The beloved painter Bob Ross passed away 25 years ago, but his legacy lives on in his iconic TV program. Through “The Joy of Painting,” he continues to encourage aspiring artists to make “happy little accidents.”
But Ross isn’t the only soft-spoken man lifting spirits with wholesome art videos. Meet Harumichi Shibasaki, who is known to his fans as the “Japanese Bob Ross.”
The 73-year-old lives in eastern Japan, where he has worked as an artist and teacher for a long time.
A few years ago, he decided he wanted to share his talent with the world. So with his son’s help, he celebrated his 70th birthday by launching a YouTube channel called Watercolor by Shibasaki. This year, he even joined TikTok!
From roses to outdoor scenes from his home in the Chiba countryside, Harumichi demonstrates stroke by stroke how to create works of art.
Not only are his tutorial-style videos helpful, but they are also soothing to watch. That’s what attracted millions of viewers – and made him realize that he is providing something even more valuable than painting skills.
More people have been turning to the internet to find comfort amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, and Harumichi’s gentle voice paired with his beautiful watercolors are meeting that need.
“I realized that there are more people who say their hearts were healed, [or] they were energized by watching my video, than those who just desire to be good at painting,” Harumichi told CNN. “Therefore, my mind has changed. I hope to play a role not only in making these videos to improve people’s watercolor skills but in healing people’s hearts through painting too.”
Harumichi isn’t just healing hearts – he’s stealing them! Many of his fans have said they wish he was their grandpa and we have to agree. Here’s to this sweet artist who is spreading joy with each new painting. The original Bob Ross would be so proud!
Kick back and enjoy Harumichi’s relaxing guide to painting a tree in the video below (after you click the closed caption button for English subtitles). Don’t forget to share this story to help him spread more smiles.
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