Google’s at it again! And this time it’s offering us a “happy little” doodle.
On Oct. 29, the search engine’s homepage paid homage to the late painter Robert Norman “Bob” Ross, whose television show "The Joy of Painting" (featured in the video above), ran on PBS for over a decade.
Ross passed away on July 4, 1995, at the age of 52. Today would have been his 70th birthday.
See the doodle below:
According to the soft-spoken painter’s Facebook page, “the first of his low-budget, unrehearsed and unedited Joy of Painting programs aired in 1982.” After over 400 shows, at approximately 26 minutes each, Ross’ program is still the “most-popular, most watched art show” to date.
His paintings were completed in a personalized version of the wet-on-wet technique, meaning instead of waiting for each layer to dry, wet paint was placed on top of wet paint.
PC Mag notes Ross become something of a “pop-culture icon” and was referenced on television shows like Family Guy and Conan O'Brien. Ross was also extremely found of the nature he painted, hence the little squirrel perched on his shoulder in the latest Google doodle.
If you haven't spotted them before, Google doodles have been sporadically popping up on the search engine's homepage since 2000 and typically celebrate a cultural event or icon's birthday. The company also periodically creates mini-games to replace its logo. You can see all of Google’s flashy doodles (here).
Did you watch Bob Ross’ soothing show? Or do you recognize him from other forms of pop culture? Let us know in the comments section below, or tweet us your thoughts on the Google doodle @HuffPostTech. Then, read more about the doodle’s 14th anniversary (here), or flip through a few Google doodles from the London Olympics (here).