Happy Accidents: A Visit to a Bob Ross Exhibit /  by Todd Henson

The Franklin Park Performing & Visual Arts Center hosted Happy Accidents, an exhibit of original Bob Ross paintings.

Perhaps like me, you grew up watching Bob Ross teach his wet-on-wet oil painting technique on PBS. I just loved watching him. It didn’t matter what mood I was in, by the end of the show I’d be in a good mood and itching to create. He had such a positive personality and was full of encouragement, trying to make us realize we were all capable of such amazing and beautiful things. He is just as relevant today as he was when he first aired. We need more people like Bob Ross.

Light at the Summit, and Under Pastel Skies, original oil paintings by Bob Ross, exhibited at Franklin Park Arts Center

Splendor of Snowy Winter, an original oil painting by Bob Ross, exhibited at Franklin Park Arts Center

I did try my hand at oil painting a few times, and though it never became a habit, I was still very influenced by Bob Ross and his work. I can see commonalities between his style of painting and much of photography today. I felt he was a painter for the people. He painted what he loved in a way that made him happy, and he shared these experiences with the world. Today everyone is capable of creating photographs in much the same way he created paintings. The quality of cell phone cameras increases each year, and with them more people have cameras than ever before. People are creating beautiful photographs that have meaning to them and are enjoyed by others. It strikes me that’s what Bob Ross was all about.

Viewing paintings by Bob Ross at the Happy Accidents exhibit

Folks were able to view and photograph original paintings by Bob Ross (no flash photography)

So having said all that, you can imagine how excited I was when my folks let me know they’d reserved 3 tickets to the first exhibit of its kind of original Bob Ross paintings, held at the Franklin Park Performing & Visual Arts Center in Purcellville, Virginia. I would get the chance to actually see, in person, some of Bob Ross’ paintings. How amazing is that?

Cypress Creek, an original oil painting by Bob Ross, exhibited at Franklin Park Arts Center

Aurora’s Dance, an original oil painting by Bob Ross, exhibited at Franklin Park Arts Center

Daisies at Dawn, an original oil painting by Bob Ross, exhibited at Franklin Park Arts Center

Our tickets were for a 1 pm opening. When we arrived there was a short line outside the Arts Center, which was a beautiful building laid out like a barn. Just inside was a small theater with stadium style seating showing a Bob Ross documentary. It brought back some great memories hearing various celebrities talking about how they also grew up with Bob Ross and what impact he had on their lives.

The theater in the Franklin Park Arts Center was showing a documentary about Bob Ross

Moving into the exhibit hall I was really impressed with how they presented Boss Ross’ work. Most of the paintings were well lit and arranged in a very pleasing way. Though it was fairly crowded at times, people were mostly polite and there was enough room to move around and not feel crowded. By waiting long enough portions of the exhibit would completely clear of people, as you can see in some of these photos.

I was very pleased by the range of work displayed

The Franklin Park Arts Center was a great location for a Bob Ross exhibit

I very much enjoyed finally getting to see original paintings by Bob Ross. It was fascinating viewing them both from a distance and up close, seeing the scratches from the palette knife, the fan brush trees, a small little building in a meadow, waterfalls, mountains, and even seascapes. And, of course, each with that red Ross signature.

Delightful Meadow Home, an original oil painting by Bob Ross, exhibited at Franklin Park Arts Center

Island Paradise, an original oil painting by Bob Ross, exhibited at Franklin Park Arts Center

Golden Glow of Morning, an original oil painting by Bob Ross, exhibited at Franklin Park Arts Center

 

This exhibit ran from September 10th through October 15th, 2019, at the Franklin Park Arts Center.

 

The Franklin Park Performing & Visual Arts Center in Purcellville, Virginia

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Keep Climbing! /  by Todd Henson

Snapping Turtle Hatchling /  by Todd Henson

The first look down on the little Snapping Turtle hatchling.

