I've been turning to Bob Ross videos for relaxation and stress relief these past few months. The iconic, afro-haired painter of 500-branched pine trees and happy accidents wasn't put on air to help people fall asleep or calm their minds, but that seems to be the role that he's acquired. The soothing sound of his voice and the rhythmic swish of his brush does the trick better than any noise specifically created for this purpose.

Before Bob Ross soothed Americans' souls, he was a military man who painted quickly so he could create works in the duration of the break in his day. Ironically, the soft-spoken man was a self-described screamer in the military, and vowed never to scream again after his discharge. Bob allowed himself freedom from the Air Force when he found that he made more selling his paintings than he had in the service.

Bob's show The Joy of Painting ran from 1983 to 1994 on PBS. He painted almost exclusively nature scenes that included trees, mountains and skies, influenced by his years living Alaska. His style was called wet-on-wet, or adding layers of paint to still-wet painting, rather than allowing for layers to dry.

Almost all of his paintings were easily recreate-able and also instantly forgettable. The memorable part of the series was Bob himself, a constantly positive man whose slow-speech and happy ease with little birds and other woodland creatures made his show worth watching. He was so positive that he said that everyone in the world had the potential to be artists. His show stultified the brain in the best way.

It may seem condescending to speak of Bob Ross in a way that praises his voice and demeanor over his artistic abilities, but I don't see it that way. Bob Ross wanted his works recreated by the masses--he though his ability was nothing special, but that it could and should be emulated by the viewers of his show. His voice, radiating positivity and soothing temperament certainly brought joy--if not the joy of painting--to his viewers and to people watching him now.

Bob was diagnosed canceled his show in 1994 so that he could continue battling lymphoma. He lost that battle in 1995, dying in New Smyrna Beach, Florida at the age of 52.

Watch a brilliant video of clips from Bob Ross' The Joy of Painting interspersed with masseuse Lita's soothing voice.