NORTHERN LIGHTS, UKAHALA—Bob Ross Painting Nights have been an RFCP staple of friendly fun for quite some time! Join Arne to learn more about this relaxing tradition!
Ahhhhh, Bob Ross. A cultural icon indeed. With his butter-smooth voice and a classy yet simple art style, he is quite the legend. I didn’t have the pleasure of growing up with The Joy of Painting series, but I wish I did! If that were the case, I’d paint on a big canvas, instead of doing digital photoshop on Canva. Although he passed away over 26 years ago, he is still remembered by people all over the internet, RFCP included!
One of our more unprecedented but most beloved traditions actually involves Bob Ross’s legacy. No, I’m not talking about my effort to sell Bob Ross branded energy drinks in my personal shop. Instead, at the top of our perpetual Bob Ross posthumous memorial is RFCP’s renowned Bob Ross painting events.
So how do they work? Every month or so we will pick a theme and livestream one of Bob Ross’s acclaimed The Joy of Painting episodes in the RFCP voice chat. Each soldier tries their best to follow along with the video by painting with Bob Ross on the best digital drawing tool ever created by a human being: Microsoft Paint Online. Our most recent painting night was on the 17th of February, where we (for a second time with this episode!) created artwork based on our very own capital, Northern Lights. And, just like our own capital, many of these recreations are beautiful works of art! So that got me thinking, what started these Bob Ross painting nights?
So I dug up the archive, as I tend to do, and created a compilation of every single Bob Ross event that we have had. Documentation of Bob Ross themed events dates back to November 2019, when our first painting party occurred in General Anilia’s igloo. At this point, the events were solely on Club Penguin so there was no artwork created on Microsoft Paint yet.
A few months later a poll was posted, asking if we should do more Bob Ross events. The participants had to actually draw misty hills, which came out great for the most part! Here is a sample!
Commander Prior liked it quite a lot and decided that these events should happen more frequently. In fact, he randomly posted a Bob Ross event on news on the 30th of May, briefly explaining how to follow along so that even those unfamiliar with the tradition could join in. During the event, participants would watch a classic The Joy of Painting episode, and then everyone would try to paint a tropical seascape. And it’s clear to see that our dear soldiers have talent.
Bob Ross Competitions would be gone for a month until the Snazzy Summer competition rolled around. General Anilia, as leader of The Chocolate Frogs, decided that it was a good time to challenge her team members to a Bob Ross contest on who could draw the best scene of mountains at sunset.
After summer was over and autumn began, Bob Ross competitions returned once more, although not as well attended as in the past. However, the competitors that did participate made amazing paintings. It was clear to see that painting nights would stand the test of time!
September 10th was better for Bob Ross competitions with a max of 9 including Commander Prior Bumble himself. The topic this time was winter. While most of the art created was beautiful as always, Field Marshal Justin took the cake with this masterpiece.
Then Bob Ross competitions were gone for 4 whole months. It was a really long wait, but they made their triumphant return and arrival to the new year on February 17th, 2021. This was a special event because this time we return to paint our very own capital server: Northern Lights!
Painting is relaxing. And while it’s not for everyone, Bob Ross taught a generation that painting is more than just spilling some liquid on surfaces: it is an art. No matter if we are professionals or not, making “happy accidents” is just part of the process. Rest in peace, Bob. You may now paint the skies with the angels. RFCP salutes you.
What do YOU think about the Bob Ross painting nights? What would YOU want to paint next?
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