“A Walk in the Woods.” A 1983 wet-on-wet oil piece created within the 30-minute confines of his television
Ross. And his signature.
Not necessarily for sale, says gallery owner
WAYZATA, Minn. — Art dealer Ryan Nelson has put a $9.8 million price tag on the painting “A Walk in the Woods,” the first work that television host Bob Ross crafted on-air in his long-running series “The Joy of Painting.” Nelson, of the Modern Artifact gallery in Wayzata, said the painting originally was bought for less than $100 by a Public Television employee right after Ross’ first show in 1983. Nelson holds a number of Ross works. He wouldn’t divulge what he paid for “A Walk in the Woods” but said he acquired it from the original purchaser. Nelson said he likely will insist that a purchaser exhibit the painting publicly — or keep it himself as a traveling exhibit “to let other people enjoy ” The PBS program ran 11 years. Ross died in 1995 at age 52.
The Ross technique
Ross stayed pretty much with landscapes. He used a quick wet-on-wet technique of oil painting developed in Italy the 1500s. The technique, “alla prima,” begins with a thin base layer of wet paint. Additional layers are applied while the base is still drying. With the techniqu, Rosa inspired a new generation of amateurs, in part because it required little investment in a oils and tools. It’s thought that Ross produced 30,000 paintings during his lifetime, not counting his first works while the Air Force in Alaska. There he painted landscapes on gold pans for as mementos for tourists to take home.