Before the film came out, the Blick's store near me where I had first bought some BR stuff over a year ago had a full end cap of BR paint, brushes, etc,,etc.. Its all gone now.. every piece. I believe its available online but not in the store.

Steve made it clear that while his dad wanted him to take over, Steve wasn't interested in it at all. And freely admits that it was something akin to rebelling against dad. I'm sure we will never get the whole real story of this. Too many colliding interests. And bob was not the only one doing this style of painting. I've found several folks who did the same style or slightly different at the same time and some still do. But Bob had a certain charisma that was unique to him. Alexander has better art I think but he sounds like he's attacking the canvas every time he paints. Robert Warren does more detailed paintings but just doesn't have the same delivery as Bob. Jenkins has great art but again, the delivery is a bit scattered and just not the same.

I'm grateful we have what we do from Bob from "the day" and it's as high quality as it is. Alexanders recordings are not nearly as good and others do not have any available unless you buy them.

9 days later

I just watched the 2021 documentary "Bob Ross Happy Accidents Betrayal and Greed". It was a good documentary but it made me very sad to see how his son Steve and friend Dana ended up. I really feel for both of them.

    RosoLima My best guess on the 51% to Steve's 49% is I'm sure a lawyer had to let Steve know what was going on. I, along with several family members, have a couple small businesses in town and regardless of % ownership everyone is in the loop if any major changes would happen. I too am extremely disappointed in how Bob, Steve, Dana, and the whole group was treated. Very sad.

        @Mgiese84 Not every lawyer is so scrupulous as to thwart their client for the sake of "justice." If Uncle Jimmy wanted to sell, the lawyer was likely to do whatever to make it happen. Meanwhile, Steve, by his own admission, was thrown into a deep, lasting depression where even if he was legally advised, wasn't really in the frame of mind to make rational, measured choices. However it happened, he was taken advantage of, and what BRI has done to him, whatever legal rights they may have acquired by hook or crook, is, on a moral level, monstrous. It truly and rightly shocks the conscience. Monsters.

        Anybody planning on going to the October 2021 workshop? I just signed up for the Friday day.

          Ian_Adkins I 100% agree with you sir. Monsters.....monsters who will never see another dime of my money. So I am relegated to finding replacement supplies now. I would love to see Steve and Dana start their own product line and would definitely buy from them if they did so.

            6 days later

            Hey guys, I looked into Alexander art and I have to say I’m pretty pretty impressed. I purchased some brushes that are really good quality in my opinion. Not very expensive. She (Dawn, office manager) is super kind and knowledgeable. She mailed the products the same day and I received them the next day and not for the expensive cost of traditional next day shipping.

            Also, they have a ton of videos and workshops, free ones and priced. I signed up for a 30/month deal that I normally would not, however it gave me wide access to artists I wasn’t familiar with that are very good. So far I’m impressed and satisfied with the expense. It also gives you a discount on product purchases. I have not tried the oils yet (still supplied) but I will. Only downside I can think is they are only available on 37 ml.

            Anyway, if you have time spend some time on their site and research if this is an option for you.

            take care and happy painting.

            I've ordered a number of things from Alexander. They are very nice, quick, and not too expensive. I'm staring at one of their complimentary refrigerator magnets with a brush cleaning formula now. 😂

            (2 parts vegetable oil, 1 part Dawn, ½ part water. Agitate. Use with brush scrubbing grid. Dry with paper towel and form bristles.)

            Edit: I should mention AA's concern is for non-toxic materials. Though I don't know how they get around using heavy metals for some of the pigments.

              Lol they sent me the same magnet. I have tried that formula and had to make a few adjustments. I use about 1/2 the soap they recommend. Even tho it’s not concentrated it is still a little much. Trial and error with everything I guess. It does add about 30 minutes of extra work cleaning up. And a whole bunch more paper towels but studio smells fresh. I did keep my paint thinner to use outside when I have a large cleaning process. Just for backup.

              Ian_Adkins I still don't know much about it but what you said makes sense. I've seen people in the music industry in similar situations who have had their lives turned upside down by those who are supposed to support them. What really gets my goat is that massive numbers of people love Bob so much, some have had their lives remarkably enriched by him, others simply want to paint like him, but when they try to follow his videos they are often blocked in the uk on youtube. I ask myself, who is responsible for that? Bob wanted to share! Try dailymotion, they are accessible there if any of you guys are having difficulty accessing his videos. But what annoys me most of all, is that his followers think they are buying "his" products, literally "Bob Ross" paints and brushes, after all, that's what it says on the tin. I suspect they feel that in some way they are supporting him. I know I did to begin with. When you discover this is not the case you do eventually realise that there are other brands you can use. To be honest, I'd be more than happy to buy products from Steve. I have wondered if he has is own range. I just did a quick sweep of the internet but only BRI products seem to be on offer.

                @TheLandscapePainter - thanks for this information. I have just logged in to it and watched a couple of minutes of Bob. No lock-out! Thanks again. I will spend many happy hours looking through their BR workd

                  TheLandscapePainter I have begun the switch from BR oils to Windsor Newton as part of the Kowalski purge. And actually I think they are firmer or for sure just as firm as the BR brand (as least so far with the three tubes I've opened). Most important of all they are a few dollars cheaper each tube!

                    @TheLandscapePainter from what I've read would seem the court decision against Steve prevents him from even using his name to capitalize on the connection to Bob Ross, as it would infringe on BRI's trademark and copyright. I wonder what heartless numbskull of a judge ruled thus?

                    Gamblin 1980 paints seem to be a good match up for the original BR paints. With that said, after 1.5 years and quite a bit of mucking around, I've settled on three brands in particular for myself. Gamblin, Winsor and Rembrandt. I find myself leaning more to Rembrandt of late but sticking to "a" brand gets funny when you want very specific colors. Like Flake white which is not offered by everyone. Or Chromatic Black ( Gamblin only).. some blues and so on. This happened once I broke with just painting BR paintings and went off on my own 🙂. Its a pretty big world out there and the range is owning every color under the sun or using a limited palette and mixing whatever you need on the fly. The only thing I experienced with BR painting was the stiff TI white worked well on mountains. Anything else could be had done with virtually any paint. I have used everything from Michael's house brands of very cheap paint to expensive paint successfully. But I can say with practice and a lot of care, you can get good mountains in the BR style with virtually any paint but not in the 45 seconds he does it 😃. Adjust and Adapt ..

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