ASU bring virtual Bob Ross to valley for painting workshop

The ASU hosted their first student event of the semester with a Bob Ross painting tutorial.

By Kevin Zuniga, Staff Writer

People attend the ASU led Bob Ross Painting Day as the Armenian club protests the recent conflicts between Azerbaijan and Armenia at Los Angeles Valley College in the Student Union Plaza on September 15, 2022. The event was held from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. with an expected attendance of 30 people. (Griffin O'Rourke | Valley Star)

Valley College hosted the Bob Ross Painting Day last week, the first outdoor art event of the fall semester, having forged a volume of over twenty attendees following along to the infamous painter’s tutorial.

The Associated Student Union’s Commissioner of Fine Arts, Mia Sanchez, organized and hosted the event. With the wide open space in an outdoor idea, people gathered around asking how to participate as soon as the Bob Ross tutorial calmly resonated from the speakers. The outdoor venue created some challenges for the students involved, as the monitor featuring Bob Ross’ tutorial was facing difficulties from the outdoor elements, such as lighting and wind.

“We have a small board and had to decide what events we want to prioritize,” said ASU Treasurer Diego Enriquez. “We decided –– I think that Mia decided she wanted to do painting and Bob Ross is a great emotional device. So we decided that'd be perfect. I think everyone loves Bob Ross.”

Anthropology professor at Los Angeles Valley College Oscar Hernandez and his daughter, Penny, paint and follow along to a video tutorial by Bob Ross (Griffin O'Rourke | Valley Star)

Bob Ross was a painter and television personality that was known for his show “The Joy of Painting” for his soothing and calming voice that aired episodic tutorials on how to paint.

Near the business office, Sanchez signed in students and gave them four different types of paint brushes, paints, canvases and palettes. A screen and projector presented the Bob Ross tutorial in front of the Monarchs.

Most students that participated in the event joined through curiosity without having any knowledge that the event was happening, while others knew about the event through Valley’s webpage.

“I saw an advertisement for this event online.” said second-year media arts student Chris Hartounias. “There's a canvas page, it's called LAVC’s student life activities and they just post stuff for the week. It's nice.”

During the middle of the event, a protest by the Armenian Student Association club was seen and heard nearby. They carried signs, spoke to people individually and powerfully exclaimed their frustrations and need for awareness between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“The purpose of this kind of event is to inform people what’s going on,” said Armenian Student Association President Gagik Badalyan. “What I find interesting is that a lot of big countries are not responding anyways, and as part of the culture we are responsible to inform them somehow of what’s happening in our homeland.”

Despite the challenges that arose out of the event, Sanchez, Enriquez and ASU President Ani Ramazyan consider the event to be a success.

“Yeah we’ll do it I think definitely because it’s very popular, we’ll definitely do it next month,” said Sanchez. “I’m really happy people showed up.”