My kids are on winter break and it’s easy for them to fall into the trap of staring at a screen for hours on end. But yesterday my daughter Leah foraged for art supplies in our basement, and wound up creating this:

Picasso had his Blue Period, and now Leah is following suit (mainly because we only had blue and white paints in the basement).

I should mention that she was staring at a screen during the creation of this masterpiece – she was watching a Bob Ross video.

Good old Bob and his happy trees and happy accidents.

Bob and his amazing hair left us in 1995, but he’s gotten a second wind of late. It’s not just the fun hairstyle and the soothing voice… it’s because he clearly loved what he did. And a lot of his art instructions were really life instructions. Here are a couple of Bob-isms to ponder:

  1. “I think there’s an artist hidden at the bottom of every single one of us.”
  2. “Talent is a pursued interest. Anything that you’re willing to practice, you can do.”

I’m thrilled that my daughter is watching those old shows. Her work may never end up in the Louvre, but her life has a better chance of being a masterpiece. Thanks Bob, for continuing to make the world a happy place.