Paentiad Hapus. Happy Painting in Welsh.
To be honest, I’m never shocked by the global reach of Bob Ross. I witnessed it at its birth in the late 1980s, and have followed ever since.
Anywhere I travel, I look for Bob. If I’m wearing anything Bob, it without fail sparks a conversation. Even in the United Kingdom.
Just over a year ago, I was connected to Emma Robinson. Emma was coming to the Bob Ross Experience in Muncie, Ind., to complete her certification as a Certified Ross Instructor®.
To my surprise, after fellow CRI® Chris Severn made the e-intro, I learned Emma was from Cardiff, Wales.
Cardiff is a place I have become quite familiar with as my program at Ball State, Sports Link, has grown its global partnership with Cardiff Met University.
I traveled to Cardiff in 2019, took a group of Sports Link students there in 2020 and in July returned for a site visit in preparation for another group of students to visit in early 2024.
Simply put, I love Wales. The culture, the history, the natural beauty and the people.
Although I shouldn’t be surprised about the power of Bob, I was shocked Emma was from Cardiff and our connection was strengthened by my Ball State experiences with Cardiff Met. How cool?!
Earlier this year, Emma opened her own Little Tree Studio as the only CRI® in Wales. So, naturally, a visit had to happen while I was there in July.
It was cool to see her studio and her excitement as a CRI®. We are all family.
I believe there are two universal powers in the world — the power of sport and the power of art (in any form).
The power of sport connected me to Cardiff and its people. The power of art continued my relationship. The visit with Emma and of course, a pint or two, talking Bob Ross and our journey was special.
Later that week, I met Rachel Hannah at a festival in Cardiff Bay. A conversation sparked by Bob Ross … and staying dry under her display tent from a customary rainshower in Wales.
Rachel’s work is strikingly happy. We shared stories of how we each create our work. Her technique with flowers, is one I will be starting soon and adding to my “gallery”. If I could’ve transported an original piece of her work home, I would have.
As Bob said, artists are just a little bit different and that’s ok.
Here, in a country thousands of years old, and specifically in Cardiff Bay and its growth in the 1790s, which stimulated mining in the valleys of South Wales, I’m talking Bob Ross. Just steps away from the Welsh Parliament, while having a pint.
“I started painting as a hobby when I was little. I didn’t know I had any talent. I believe talent is just a pursued interest. Anybody can do what I do.”
Bob Ross
And of course, through the city of Cardiff and in Bath, England, just a short train ride away, I found Bob.
From an art store selling supplies in one of Cardiff’s arcades, to a gift store with mugs and puzzles, to a tiny little boutique on the cobbled streets of Bath just steps away from the 2000-year old Roman Baths, there was Bob.
He popped up in more than one store, as did Ball State alum Jim Davis’s Garfield the Cat. A little taste of home thousands of miles away.
Chris Taylor Certified Bob Ross Instructor & Artist 