The legend of the perm. Bob Ross didn’t always have his iconic hairdo, resurfaced photos of the famous painter reveal. The black-and-white images show a clean-shaven Ross with straight hair, years before he got his signature perm. Bob Ross with straight hair. Bob Ross Inc. Bob Ross in an old photo. Bob Ross Inc. In … Read more
But I suspect Orlean is an outlier, and not just because according to the documentary, at one point one in every 20 American households purportedly purchased “a Kinkade” — meaning a licensed print — to put on the wall, and possibly many more. For those who grew up in and around Christian culture in the … Read more
Something about “Taking Venice,” Amei Wallach’s new documentary about the 1964 Venice Biennale (in theaters), feels almost like science fiction, or maybe fantasy. Imagine the U.S. government taking such a keen interest in the fine arts that there may or may not have been an attempt to rig a major international prize for an American … Read more
What “Lempicka,” the mystifying new musical about Polish painter Tamara de Lempicka, needs more than anything else is turpentine. Theater review LEMPICKA Two hours and 30 minutes, with one intermission. At the Longacre Theatre, 228 W. 48th Street. Gallons and gallons of it. Unfortunately, having garishly blared open Sunday night at the Longacre Theatre, it’s … Read more
Letting kids draw on the walls might actually be a good thing. A mother from Peru let her son draw on walls since he was just a baby — and believes that’s what led him to be a budding artist. Adianée Peña García allowed her son Santiago Daniel to draw on every wall of their … Read more
He puts sweat, tears — and his own blood — into his work. Filipino painter Elito Circa, 52, grew up so poor he used plums and tomatoes to make art. When he got scraped as a youngster, he even tried using blood to paint with, and got hooked. The artist now goes to a health clinic once every three … Read more