In recent years the wet-on-wet technique has become well-known as the primary method of painting used by such television artists as Bill Alexander and Bob Ross. Since lighter colors will usually mix with darker colors if laid over top of them while wet, the technique relies on painting from light colors up. This gives the painting a soft look, and allows the colors to be blended to the painter's desire. Since no drying period is required, full paintings (requiring at most only a few minutes of detail work after the main work is dry) can be produced in a short period of time – Alexander and Ross could produce an entire landscape in under half an hour on their respective television shows, The Magic of Oil Painting and The Joy of Painting .
Bob's gentle and motivating kind of approach to teaching the wet-on-wet painting technique was not just a "happy accident" however. Ever since he first appeared on Public Television with his JOY OF PAINTING series in 1983, he had made a commitment to himself and a promise to his viewers to never lose sight of his goal: to provide the best, the possible, and to do it in the warm, "family-like" style which had made it so popular. "I made sure that with each and every show, I have made close, personal contact with my viewers," said Bob.
Bob passed away July 4, 1995 at the age of 52. Mr. Ross's wife Jane died in 1993. He is survived by a son, Steven, of Ronkonkoma, L.I., who is a Bob Ross instructor and occasionally appeared on Mr. Ross's program.
