I was waiting for Bob to come in with brush in hand and saying "Maybe we could put a big old happy tree in there."

I think it says a lot about Bob's character that he would invite an artist whose methods of theories of art are so drastically opposed to his own. This guy's style and demeanor are nearly polar opposites to Bob's, but Bob has enough respect and admiration for the man's art to bring him on the show, regardless. Total class.

Gotta get me one of those pale blue shirts; clearly the secret to unbridled painting talent.

Stahl may be bit too brutal for casual Bob Ross viewer. :D "For heavens sake, don't paint pretty! ... Develope a taste." Happy trees and pretty bushes are sad now.

The way he holds the brush is the way most traditionally trained painters hold their brushes. Unfortunately it takes a lot of getting used to to be able to paint that way, but for the most part it is the best way to hold the brush if you want complete control over tone and thickness. A lot of what he talks about is applicable to serious artists, not just a casual painter (which is not to demean one or the other). Portraiture is hard for casual artists to do because it requires some understanding of human anatomy and having a well-trained eye for the important features of the face. Some artists are very good at this, being able to create a face with as few strokes as possible, but to do that required them to experiment with painting faces and finding the right balance between simplicity and detail. He tells it like it is, he's not pussyfooting the issue. Being a serious artist means serious study, and he's not trying to critique Bob's art -- he's talking from his perspective of making art, which is much more traditional.

I find Stahl's and Ross's opposing philosophies about art to be fascinating. I think Stahl's philosophy is applicable for those who seek to pursue art as a more serious pursuit. Ross's philosophy is more for the average joe who enjoys art but doesn't want to seriously pursue it. Neither philosophy is wrong, merely different

5:30: the extent of my painting skills.

I like this guy. He's a good counterpart to Bob's gentle and carefree style of painting.

lol the way Bob ducked out of there in the beginning 😂

Bob Ross-Take a large brush and land some happy leafs over here. Ben Stahl-Fuck off Bob you gotta do everything in the hard way.

this guy just drops knowledge bombs one after another, he's so full of wisdom. what a boss.

In a time where we're seeing ai generated images, hearing the phrase, "Only a human can appreciate art, and only a human can create art." From an incredibly talented painter really means a lot.

Ben Stahl was an amazing artist. Such a shame he passed away a year after this was filmed.

"Nature is everything except the artist. Only a human can appreciate art, and only a Human can create art." So many great Ideas are expressed in this episode.

I'm just amazed. He spent 12seconds on the face and it looks perfect. He spent 20 minutes just dabbing colors in to areas and it looks like a mess. The messy color really highlights that amazing face. Dude was truly a master

Stahl's style is the essence of "carefree". Can't you see how he splashes his paint on the canvas, but deliberately. His paintings are so carefree. So, in your face, but so serene. There is no comparison, Mr. Ross does his and admires Mr. Stahl and visa versa. Art isn't competition. KZfaq breeds this kind of weird competition that is so un creative. Do even a small portion of you know who Stahl was before this?

8:51 me presenting to the class

This guy is just dropping pearls of wisdom one after another, fantastic video

I love this so much he reminds me of my grandma. Kind of bitchy, snappy and pessimistic but also teaches you many things is full of wisdom and means well. I really needed this.

Anyone who might be bashing this guy, keep in mind, he probably isn't used to doing 30 minute wet-on-wet painting like bob. Look up the guys actual artwork that he had the time and freedom to paint exactly how he wanted. They're actually really amazing. Many guests on bobs show were not used to cramming a full painting into a 30 minute time slot.

Oh my goodness. This guy just encouraged me to keep up with my traditional art when I've felt so down and bummed about it for a while, now. Thinking it wasn't good enough because it wasn't on par with all the refined, digital art that's so widespread, now. Thank you, Ben Stahl! And Bob Ross! You will always be cherished in our memories. :)

I can't believe people are seriously complaining about this. Just because he isn't bob ross in terms on personality or art style, you don't have to criticize. This guy is legitimately one of the greatest painters to ever walk this planet and it was a complete privelage to get a 30 glimpse into his work

this guy is Yoda. Bob Ross is Ben Kenobi

Sadly Mr Stahl died less then a year after this episode :( Guy really had a unique vision to art.

Idk why people don't like Stahl or his painting. I think his painting looks really good and he was a great guest to be on here.

He is spitting out more knowledge off hand than you'll find in an art text book.

This guy should have had his own show

Ben Stahl, scrutinizing the details of your soul

I learned more about art in the first ten minutes; then all the art classes I took in college.

The way Stahl is speaking about painting, and how he's condemning certain styles, while praising doing things the "hard way", you would think he's purposely insulting Bob on his own show.

R.I.P Stahl and Ross! AMAZING WORK!!!!

