I've been following Dana on IG for a few years and have been pleased to see Steve return to publicly painting. (Dana never went away, but his profile by himself was much lower.)

They were traveling around and hoped they'd come closer to the Northeast U.S., but since pando they've mostly stuck to Indiana. But I lived near Muncie for a couple years and am not keen to return to Indiana. 😂

Couple biographical details in the article seem incongruous. It was previously reported that Bob divorced his first wife. Supposedly she showed up on social media a few years ago to denounce Bob's "gold-digging" third wife. And I was of the impression Steve was born around 1969.

Interesting, if true, that Bob was on the outs with the Kowalskies at the end. I have tried to draw out Dana on how he and Steve were pushed out, but he hasn't bitten. I'm sure BRI's lawyers are watching carefully.

OMG, wow. Thank you so much, I had somehow missed this. It answers so many questions, some bearing directly on academic research I was trying to do but couldn't get an "in." Now I know for sure: the fear of lawyers, on one hand, and an ugly truth coming out on the other.

Maybe a trip to Winchester, IN is not out of the question after all. 👏👏👏

    I don't know much about it, but Bob wouldn't have wanted this would he, all the bad feeling I mean. And he would have wanted the very best for his son. It sounds like its all gone wrong and Bob's not here to have his say. I think it's sad, particularly as Bob spread so much joy. It just shows how important it is to be careful when signing business contracts, and also to have a cast iron will in place before you die.

    TheLandscapePainter Seems as though he wasn't cool with any of it in life, but didn't have all his legal ducks in a row before he died. He seemed to be waking up to his business partners (who shall go nameless, lest lawyers descend) being right bastards, but seems to have underestimated just how vicious they are and how they'd behave after he was gone. One of the ironies here is that it's his smiling face and gentle reputation that allowed BRI to do some truly villainous things (suing a PBS children's show?) and skate away still smelling like roses.

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      • Post #7

      Ian_Adkins There also seems to be a false information about Bill Alexander. It is mentioned he was Austrian.
      As far as I know he was born in eastern Prussia, which did belong to Germany until 1945, if I am correctly informed. So he was German.

        Tom0779 Right you are, I missed that. No one could mistake that Prussian accent of his for an Austrian one.

            4 days later

            Interesting Winchester is not too far from Muncie, which is not too far from where I live.

            wybnormal Everyone should read this article. I ran across it a couple months back and can no longer support Bob Ross, Inc. I look forward to more people seeing the truth in the Netflix documentary airing August 25th.

              ForestVueGallery Hopefully it's not just another BRI hagiography like "The Happy Painter," which not only plastered over Bob's humanity, but all the infelicities and treachery leading up to Bob's death and thereafter. I've told everyone to please, please not buy me any Bob Ross-branded gifts at gift-givingtide because I don't want the money going back to BRI.

                Ian_Adkins We will know soon enough. Based on a chat I had with a BRI certified instructor many of them are up in arms about this. They’ve invested the time and money to use Bob’s name to instruct, and now feel their supporting the enemy. The instructor said many had contacted BRI about this issue and received no response. Based on things I’ve read this may just set the record straight, and I’m hopeful that Steve will build his own empire now that he is free from the shackles of BRI. Steve’s name and life has been the true casualty in all of this.

                  @ForestVueGallery I too was pretty PO'd about the way the Kowalski's treated Bob and his family & friends towards the end of his life and now afterwards. I hope Steve and Dana maybe can combine and continue Bob's work in the way he would have wanted.

                  Mgiese84 I watched the new Bob Ross documentary on Netflix this morning and I was practically in tears several times. I will watch it again to pick up more detail on the legal portions of it. It didn’t disappoint in making clear that Bob was wronged and Steve was gagged to silence. I sincerely hope that everyone sees this documentary and reacts in the one way we can.

                    I saw it and after all I could was mutter permutations of the same curse word, because it's just incomprehensible. Now I'm just livid. I would rather put my hand on a hot iron than see a one more single farthing go to BRI. I hope this documentary dents the merch mill a bit.

                    Ian_Adkins Oh I am so with you on this!! There is an absolute firestorm on the BRI Facebook site in response to a memo BRI posted in response to the documentary. Prepare yourself to curse some more.
                    https://www.facebook.com/100044183181677/posts/391902142292555/
                    The first couple of sentences in the memo:
                    “Bob Ross Inc. takes strong issue with the inaccurate and heavily slanted portrayal of our company in a Netflix film.

                    If not for the efforts of the remaining founders and their dedication to this mission, Bob’s artistic and cultural relevance would have been lost decades ago with his passing.” 😡

                      ForestVueGallery Total self-serving jackassery. I didn't scroll all the way down, but there were some choice excoriations that expressed my sentiments exactly.

                      If there is justice anywhere, this bankrupts BRI and Steve can buy it off Ahab and Jezebel there for $1 and a pack of smokes.

                        As you've probably noticed I've stayed silent in this thread. The reason for that is twofold:
                        I haven't watched the doc yet and didn't do any real research about the whole situation (besides reading the article posted above and some rumours on the net) myself.
                        On the other hand as the person running this website I'd rather stay out of this topic as much as possible, for obvious reasons.

                        For everyone that wants to switch to other brands: I'm currently working on a guide that lists alternatives to the BR brand stuff. If you'd like to give your input please visit this thread: https://www.twoinchbrush.com/forum/d/199-alternatives-to-bob-ross-products

                        Felix I suppose we had all best be circumspect. As the documentary makes clear, lawyers abound. Though being based outside the U.S., you may be somewhat protected from litigation originating here. OTOH, depending on where your servers are or who is routing the traffic, a well-aimed cease-and-desist could be...disruptive.

                            I watched documentary just today and I wish all the best to Steve as this is a big war he will need to handle. I hope there is some fund raiser to collect 200k as minimum as legal expense will sky rocket. I hope people will help him to restore him as heir after his Dad.
                            there are a lot of things in this documentary that require some thinking in retrospect about Bob Ross (as a name and brand) in the last three decades.