Bob Ross Once Painted In Monochrome For A Colorblind Viewer
Photo 55821905 © Jacques Jacobsz | Dreamstime.com
The pastel skies, deep-blue mountains, and forest-green happy little trees have been trademarks of Bob Ross’ landscapes. However, not everyone has been able to enjoy the joy of painting he bestowed upon the world.
Upworthy recently dug up an oldie but goodie of an episode where Ross swapped out his palette for shades of gray to appease a colorblind fan and let everyone know that, whether with full color vision or not, anyone who dreams of painting will be able to create beautiful work.
Ross recounted doing one of his demonstrations at a mall, and encountering a man who told him he couldn’t paint because he was colorblind and only saw gray tones.
“So I thought today we’d do a picture in gray just to show you that anyone can paint,” Ross declared.
He then mixed browns with blues to create different shades of gray, before turning them into a snowy landscape with a lake and a cabin.
“Isn’t that fantastic, that you can make whole mountains in minutes?” the late artist swooned. “And you can do it. There’s no big secret to it. All you need is a dream in your heart.”
Monochromacy, an ability to only perceive differences in light and shades of gray, affects about one in 30,000. It is far rarer than the most common type of colorblindness, where people struggle to see red and green.
[via Upworthy and Understanding Compassion, cover photo 55821905 © Jacques Jacobsz | Dreamstime.com]