I saw the title and thought "Bob Ross Doesnt do portraits". Then the episode itself got even more interesting. I feel this guy takes art more seriously. Not that Bob wasn't a serious artist, he just had a more "whatever you want to do is fine" philosophy "There are no mistakes only happy accidents". This guy would likely not agree. I also don't know how he controls the brush holding it like that.

i really like his understanding of art and he's full of super useful advices

Many argue that he was 'criticizing" Ross, but Ross enjoyed Ben's art and Ben enjoyed Ross's creative style (or tatse). Most people that criticize Ben Stahl for criticizing Ross don't really understand how Ben interpreted art on another level than Ross, in other words: y'all need to educate yourself.

Ben doesn't actually start painting until 4 minutes into the video. So he does this, entire painting in 25 minutes. Unlike Bobs style Ben, is much more detail oriented. His works took hours upon hours of not days. Each painter is unique, because each person is unique. I think Ben has a very commanding presence, he's not going to put you to sleep or relax you, he will keep you on your toes and paying attention. I love the art he put out there. And I love that Bob allowed for people who taught him, or inspired him to come on and show a little of their style. Great Example is when that one lady came on and did "anatomy of seascape" you can clearly see that Bob adjusted her techniques to fit into his paintings, yet he uses the exact same technique to make waves. It's really something to get to see the artists, who helped Bob become the joyful painter he was.

I love this guy. He's a wonderful teacher. Gives a different perspective on painting than Bob.

I normally only like watching the videos with Bob, but wow, this guy is amazing!

While Bob Ross sings a lullaby, this guy's work tells a story with a far deeper meaning.

This man speaks to me on a personal deep level. This is what I needed. I now am inspired.

"You, yourself, must become your own best teacher."

i love how ben paints, from a bunch of smeared colors into a beautiful painting

Ben Stahl! Holy crap, how'd Bob ever get him to appear on the show, especially when Bob was still relatively unknown? Probably the one guest Bob ever had on his show that was as legendary as he is. He's a little gruff but you have to admire his passion Also lots of great general advice, especially 'become your own best teacher.' I disagree with him about story vs art though. Some of the very best art is meant to tell a story...comics, film, etc.

For a second there, at 15:46, I thought he was going to make a happy little blue tree :((((( But alas...

His comments about the relationship between music and painting are insightful.

I feel smarter just by listening to this guy

I like his way of painting. I kinda got the "just go for it" vibe, just by watching and listening to him.

this dude is spitting out wisdom left and right

10:25 low-key burn

I am not an artist I just recently started watching these videos without any previous interest in art and I could tell that this man is extremely talented and is loaded with useful information and humble enough to share his information. Also goes to show what a great person Bob is for having someone like that on "his show". Much respect!

As someone who is in art school learning the fundamentals, he is absolutely right. This man is highly experienced

Never has there been a greater need to bring back this series (or a similar series) and just have a guest artist each epidode simply create a painting and talk to us.

I love his style and how he says to not make it pretty. That's what makes the painting beautiful.

I love how he holds the brush :)

"paint traditionally like painters have done it for centuries" -- uses spray can

I like Ben's pallette. He uses more opaque colors rather than semitransparent ones like Bob primarily uses. More expensive, better quality and similar to my own. Ben's comments about "drawing a lot" before attempting to paint are so true. It provides continuity of one's style. So many great comments made by Stahl while he's painting as well ☮️

This man taught me more about painting in 25 minutes than my 4 years of art classes during school ever did.

the life he got in those eyes from the very beginning 😍 incredible

This video has taught me so much more than I ever did at school.

I feel like this guy was low key roasting Bob through this whole episode...

You can tell this guy was a real master, care free on painting and real deep concepts on every step he took during this show...

This episode was an absolute treasure. From the moment he put that brush on the canvas and drew that perfect face you could tell he was going to be a character. I loved how he grabs brushes like they are pencils, it felt like he was drawing more than painting. Amazing.

1:41 - Imma fuck you up.

"an artist does his best work when he doesn't know what he's doing." I feel that same feeling when I have no idea of what to do for making a race car paint scheme and when I just do something, it comes out a lot better than the ones I have a plan for.

ive noticed this from other artists that are renowned for their skill..i notice a lot of them dont necessarily...paint in the traditional sense. like they use traditional methods and ideologies sure. but they more or less just...let the brushes trace..dance..just...do what it wants to do across the canvas. and its fascinating to see how they go from basically what could look like a 5 year old doodle with 5$ watercolors to...absolute masterpieces. its mesmerizing.

nice painting. I like this mans's style. The suggestions and teaching are priceless. Ben Stahl died in 1987. Incredible talent. A master of color.

why do i feel like this guy is criticizing bob ross's painting style and methods haha

*Bob finishes the whole intro talking about awards and stuff* Ben stall-*sniff*

He is not isulting Bob.. he is complimenting Bob for not copying the world but seeing how it works and making his own world based on that, turning what nature do at case into something beautiful and artistic to a human perspective piece, not taking a section of the world and remaking it but creating a world by itself on the canvas ❤❤❤❤ Different artists different styles but they complete eachother You can see that bob no longer instruct how to do a piece after that season, he teach you how to place you thoughts on a canvas with his tips and tricks so you can make your own painted worlds ❤ Best guest ❤

"make art the way it has been done since the beginning of time". *pulls out spray glaze

Damn! What an impressionist.

