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Happy little trees -- what a concept
Published: 7/27/2012 12:18 PM
Last Modified: 7/27/2012 12:18 PM

Sometimes, even Autotune can be used for good, rather than evil.

Perhaps you've already seen this video, which has been circulating around the Interwebs for a while -- a montage of snippets from the late Bob Ross' "The Joy of Painting" show, which ran for a decade or so on PBS, that turn Ross' painterly platitudes into an unnervingly catchy little song.

I don't remember watching Ross much during his heyday in the 1980s and '90s -- my mother, who took up painting about this time, was more impressed with William Alexander, he of "the mighty brush" who was also Ross' mentor.

In the 1990s, however, it was difficult to have anything to do with the art world and not encounter Bob Ross in some fashion -- from his beatific face, surrounded by a halo of frizzed hair on art supplies to the heated denunciations by other artists who created work that was technically superior to, and dealt with ideas more substantial than "happy little clouds," but which would never be at the heart of a $15 million enterprise.

But for all his bucolic landscapes and his pillow-soft was of speaking, Ross was really a conceptual artist -- someone for whom process was much more important than product, who believed that art was something any one could make. "Believe that you can do," so sings the video, "because you can do it."

So what do you want to do?

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ARTS

James D. Watts Jr. has lived in Oklahoma for most his life, even though he still has people saying to him, "Don't sound like you're from around these parts." A University of Oklahoma Phi Beta Kappa graduate, Watts has received the Governor Arts Award, Harwelden Award and the National Conference of Christians and Jews Beth Macklin Award for his writing. Before coming to the Tulsa World, Watts worked for the Tulsa Tribune.

Contact him at (918) 581-8478.

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Archive

Past Articles By James D. Watts Jr

2/15/2013		'Concept/OK' exhibit ends Saturday
2/14/2013		Symphony to host piano soloist
2/14/2013		Broadway tours bring 'Shrek,' improv musical to Tulsa area this weekend
2/14/2013		Arts roundup: Improv reigns at several upcoming theater events
2/14/2013		'Lion King' returns to Tulsa PAC June 4
2/12/2013		Review: Signature Symphony reprises '100 Years of Oklahoma Music'
2/11/2013		Tulsa Symphony's concert salutes diverse American music
2/10/2013		Cherokee artist weaves messages into baskets
2/10/2013		Tesla Quartet set for Tulsa residency next week with variety of activities
2/10/2013		Jim Murphy wins 2013 Anne Zarrow Award
2/10/2013		LBJ chronicler Robert Caro to speak at TU on Tuesday
2/9/2013		Theater review: Playhouse makes "Barefoot in the Park" believable

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