Snapping Turtles in Virginia dig a nest and lay their eggs in the May to June time frame. Hatchlings emerge from these nests in late August. This year my father and I were very fortunate to stumble upon a lone hatchling at a local park.

We were on our way out of the park, walking along a paved section of trail when we both saw something small on the pavement. It looked like a tiny turtle. I started leaning forward and questioned if it was real. I’d been fooled in the past by little toy animals left on the trail. But this ones eyes occasionally blinked, so we quickly realized it wasn’t a toy.

I only had my wide angle zoom lens (16-35 mm) with me so I bent down very close to the turtle to create a photo from above. Then I got down on my hands and knees to get closer to the turtle’s perspective, which was difficult considering how small it was. At first I placed the lens right in front of the hatchling. All this time it just sat there, only blinking. But after I set the lens in its face it began quickly moving forward, right towards me and the camera. Maybe it saw itself in the lens? Maybe it was just the movement or close proximity that spurred it on.

Good morning, little hatchling. As I lay down in front of the Snapping Turtle it began moving quickly towards me.

I moved beside it then and began creating some profile shots. It was a fairly cloudless day, so the sun was creating strong shadows, as you can see in the first couple photographs. I asked my father to try standing in front of the sun, casting a little shade on the hatchling. This helped eliminate the extreme contrast of sun and shadow, as can be seen in the next couple photos. And who knows, perhaps it also gave this tiny turtle a little respite from the blazing sun.

A profile look at the baby Snapping Turtle as it quickly moved along the pavement. We shaded it from the sun for a bit.

We encountered the Snapping Turtle on pavement, but it was very close to the edge of the wetlands. So my father and I stayed with the turtle, letting it move on its own, but walking beside it until it left the pavement and moved past a small fence line closer to the water. There were a number of folks walking the trail, some with pets, some jogging, others with baby strollers. We didn’t want anyone to inadvertently crush the baby turtle. Hatchlings odds of survival are fairly low, but hopefully we increased its chances just a bit that day.

I created my favorite photograph of the Snapping Turtle hatchling after it left the pavement and rested in a more natural environment.

After escorting the hatchling off the trail we started looking around for other hatchlings. We didn’t see any, but very close by we did find the remains of one or more nests with scattered egg fragments. It appeared at least one of these nests had been dug up by something, perhaps a fox, coyote, or raccoon. There was an interesting smell right at the nest site, but I’ve no clue if that was turtle, predator, or something else entirely.

A look at a Snapping Turtle nest with shell fragments scattered around. It appears something may have dug up the nest.

Another look at the Snapping Turtle nest area, where a hole has been dug in the upper right, likely by a predator. Egg shell fragments are scattered about in front of the hole.

The nests were located in a very small stretch of land between the pavement (newly laid) and a black fabric fence to separate the construction area from the woods beyond. A thin layer of straw had been laid on the ground to encourage grass to grow. The nests appear to have hatched after this. I’m curious when the nests were dug, whether construction had yet begun or had it already completed?

A wider view of what might be multiple Snapping Turtle nests. You can see holes and shells at the bottom, around the middle, and again near the top.

This photo shows the interesting location of the Snapping Turtle nests. The paved trails is on the left. On the right is a fabric construction tarp separating the trail construction area from the woods beyond. Straw has been laid on the ground to encourage grass to grow. The nests in this photo extend from the middle towards the upper right of the image.

Finding this little Snapping Turtle hatchling brought back memories of growing up in Massachusetts near a river where each year we’d find lots of baby turtles crossing the road between the housing area and the hill leading down to the river. I very much enjoyed getting to see this sight again, even if it was just a single hatchling. Who knows, perhaps we’ll see more next year. I’ll certainly keep my eyes open for them.

To learn more about Snapping Turtles, especially in Virginia, head over to the Virginia Herpetological Society. They have lots of great info on all sorts of reptiles and amphibians in Virginia.

Photography Prints by Todd Henson

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