Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

Statistical Analysis of Bob Ross's Paintings by 538

posted by LaminatorX on Tuesday April 15 2014, @10:18AM   Printer-friendly
from the Happy-Little-Tß dept.

Blackmoore writes:

FiveThirtyEight provides us with A Statistical Analysis of the Work of Bob Ross.

From the article:

As a consummate teacher, Bob Ross guided fans along as he painted "happy trees, "almighty mountains," and "fluffy clouds" over the course of his 11-year television career on his PBS show, "The Joy of Painting." In total, Ross painted 381 works on the show, relying on a distinct set of elements, scenes and themes, and thereby providing thousands of data points.

Statistical analysis of each episode follows.

So, if you too are stuck dealing with spreadsheet manipulation today. Have a moment of Happy Trees.

I'll call this one Clyde.

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Statistical Analysis of Bob Ross's Paintings by 538 | Log In/Create an Account | Top | 17 comments | Search Discussion
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.

  • (Score: 4, Informative) by Blackmoore on Tuesday April 15 2014, @02:01PM

    by Blackmoore (57) on Tuesday April 15 2014, @02:01PM (#31801) Journal

    see that's easy - look at the top 1/3 of the chart.

    Your painting is a scene of Alaska Wilderness.

    So lets get you surface ready, we'll start with a wet wash on the canvas and start with an almighty mountain; and let's give it a friend. there - that's nice.
    Now I think this will be by a river so let's put that - over here; no, I think that's more of a lake; that's alright.

    And now a tree or two, or so.. there's a happy tree, and a little friend for it. And a few more. We'll put some bushes over here, yeah. that's nice. Some clouds. Happy ones. Now lets put the reflection in the lake. there.

    Well I hope that you all had a good time with your paint today.

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +2  
       Informative=2, Total=2
    Extra 'Informative' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  
    Total Score:   4  

  • (Score: 1) by sudo rm -rf on Tuesday April 15 2014, @02:18PM

    by sudo rm -rf (2357) on Tuesday April 15 2014, @02:18PM (#31806) Journal

    It's now 20 years or so when I last saw the show, but until today I remember that "rabbit, which is hiding behind the bush, you don't see it, but we know it's there!"

  • (Score: 2) by LaminatorX on Tuesday April 15 2014, @02:31PM

    by LaminatorX (14) <reversethis-{moc ... ta} {xrotanimal}> on Tuesday April 15 2014, @02:31PM (#31812)

    I felt my shoulders and back relax just imagining his voice saying those words. Thanks.

    • (Score: 1) by fishybell on Tuesday April 15 2014, @03:55PM

      by fishybell (3156) on Tuesday April 15 2014, @03:55PM (#31850)

      I felt my shoulders and back relax just imagining his voice saying those words. Thanks.

      Indeed. My favorite bit of the article is the last two paragraphs:

      When it comes down to it, “The Joy of Painting†was never really about painting. Even Kowalski, who runs a company that sells Bob Ross-branded painting supplies, believes most viewers aren’t in it for the art.

      “The majority of people who watch Bob Ross have no interest in painting,†she said. “Mostly it’s his calming voice.â€