The Joy of Sleeping: Bob Ross recordings recast as bedtime audio series

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TV painting instructor/artist Bob Ross using a large paint brush to touch up one of his large seascapes in his studio at home.

Blissful and soothing reruns of Bob Ross’ The Joy of Painting can make even hardened Internet users drift away to a sublime dream world, complete with happy little trees and happy little clouds. Now, for those that can’t get enough during the day—and have trouble drifting off at bedtime—there’s a happy little audio series.
The maker of popular meditation app Calm is recasting audio from episodes of The Joy of Painting to create “Sleep Stories” narrated by Ross that help users relax and slip off to a peaceful slumber.

The series marks the first time that Bob Ross Inc., which manages the late painting star’s estate and brand, has agreed to license audio from the show, according to a report by The New York Times.

“We asked ourselves, ‘What would Bob do?’” Joan Kowalski, the president of Bob Ross Inc., told the Times. “Using his voice to help put people to sleep? Well, he would love that.”

She went on to explain that Ross’ tranquil tone is well known to have a soporific effect.

“We hear from people almost daily who are going on to YouTube to hear his voice,” she added. “People back in the day were shy to tell him they fell asleep listening to him. They thought it would insult him. He loved it.”

Indeed, in an interview with The Orlando Sentinel in 1990, Ross acknowledged the unintended role of this work, which he seemed to regard as a happy little accident.

“The majority of our audience does not paint, has no desire to paint, will never paint. They watch it strictly for entertainment value or for relaxation,” Ross told the paper. “We’ve gotten letters from people who say they sleep better when the show is on.”

Moreover, Kowalski added that the birth of the audio series helps Ross’ legacy live on. Ross, who died in 1995 at the age of 52 from cancer, had a desire to be a household name, she said. “He wanted to go on and on forever.”