I am absolutely mesmerized by Bob Ross. I could watch him for hours! While watching him, I know my Garmin watch would tell me that I had zero stress in my life. Aside from the incredible paintings that he brings out in every canvas, his words and voice are extremely therapeutic.
If you haven’t had a chance to watch him paint, I dare you to go to YouTube, look up any one of his episodes …and try not to smile. How can anyone not like “happy little trees”?
All it took was watching just a portion of a Bob Ross painting episode. That’s when I decided I wanted to try and learn from him and paint with him.
Learning to Paint in Your 40s: A Joyful Beginning
I made a trip to our local craft store to purchase the necessary art materials Bob recommended for one particular episode. With a variety of paint colors, fan brushes, blank canvases and other materials in my bag, I drove home with a big smile on my face.
I never took art classes growing up, mostly because my extracurriculars always included sports of some kind. Although other hobbies kept me busy, learning to paint always sounded like fun.
I arrived home and found myself thinking back to the end of my Olympic journey in 2014. During that time, I could feel the weight of a huge chapter in my life closing. I also sensed the sadness that would undoubtedly come from it. I knew I needed to commit myself to being hopeful about the future. So I determined to continually learn all I could throughout my life. Even if that might mean learning how to paint in my 40s. You have to start somewhere, right?
The Mud Monster and the Art of Letting Go
As I sat down and began to paint with Bob Ross, I realized with every brushstroke, my picture looked nothing like his. I would rewind the episode over and over and play it back in slow motion. I would add more paint, look at it sideways and add more paint. However, it turns out, I have learned that this is not the best solution to fixing your painting. Where he would have beautiful trees and pine needles appearing on his canvas, I had a mud monster coming out of a swamp.
I hit the pause button and let out a long sigh of frustration as I noticed all of the mistakes I had made. There was nothing that could be done about the swampy mess. So I decided to just push play on the Bob Ross re-run and finish the episode.
How “No Mistakes, Only Happy Accidents” Applies to Real Life
Moments after the episode resumed, and I had a brush in my hand attempting to salvage my painting, Bob said something profound. He said, “there are no mistakes, only happy accidents.”
My first thought was, “Ha ha ha. You clearly haven’t seen my painting.”
But as I saw him take his brush over an area on his own canvas and blend the colors patiently together, I realized how he transformed something unwelcome into something beautiful. With patience, he gently passed over all the colors, left to right to blend the pea green bushes into the mountainous setting and in doing so, the entire picture was amplified because of it.
He truly did turn his mistakes into happy accidents. He saw a different solution to the problems that he faced.
Perhaps, he had an expectation of what those bushes and trees might look like if he turned his brush a certain way. Once the paint landed on the canvas and didn’t go in the direction he had expected, he first recognized the mistake, and then decided to use the patience and knowledge that he had gained from previous mistakes to turn it into something beautiful.
Learning the Art of Transforming Mistakes into Something Beautiful
I make mistakes in my life every single day. Sometimes these are mistakes that I actively say or do, and sometimes these mistakes are things that I should be doing and I’m not. In thinking about what Bob said about mistakes and happy accidents, it has made me realize that the biggest mistakes are the ones we never recognize.
When we take time to recognize our mistakes and try to be better because of them, they truly are happy accidents. They can help bring joy, peace and fulfillment into our life. When we make mistakes and recognize them, we learn to have patience with ourselves and with others. As we try to improve, those mistakes or accidents in our lives that have caused us to struggle, can truly lead us to greater understanding and happier days.
My paintings still look nothing like my dear friend, Bob Ross’ paintings, but they are definitely improving. Each blank canvas is an opportunity to create something beautiful.
When you make mistakes on your life canvas, remember Bob’s advice. You have the ability to create beauty from the smudges.
Click on the links below to learn how to bounce back from happy accidents
How to Get Back on Track When We Fall Short – In this article, Noelle shares her Olympic wisdom and some vulnerability as she reflects on how she has fallen short on her goal to run a half marathon. What does it take to get back on track? The tips Noelle shares will help you stick with your goals and overcome any setbacks you might experience.
Watch Bob Ross videos on YouTube – Paint with Bob Ross as your guide. Practice making something beautiful out of your happy accidents.
Watch The Best of The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross on PBS