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Bob Ross is one of those rare phenomena that unites generations. The more mature among us will fondly remember his soothing, friendly voice emanating from our TV's back in the 1980's, while younger fans are reveling in his unlikely comeback as the star of wonderfully positive and funny memes, and have rediscovered the gentle joy of his TV show The Joy Of Painting on streaming sites.

We spoke to Sarah Strohl over at Bob Ross Inc, who helped us to put Bob's continuing appeal into perspective. "There were a lot of intentional things done during the filming of The Joy of Painting to make it as timeless as possible from Bob’s choice of dress to the plain black backdrop, but in the end Bob’s enduring popularity really just comes down to Bob," she told Bored Panda.

"People love Bob. He did amazing landscape paintings in a short period but was always humble and more focused on teaching others to do the same than anything else. He’s a very calm, friendly figure on screen, but viewers can also tell that he’s passionate about painting, about animals, about teaching and all of that genuine joy that he wants to pass on to the viewer is infectious. He’s happy when he’s painting and that happiness transfers to the viewer—no matter what year someone is watching, who wouldn’t like that?"

Sarah believes that Bob offers an escape from the stresses and negativity that we are bombarded with in today's world. "He speaks about painting your own happy little world, making a place that is ideal and free of any possible stress," she explained. "No bad things, no sad things. There’s a reason why they are always “happy little trees.” Bob offered painting as a way for viewers to relieve stress. He’s reminded a lot of people watching today to turn to the arts as a way to take a break from everything going on in the world. But for a lot of people, watching the landscape painter is the break they need from everyday stress, whether it’s for a love of ASMR or just because The Joy of Painting is a relaxing, happy program that’s easy to watch. Bob would have been absolutely delighted by today’s fans, and especially pleased to see their paintings!"

To celebrate the enduring legacy of Bob Ross' paintings and his loveable character, whose can-do attitude and inspiring positivity continues to make people smile more than 20 years after his passing, we have created a list of our favorite memes and posts in his honor. Scroll down below to check out the Bob Ross memes out for yourself, and vote for the ones you like best!

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La Petite Morte
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6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm thinking this needs to be my screensaver. Just so I keep remembering this truth.

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Tanksear Industries
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6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Bob Ross: Friend of trees, animals, humanity, aliens, planets, ecosystems, the universe, all of creation, and the void.

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Tiffiny Seemann
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6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sounds a lot more fun than listening to a lecture about the science of politics and how to handle different areas. Unless you’re being groomed to be an active CEO of a major corporation, then you might want to pay attention because political science would be quite helpful.

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Klara R
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6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There is a stream with Bob painting and has quite a lot viewers :) including me, occasionaly

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Deena Salzman
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6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

PSA: There is MUCH more Bob Ross on Amazon Prime Video than there is on Netflix!

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Stella Rose
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6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Bob Ross could paint the next Mona Lisa with a brick and a piece of broken glass

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Jilltdcatlady
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6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I couldn't paint a wall with a wide brush. But Bob is using it like its a scalpel in surgery.

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Master Markus
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6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I feel like a lot of people who watched his show and make some of these memes don't know how painting works and that you usually do it with base colours and layers? I mean, he does a great job, but he doesn't approach it in a bizarre and unusual way.

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Master Markus
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6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Chuck Norris is a big homophobic a*****e, so I sure hope he wasn't!

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Pan39
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6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don’t always paint trees, but when I do, they’re very happy. I don’t think bob would say “f*****g”

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Jennifer
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6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

i need to learn to always ask this--regardless of the answer, the point is, ask this!

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Jilltdcatlady
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6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

For regular person "just whack it against something until its clean/dry". For Bob- an exorcism of bad vibes. Literally "beating the Devil".

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EM
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6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I saw a Bob Ross painting costume at spirit Halloween last week.

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