Google Celebrates Bob Ross' 70th Birthday With A Happy Little Doodle

Those of us who watched PBS in the 80s likely have fond memories of staring at the TV screen, watching Bob Ross turn a piece of canvas into a gorgeous landscape, talking us through the process with each stroke and making the whole thing seem remarkably easy. Today is Bob Ross' 70th birthday and Google acknowledged the occasion with a happy little doodle!

Bob Ross' PBS series premiered January 11, 1983 and ended May 17, 1994, about a year before he unfortunately died of cancer. While he may have passed away more than a decade ago, those of us who were hypnotized by his painting process likely remember him fondly, so seeing Google's doodle for him today should bring a smile to many a fan's face.

I love how his head is the uppercase G in Google, while the lowercase g has made its way into Bob's painting. But it's the happy squirrel on his shoulder that really brings the piece together and pays tribute to the artist, who was known to describe the things he was painting with words like "happy" or "quiet."

You can find plenty of clips of Ross' PBS show on YouTube. The one below does a nice job of capturing Ross' spirit, if not quite his talent, since we don't get to see the finished piece. One of the fun things about watching him paint was seeing the picture come together. Many times, you couldn't tell what he was really trying to do as he mashed and scraped colors onto his canvas, but eventually, the picture began to emerge and sure enough when he was done, there was a beautiful scene laid out in front of us. If only painting were as easy as he made it look.

"I'm still a Mommy's boy and I really don't care who knows it. She's my favorite lady in the whole world. So, this is her painting. This is for her. And a beautiful lady should have a painting."

How could you not love him?

Happy 70th birthday, Bob Ross!