Art is instinctive, now that's a powerful statement right there!!

Cool little historical note: The Blackbeard's Ghost film that Bob Ross mentioned was one of the last movies Walt Disney worked on (alongside the Jungle Book) before his death in 1966. Ben Stahl himself died only one year after doing this guest episode for Bob Ross.

Can't help but feel that some of this advice was directed at Bob.... love ya anyway man. Remarkable episode!

I love how most of his views are pretty much opposite to Bob's but they both agree in what's most important: art should be fun.

A lot of great information packed into this video.

So much wisdom into one video.. God bless Bob and Ben..

If you had completely turned off the visual presentation regarding this beautiful painting and instead only listened to what this fine , wise, artist had to say, you would become a better artist no matter what stage or level of artist you are. Indeed, much of the wisdom and knowledge he imparted can be applied to other forms of art and even life. He is brilliant. God bless Mr. STAHL.

This guy ROCKED it. WOW.

The ASMR is strong in this one.

Am I the only one who felt really moved by this guest's words? Truly captivating.

I get that a lot of people may have been a little indifferent about Stahl's methods, but in hindsight, this particular episode would do two things. 1) It would help you form a more critical view of art, rather than utilising it as a form of escapism like Bob does, you are open to conveying different kinds of emotions and themes. 2) Stahl's style only reaffirms your resolve that your view of art IS in fact a form of escapism. Your paintings are a reflection of how you "want" to feel as opposed to how you "need" to feel. It's the same principle that Bob uses when describing shape and form, you can't have dark without light. The same can be said about these two artists, the only way you can validate your own work is by seeing how it measures up to someone else's.

"don't do the same thing twice" I can just picture Bob cringing at that, as he's all repetition 😊

It's fascinating how artists get an incredible range of colors by mixing them on the palette. It's almost like just mixing color is an art in itself.

I grew up watching Bob I'm a painter now and I respect all the different methods of painting and I think we can always learn something new to better your work.

sadly this man died in 1987, such a loss to the world. Rest In Piece Ben Stahl

the way he's holding his brush... i can't even imagine trying to control my work like that. but then again, i hold my pen/pencil very uniquely, too! enough so that my teachers in school growing up always tried to correct it, even holding me after class to scold me about it. maybe it's an artist thing.

I love this guy. So blunt, such a percussive voice, and such a beautiful art style.

I love the way he just makes the lines like a 5 year old paintings. It just looks so cool like he doent care about it, but at the end, it is a precious art.

Despite him coming across as rather strict and stern with regards to painting rules and regulations, you can tell he knows what he is talking about and that he more than deserves respect for his talents

i wish i found this guy sooner. amazing work.

Y'know, as joyous and mesmerizing as Bob was, this episode is the one i find myself coming back to and re-watching the most. Not sure why, I just love his mannerisms and quotes.

Ben Stahl passed away a couple years after this aired. It's cool that he left his mark on a show that gets watched to this day by millions.

I love this man. I could listen to him as much as i listen to Ross. idk its just his philosophy is very nice. I like both styles of Ross and Stahl.

I don't think Stahl was brutal at all, Bob also paints from imagination, as he's not using a reference while painting. Stahl was giving a lecture on art itself. The relation between art and nature; form, lines, composition, color, etc., the instinctive nature of art and how it's been reflected in art throughtout history. When he refers to the ways to go about painting, I understood it as using reference or developing a style, not an insult to Bob.

Ben was a master of his craft, and I only knew him after knowing Bob Ross. A normal person would see him “scribbling” on the canvas, but little do they know there were all done perfectly through muscle memory. Every color he chose was with shading and contrast in mind, and of course the color scheme are complimentary. For example, the eyes of the lady in the painting. Human sclera are not pure white when painting ; it is more like a shade of very light grey. And after he used black to defines the eyelashes and pupils everything clicked and we got a beautifully rendered eyes.

What a monstrosity of brilliance.

I love watching other people's views on art. Im sure Bob thought the same and took this man as a chance to learn other points of view to create something beautiful.

"MAKE IT LOOK GOOD!" *proceeds to smear bright green on the canvas*

It is so fantastic to watch a master artist paint so you can see the methods of their genius.

What an amazing poet. Great show.