Painting, hosted by a German painter, named Bill Alexander.


After studying with Bill Alexander, Ross discovered that he was soon able to earn more from selling his work than from his Air Force position. Ross then retired from the Air Force after 20 years of service with the rank of Master Sergeant and became famous worldwide hosting The Joy of Painting, with the help of Annette & Walter Kowalski.

Ross used the wet-on-wet oil painting technique, in which the painter continues adding paint on top of still-wet paint rather than waiting a lengthy amount of time to allow each layer of paint to dry. From the beginning, the program kept the selection of tools and colors simple so that viewers wouldn't have to make large investments in expensive equipment.

Ross frequently recommended odorless paint thinner (aka odorless mineral spirits) for brush cleaning. Combining the painting method with the use of one- and two-inch brushes as well as painting knives allowed Ross to paint trees, water, clouds, and mountains in a matter of seconds. Each painting would start with simple strokes that appeared to be nothing more than colored smudges. As he added more and more strokes, the blotches transformed into intricate landscapes

It is widely believed that Ross painted between 25,000 and 30,000 paintings in his life.

I got “turned on” to Bob Ross in the 1980's when watching him on my local PBS channel but I am not sure what exactly got me started; although, I have always been interested in painters and painting and dabbled a little myself... so, I must have been channel surfing and just caught an episode; but, it so captivating watching him paint this canvas in 30 minutes and the depth-of-field that it captures is simply unbelievable.

I videotaped several episodes and still have those on a bookshelf in my office downstairs and I did this with the intention that once I retired, I would get back to my painting roots, and explore and hopefully perfect (to my standards) his style and techniques.

In order to create this perspective and depth-of-field, he would start at the back of the scene and lay in a sky that would cover about half the canvas; then, about 1/4^th of the way down from the top, he would lay in a mountain range below that blow in with his brush a breeze of fog, the maybe below that another range of mountains and blow in more fog; then, just below that he would carve out a lake that would carry itself down to the bottom of the canvas and dab in underbrush and shrubs... and, just when you think he is finished, he would always decide to lay down a big pine tree, perhaps another and another.

All along the way, the paint was always wet and never allowed to dry... and, it was this concept that allowed him to merge and blend colors on top of each other. However, this technique was predicated upon the fact that he started out with thick paint and each time, he applied another layer, that layer must be thinner than the previous layer.

And, that was the key to his style, this thinner paint on top of a thicker paint and as a result of that process, the different layer simply adhere to each other. But, actually doing that is easier said than done and this is where Ross' talent made him very popular.

I was particularly fascinated with watching him create ponds and how he used his knife and brush to create the reflections in the water, that gave the painting the appearance of being “real;” and, I also vividly recall how he used his fan brush to create the leaves on the pine trees and the smaller brush for highlights.

His paintings were all detail oriented as well, but the idea that stuck in my mind all these years was the use of a white on black or dark on light painting process. I remember him saying that you cannot have light without dark and you cannot have dark without light. Those two contrasts were always juxtaposed to one another perfectly.

But, this is not just about painting and the style of Bob Ross; it is about the natural spirituality of life... at least for me it is.

Spirituality is a process of personal transformation, either in accordance with traditional religious ideals, or, increasingly, oriented on subjective experience and psychological growth independently of any specific religious context. In a more general sense, it may refer to almost any kind of meaningful activity or blissful experience. There is no single, widely-agreed definition for the concept.

In a Biblical context the term means being animated by God, to be driven by the Holy Spirit, as opposed to a life which rejects this influence.

For me, the Ross wet-on-wet or light/dark techniques remind me of the struggle with Good and Evil with the understanding that one cannot have evil without good and vice versa. Additionally, one does not or cannot appreciate good without evil.

Let me run this scenario by you.

In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve originally had a choice between good and good which for all intents and purposes is no choice at all; but, with the introduction of the serpent and the apple, Adam and Eve now had a choice between good and evil, especially as they contrasted with one another.

It is highly unlikely that good would push anyone towards evil, however, it is, in my opinion, highly likely that evil would, in fact, push someone towards good.

So, it makes a lot of sense to me that one cannot have light without dark.