Painter Nicole Bonneau Takes On Monumental Mission To Paint All 403 Paintings From Bob Ross’ ‘The Joy Of Painting’

In art, it is often argued that it takes years of practice, and only a select few will be joined alongside the masters such as Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, Frida Kahlo, Peter Max, Yaacov Agam, Vincent van Gogh, and others. That was not the case for Bob Ross. Being filmed, he took his paintbrush to canvas and created beautiful landscapes. Not only that, he taught millions of people at home how to paint just like him, proving that anyone can enjoy painting.

Though Bob Ross has long since passed on, his memory lives, and his legacy remains strong. Just recently, Twitch TV introduced their new streaming art channel and to commemorate its initiation, all 403 of Bob Ross’ The Joy of Painting were streamed over the course of a week. Not only that, but there are numerous classes with 3,594 official protégés teaching others how to paint the Bob Ross way.

In summary, Bob Ross has touched the hearts of many artists making an impact in their lives. Now, one artist is taking on a monumental mission that would surely make Ross smile. Nicole Bonneau will paint all 403 paintings featured in the entire series of The Joy of Painting.

According to Huffington Post, Nicole Bonneau claims it would take a person approximately 10 years to finish painting all 403 paintings that Bob Ross his and special guests have painted on his iconic show The Joy of Painting. For her, the reason why it would take so long is because she would paint at a leisurely pace. If she was by chance ambitious and decided to paint one painting per day, she’d finish in about a year and three months.

It could either be a year and three months or 10 years, but the fact anyone is taking on such a monumental task shows how much of an impact Bob Ross has on those who watched him. Nicole Bonneau also wants to document her journey through social media as “Almighty Painting” by posting up her completed works on Tumblr, Twitter, and Instagram.

As for why Nicole Bonneau is doing this, she says she appreciates the dark humor trickled amidst Bob Ross’ positivity. What that means is that Ross would explain a negative situation in a positive light. For Bonneau, this is definitely true whenever Ross paints an old cabin.

“I feel like whenever he paints an old cabin, he always makes up some story about what happened to the owner of it. Sometimes he has a bad drinking problem and that’s why he doesn’t take care of his house. Sometimes he falls into the river and drowns. It’s very interesting.”

Besides that, Nicole Bonneau is also painting all 403 paintings from The Joy of Painting as an antidote for her own creativity block. Guided by Ross’ voice, Bonneau hopes to find the focus she needs to paint something original, something she lost due to anxiety.

In all fairness, it is unknown if Nicole Bonneau will paint all 403 paintings. Right now, she only has 12 paintings done as of the publication of this article. Bonneau’s very first painting was completed more than two months ago. This means Bonneau has a long way to go. And if by chance there is a reason she does not finish, there would be no shame to it because she at least tried and took the first step in attempting the challenge.

[Illustration via R.A. Di Ieso/Vocativ]