The Joy of Painti…Wait…What?

Making Bob Ross Proud in the Gym

Mark Brown

July 12, 2022

That’s right! That Bob Ross. A look into the paintings that the public television icon did for all those years and the man himself are worth taking a deep dive on into regards to the gym. The entire thing was amazing when it all hit me on the way to the garage to lift last week. First, his pet phrase “there are no mistakes, only happy accidents” is wonderfully complex statement about how to evaluate what is and has happened. Second, there is such an instinctive and organic quality to both the performance and the artwork that it is easy to forget there is a process to to be learned to create them. His ability to do the painting and explain to the viewer the processes involved in getting the exact image desired is powerful. This one is exceedingly important. It makes him organically authoritative on screen in a way that makes him receptive to the viewers. Third, the way the image comes into full view at the end is magical. It’s extremely fascinating how fast the paintings go from incomplete to complete. There are lessons from “The Joy of Painting” that that definitely translate to strength training. We can make Bob Ross proud beyond the canvas.

Bob Ross had a lot of behaviors and phrases that would fall into the “catchphrase” category. The one that sticks out the most the one I alluded to in the introduction. It’s a phrase that encompasses a positive mindset. The word “mistake” has a negative connotation because what was intended to happen didn’t occur. Bob’s phrase avoids the negative feeling associated with mistakes by continuing to work on it until success has been had. It definitely works for his style of painting and it makes him feel more organic as a presenter of information, which helps people buy him as a teacher. The way he goes out of his way add things to the paintings when they are seemingly closing in on being done has made more than just me cringe a bit. It always works out, of course. This behavior is done to show that action could be a mistake if left alone instead of becoming a fully integrated part of the painting. It highlights the long term over the short term and that risks have to be taken to improve.

It’s a lesson that translates to the gym quite well. I know I could get some push back on this from people who think form is king. That there is correct form and incorrect form with nothing in between. The latter is mistake, the other isn’t. I don’t take this position because it doesn’t account for human uniqueness. Proper form is about being as efficient as possible and avoiding positions that compromise long term health. Nothing else. It goes without saying that the learning process in the gym is done through experimentation, even if one has done extensive reading or watching prior to going. The body is really good at telling a lifter when to not do something, or at least not the way it is being done. The mistake would be to not address the issue, which could be a number of things depending on the lift in question. It’s in a lifter’s best interest to learn what not to do so the learning process is more complete. It’s also a lifter’s prerogative to try new lifts every now and again to see how they feel and if they can be of benefit in the program. Any lifter, especially new, isn’t doing themselves any favors if they aren’t doing this. Some lifts will join the rotation and others won’t. Each time a lifter learns what not to do via soreness, pain, etc or lifts that aren’t helpful to the goal and takes steps to correct them, they are following the intent of the happy accidents phrase.

When one watches The Joy of Painting they are seeing someone who has mastered his craft. Sometimes mastery is a hard thing to deal with from the teacher’s perspective because the process itself has become instinct. It has become as naturalized as possible. The teacher has be able to get back into the learner’s shoes, so to speak, and see all of the individual parts of the process they have already mastered. This sounds far easier than it is. It can be frustrating when what is being communicated to someone isn’t sinking in as intended. What Ross does exceedingly well is explain what those individual parts of the process are and how to make them happen. He just does it so effectively and efficiently that both inspiration and depression are inspired at the same time. Wanting to create a painting like the one Ross is executing right before the viewers eyes is a far cry from actually being able to do so. I have had an idea for a painting in my head for years now and even bought a 48” x 48” canvas frame to get it done but still haven’t acted on it because I know I couldn’t get it done as intended now. Perhaps one day. Watching Bob Ross in The Joy of Painting is watching what learned instinct looks like.

The gym is a good place to go to see people in the process of learning how to master their craft. It’s very easy to watch a lifter who is so efficient at a complex lift and be inspired and depressed by them. What’s most important to realize is that there’s a process involved in every lift, and each part of them needs to be mastered to become truly proficient at it. For example, a bench press has distinct points that need to be learned and strengthened. First, loading the pectoral muscles in the eccentric phase. Second, pushing up off the chest through the back. Third, transferring the load from the lats, pecs and deltoids to the triceps for the lock out. In many ways, its multiple lifts being mashed together to create one movement. Forgetting this fact is easy to do and it will hold a lifter back from mastering the lift. This concept goes for the any lift someone is trying to become truly proficient at. Finding a training partner is the easiest way a lifter can help themselves get better, especially if they are good at showing the finer details of the lifts.

