Robert "Bob" Ross was born to a caring mother

and hard working father in Florida in 1942.

His father was a carpenter, so he spent most of his young life working as a right hand man. He dropped out of school 9th grade to continue to be an assistant.

When he turned 18, he joined the Air Force as a medical records technician. He stayed as one for 20 years.

In the Air Force, he had to be someone he wasn't. He was the person that confronted people about problems. He was the one who was yelling and disciplining.

He didn't like being like that, so he decided that when he was going to leave the Air Force, he would never have that attitude again.

He was not sure what he wanted to do with his life. He didn't want to spend all of his time in the Air Force.

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In his spare time, he learned how to paint. It helped him deal with his stress, and it made him some side money.

Bob was at an Air Force base in Alaska. This gave him the perfect landscapes for his art. He stuck with this scenery for the rest of his art life.

Bob had to learn how to paint and finish fast. He learned from another veteran, Bill Alexander, who was also a very good artist.

Bob learned about Bill from a T.V. show. He saw how well he painted, and knew that he needed to learn from him. Bill found comfort in art, just like Bob did.

Bob loved art and painting so much, he decided that he wanted to do it for the rest of his life. He retired from the Air Force and continued to paint.

Bob didn't have a lot of money. He thought it would be better for himself to just leave his hair. This is where his famous haircut comes from.