Penticton goes wild over Bob Ross
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Penticton Herald is counting down the 10 biggest local news stories from 2020. Today is No. 4. To read other year-end stories, visit: pentictonherald.ca
In a year that saw all summer festivals cancelled and live music performances limited to 50 people or less, the talk of the Okanagan was an art show.
The Penticton Art Gallery hosted a 71day showing of paintings by American artist Bob Ross, well know for his popular PBS show, “The Joy of Painting.”
“Happy Little Secrets” at the Penticton Art Gallery was the surprise hit of the year.
Organizers knew it was going to be popular, but the public response blew everyone away. The art gallery was indeed the place to be, even for lukewarm and casual supporters of visual arts.
Although the final TV episode of “The Joy of Painting” was produced in 1994 — one year before the artist died of lymphoma at age 52 — he became a posthumous superstar thanks to his videos being posted on YouTube.
“You’d be flippin’ around the dial, flipping endlessly hoping something better comes on. It was only a matter of time before Bob Ross entered into your universe,” gallery curator Paul Crawford recalls of his own childhood.
“It was always captivating to see what was going to happen — like a murder mystery, you get sucked in and want to see what the outcome of his canvas was going to be — you had to hang in there to see what was the end result going to be. It was like pulling the mask off the bad guy at the end of a Scooby Doo episode.”
During the time of COVID, Penticton needed Bob Ross’s kind, encouraging and comforting demeanour.
In total, more than 15,000 people visited the exhibit, many from out of town who travelled to Penticton specifically to attend the show. It didn’t matter what day of the week or time of day it was, there was a line-up of at least one hour. Opening day attracted 700 visitors and many others had to be turned away.
The gift shop also did a record business as many left wearing a tee-shirt featuring Ross at his easel.
By coincidence, the exhibition was launched July 4, 2020 on what was the 25-year anniversary of Ross’s death. Penticton marked the first time the exhibit had been to Canada and it was the second North American show as his paintings sat in storage for many years.
Among the 300 exhibitions Crawford has curated over his career, this was one of the easiest to deal with. Staffers were “absolutely amazing — everyone stepped up” by putting in extra hours when needed and remaining positive.
“Everyone’s coming out beaming with a huge smile on their face,” Crawford said. “It’s a drag knowing there are thousands of people who weren’t able to make it because of COVID. And we would have loved to have a huge party to be a much bigger affair, but my regrets are small and rather insignificant compared to all the amazing things we got out of it.”
Crawford received tremendous recognition for his role in bringing the show to the Okanagan.
In October, he won the prestigious Business Leader of the Year, presented annually by the Penticton & Wine Country Chamber of Commerce, beating out heavyweights hotelier David Prystay and realtor Kirk Chamberlain.