Ross’s ability to show the execution all of the movements of the brushes and knife on the canvas, mixing the paint to get the thickness and color, and the total control of everything in the picture inspires confidence in him as the teacher. His level of mastery is such that he comes off as organically authoritative and authentic in his goal to help everyone watching succeed. This really does matter when trying to help someone understand how to do something. The message gets corrupted when a learner starts to feel as though the teacher is belittling them in a meaningful way. It is probably the reason why The Joy of Painting and the man have held up as well as they have since his passing. His show is masterclass in how to achieve organic authority. The method used to get it is the exact polar opposite chefs Robert Irvine and Gordon Ramsey, who use direct confrontation to inspire the same organic authority. The consequences of the difference in methodology means that the chefs will get more “screw you” responses than Ross will get because not everyone can mentally handle direct confrontation well. To be fair to Irvine and Ramsey, they live in high leverage situations on television or in world class fine-dining restaurant kitchens.

Transmitting the knowledge and information is the goal when teaching. Generally speaking, that is best done in a calm manner. It produces an environment in which the learner can accept the information and apply it. A lifter also needs to project a high level of confidence when helping a training partner with a lift. A lot of times this is done with non-verbal communication. Showing someone how to do specific parts of lifts and how the lifts can be improved upon after the first phase of learning has been completed requires significant buy-in to the teacher. This becomes increasingly more important as skill and strength is gained by a training partner. It’s hard to imagine someone telling Ross “screw you” but the attitude brought by Irvine and Ramsey is more useful for situations involving increased pressure. That normally means lifts at or near max intensity or effort. It helps people be more aware of potential dangers involving failure or of their abilities. Choosing Ross’s or Irvine/Ramsey’s method for organic authority will decide on the relationship the lifters have and how each one responds to a challenge. It’s easy to forget that Ross is challenging the viewer become a more instinctive and confident painter because of the tone of his voice and the his inherent positive mindset.

How Ross actually creates the painting in the show follows a certain logic and vision. It’s an example of how setting short term goals helps the long term goal succeed. In Ross’s case, mastering the paint mixing, brush stroke technique, knife technique, color mixing when working on the canvas, and creative bravery all create the final image on the canvas. If one keeps doing this, the process becomes more instinctive. The nature of liquid white, as he explains, allows for most of the work of the painting to be done on the canvas. That also means the painter has to function within a procedural framework. Almost all of Ross’s paintings in The Joy of Painting “move” from top to bottom and back to front. As a result, his paintings have a third dimension. This helps the image come into view more fully earlier than if it were more two dimensional. The speed with which the image comes into view then is completed is magical. It just happens. Then comes the creative bravery. That is the only term I can come up for the stuff that goes on the canvas when the image looks complete. This is when the “happy little trees,” rocks by streams, and other fine details come into the panting. It’s this last part of painting that really tells me that Ross has been challenging the viewer to expand their decision making process and confidence level the entire episode. Sometimes he actually tells the viewer the end of the painting is the “bravery test” because the painting looks done and and easy to walk away from. It’s also the part of the painting that really makes his positive mindset stand out.

A lot of what we can take from The Joy of Painting into strength training applies to programming more than the lifting itself. A program requires vision, logic and structure to be useful. The nature of the human body makes strength training also have a procedural framework. Responding to the bodies limitations on the daily basis becomes a skill the lifter must master over time to get the most of the body and the program. Each day has its own set of goals to accomplish so as to work towards a larger, longer term goal. The painting in this scenario is a lifting competition of some kind or specific strength goals. The smaller goals give programs the third dimension that Ross’s paintings have. Even in programs that are about strength and power development, there is always something in them to develop the muscles that perform the lifts. Once a lifter understands the goals of the program, they can use the daily work to pinpoint areas that need to be improved. That’s what will take the lifter’s recognition skill over the top. They can use it to help make themselves better or become a better lifting partner or coach. This also means being open to lifts that are not part of the program and seeing if they deserve a spot in it. The “bravery test” of a lifter is always looking for new ways to improve. A lot of times this will be done by simply reading or watching material then applying it at the gym in the form of better technique, attempting different lifts or adapting other principles into the current program. It’s very easy to just do the program that is written out without thinking about reasons why it is the way it is.

I know The Joy of Painting doesn’t sounds like a television program that would be helpful in the gym, but a lot of what can be seen in any episode of the long running public television series translates very well to the gym. The subject matter itself is a good analogy for gym work. A singular painting is a smaller scale version of a long term goal. Painting is a skill that requires constant practice to attain even small amounts of mastery. Bob Ross’s mastery shows what having a positive mindset makes one capable of accomplishing. The program also shows how important progress learning individual skills within the larger framework is. The way the picture comes together quickly demonstrates how effective the developing those skills is as an improvement strategy. Ross himself creates an organic authority figure on the subject of painting that allows him to guide the viewer in a way that makes them more accepting of the information. This is something that every lifter, regardless of experience level, can benefit from learning to do. His ability to focus on the goal and learned instinct in both how to do it and explain it to a mixed skill level group makes The Joy of Painting worth paying attention to for any athlete.