Top 75 Quotes & Sayings by Bob Ross

Explore popular quotes and sayings by an American artist Bob Ross.

Last updated on April 14, 2025.

Robert Norman Ross was an American painter, art instructor, and television host. He was the creator and host of The Joy of Painting, an instructional television program that aired from 1983 to 1994 on PBS in the United States, CBC in Canada, and similar channels in Latin America, Europe and elsewhere. Ross would subsequently become widely known through his posthumous internet presence.

American - Artist | October 29, 1942 - July 4, 1995

Source: Wikipedia

I don't intimidate anyone. Instead, I try to get people to believe in themselves.

Bob Ross

I tell people, 'You can do this.' And they write back and say, 'You were right. I can do this. And now I believe I can do anything.'

Bob Ross

We get letters every day from people wanting more mountains. As many as I paint, they still say, 'Give me more mountains.'

Bob Ross

People see you on television, and they think you make the same amount of money that Clint Eastwood does. But this is PBS. All these shows are done for free.

Bob Ross

I was the guy who makes you scrub the latrine, the guy who makes you make your bed, the guy who screams at you for being late to work. The job requires you to be a mean, tough person. And I was fed up with it. I promised myself that if I ever got away from it, it wasn't going to be that way any more.

Bob Ross

I really believe that if you practice enough you could paint the 'Mona Lisa' with a two-inch brush.

Bob Ross

I never turn down requests for interviews. I'm just rarely asked.

Bob Ross

I don't intimidate anyone.

Bob Ross

I stay hidden. I'm sort of hard to find.

Bob Ross

One of the questions that I hear over and over and over is, 'What do we do with all these paintings we do on television?' Most of these paintings are donated to PBS stations across the country. They auction them off, and they make a happy buck with 'em.

Bob Ross

I believe, I believe every day is a good day when you paint.

Bob Ross

Traditionally, art has been for the select few. We have been brainwashed to believe that Michelangelo had to pat you on the head at birth.

Bob Ross

If you learned how to make a cloud, your time is not wasted.

Bob Ross

Within one hour of touching the brush to canvas for the first time, my students have a total, complete painting.

Bob Ross

If I paint something, I don't want to have to explain what it is.

Bob Ross

There are no mistakes, only happy accidents.

Bob Ross

If you study my paintings, there are no signs of human life.

Bob Ross

Most painters want recognition, especially by their peers. I achieved that a long time ago with TV. I don't need any more.

Bob Ross

Traditionally, art has been for the select few.

Bob Ross

There are thousands of very, very talented artists who will never be known, even after they are dead.

Bob Ross

Most painters want recognition, especially by their peers.

Bob Ross

We show people that anybody can paint a picture that they're proud of. It may never hang in the Smithsonian, but it will certainly be something that they'll hang in their home and be proud of. And that's what it's all about.

Bob Ross

Ever make mistakes in life? Let's make them birds. Yeah, they're birds now.

Bob Ross

Trees cover up a multitude of sins.

Bob Ross

Think about a cloud. Just float around and be there.

Bob Ross

In painting, you have unlimited power. You have the ability to move mountains. You can bend rivers. But when i get home the only thing i have power over is the garbage.

Bob Ross

People look at me like I'm a little strange, when I go around talking to squirrels and rabbits and stuff. That's ok. That's just ok.

Bob Ross

People might look at you a bit funny, but it's okay. Artists are allowed to be a bit different.

Bob Ross

Don't be afraid to scrape the paint off and do it again. This is the way you learn, trial and error, over and over, repetition. It pays you great dividends, great, great dividends.

Bob Ross

I can't think of anything more rewarding than being able to express yourself to others through painting. Exercising the imagination, experimenting with talents, being creative; these things, to me, are truly the windows to your soul.

Bob Ross

Everybody has dreams. You are living the American dream, what's wrong with pushing to secure it for everyone?

Bob Ross

Whatever makes you happy, you put in your world.

Bob Ross

We want our happy little clouds to float across the sky

Bob Ross

We have no limits to our world. We're only limited by our imagination.

Bob Ross

We don't make mistakes; we just have happy accidents.

Bob Ross

Everyday's a good day when you paint

Bob Ross

Never think about the mistakes you made. Think about the mistakes you will make.

Bob Ross

Put light against light - you have nothing. Put dark against dark - you have nothing. It's the contrast of light and dark that each give the other one meaning.

Bob Ross

Possessing talent is nothing more than the continuous pursuit of a life-long interest.

Bob Ross

There's nothing wrong with having a tree as a friend.

Bob Ross

It's the imperfections that make something beautiful, that's what makes it different and unique from everything else.

Bob Ross

You can do anything your heart can imagine.

Bob Ross

The secret to doing anything is believing you can do it.

Bob Ross

The least little bit can do so much.

Bob Ross

There are no mistakes, just happy accidents.

Bob Ross

You can do ANYTHING you want to do-This is your World

Bob Ross

I guess I’m a little weird. I like to talk to trees and animals. That’s okay though; I have more fun than most people.

Bob Ross

Let's build us a happy, little cloud that floats around the sky.

Bob Ross

Everyone is going to see things differently - and that's the way it should be.

Bob Ross

No pressure. Just relax and watch it happen.

Bob Ross

I don't know if anything in nature ever grows exactly the same, but they are always exactly as the way it should be, perfectly itself.

Bob Ross

The secret to doing anything is believing that you can do it. Anything that you believe you can do strong enough, you can do. Anything. As long as you believe.

Bob Ross

Trees don't grow even, they don't grow straight just however it makes them happy.

Bob Ross

Talent is a pursued interest. Anything that you're willing to practice, you can do.

Bob Ross

Just let go - and fall like a little waterfall

Bob Ross

It's so important to do something every day that will make you happy

Bob Ross

We don't laugh because we feel good; we feel good because we laugh.

Bob Ross

Oooh, if you have never been to Alaska, go there while it is still wild. My favorite uncle asked me if I wanted to go there, Uncle Sam. He said if you don't go, you're going to jail. That is how Uncle Sam asks you.

Bob Ross

You do your best work if you do a job that makes you happy.

Bob Ross

It's hard to see things when you're too close. Take a step back and look.

Bob Ross