Sofia Rositani – Reporter
Painting has often been an escape for some, especially during stressful weeks, which is why Brownell, Schwartz and North Campus put on an event called “Happy Trees: Paint Night” in Schwartz Programming Space.
The event offered free food, canvases to paint on, paint in a multitude of colors, and Bob Ross tutorials on screen for those who wanted to paint along with him.
Bob Ross is a painter from the 1980s who did instructional videos in the 80’s and that taught all age groups how to paint on Public Broadcasting Service, or PBS. The show was called “The Joy Of Painting,” though now most of these videos can be found on YouTube now, which is how the tutorials were shown.
These three halls got together to host this event for students to relax, and paint. Because Bob Ross is very popular, all the hall directors and resident advisers for these halls collaborated for this event.
Some students who decided to attend this event were commuters to just rest for a few hours after the first week of classes. English major Kiersten Conner, a sophomore said they decided to go to this event with a group of her friends and her sister to “hang out with my friends on campus that is different than what we usually do.” Conners said she also finds painting fun even if it is not something she is good at and that it is also very therapeutic.
Graphic arts major, Bria Kirklin, a freshman said she attended the event on Thursday. Kirlin said she loves Bob Ross and has watched several of his videos. Instead of following the Bob Ross tutorial Kirklin instead drew and painted a character from the Simpsons.
“I love art, and technically it is my major so I couldn’t resist,” said Kirklin.
Painting has been involved in events in the past at Southern and it has become a very popular past time for many students on campus.
Psychology major Hannah Rosario, a freshman said she enjoys painting, even if she admits to not being that good at it. She said she also watches Bob Ross tutorials because she loves his voice and attitude, even if they are never completed.
“Ten out of ten difficulty,” said Rosario. “This is hard. His is so beautiful and although he does talk about how it’s okay to make mistakes, you still want to live up to his standard.”
Rosario also said that she does see forms of realism in Bob Ross’s paintings and that he may be difficult, but his soothing voice makes her able to fall asleep.
Theater major Nicole Thomas, a freshman said she has gone to the past two painting events that the university has put on. Thomas said she enjoys it and that even though it is very difficult to live up to Bob Ross’s standards she said she will definitely come back to events like this again, even if she does not know how well her paintings will look like.
“It’s worth it most of the time,” said Thomas “because then you get your own version which is what Bob Ross wants for you.”
