J Schwanke’s Life In Bloom

>> "J Schwanke's Life in Bloom" is brought to you by the following... >> That flower feeling.

At home.

At work.

Or anytime.

CalFlowers is a proud sponsor of "J Schwanke's Life in Bloom," where flowers and wellness go hand in hand.

>> We have fresh in all our stores, from soups and steaks and all things flour to all things flowering.

Custom fresh arrangements designed by our in-store florists at Albertsons Companies.

>> With additional support from the following... PassionRoses... Suntory Flowers.

>> In this episode, I've arranged a visit to the Bob Ross Studio in Muncie, Indiana for a special event including flowers.

I'll learn techniques for painting flowers and watercolor and arrange bouquets with a dear friend.

I'm J Schwanke.

Welcome to "Life in Bloom."

Painting might be an unexpected way to enjoy flowers.

Painting has many of the same attributes as arranging or growing flowers.

All are activities that can be therapeutic as well as relaxing.

Even watching both activities can be relaxing.

Many viewers tell me how watching "Life in Bloom" is a great way to de-stress, and a few fans have even compared this quality of the show to "The Joy of Painting" with Bob Ross.

I am, of course, humbled to be compared to the great Bob Ross, who has appealed to generations of viewers while teaching painting techniques that everyone can learn.

So, sit back and relax and join me as we experience how painting and flowers intersect in this episode of "Life in Bloom."

I'm honored to be here at the Bob Ross Experience at the Minnetrista Museum & Gardens here in Muncie, Indiana.

And I'm thrilled to be joined today by my wonderful friend Joan Kowalski.

Joan and I met through our mutual TV show distributor, American Public Television, and our friend Judy.

So, Joan, let's talk about the significance of where we're standing.

>> This is where Bob stood and filmed his programs, about half of them, before they moved him to the big studio.

>> And today's his birthday.

>> And today is his birthday.

>> This... [ Voice breaking ] This is a dream.

And you made this possible.

And I can't thank you enough for doing this.

It's amazing.

So, we met, what, three years ago, right?

>> Yes.

>> We just hit it off.

We became fast, fast friends.

And then you had said, "We should figure out a way to do a crossover."

>> It's starting to occur to me, "What if I ask J if he wants to come to Bob's studio and do an episode?"

So I sent you all these books, all these pictures of Bob's paintings.

>> It was a stack, this tall.

>> It was a stack like this.

He's painted a lot of paintings.

>> Uh-huh.

>> And you chose what I think is the perfect painting for a floral-arrangement inspiration.

>> And this is the painting.

>> And this is the painting.

>> "A Trace of Spring."

>> "A Trace of Spring."

>> Interesting to me, this was the only one with, like, flowers in it, the flowering bushes and the purples and the blues.

That resonated with me immediately.

>> Exactly.

>> All of us are so thankful for you and your family and what you did for Bob and how you brought him to us -- 'cause everyone knows him.

He's an icon.

And everyone knows Bob Ross.

>> We've worked really hard to make sure that every human on the planet knows who Bob Ross is.

>> Alright, so... >> Yep.

>> ...I'm gonna make the arrangement.

>> Alrighty.

I'm ready.

>> So, our first step is to create a container that has some flower foam inside it that's been shaped to mimic the landscape that we're gonna do.

So, we've got this piece back here that's gonna be where our happy trees go.

And we've got other pieces down in here to allow our riverbed to go through the arrangement.

All of this is soaked flower foam, and I've positioned these other pieces by taking a bamboo skewer and sticking it down inside.

We'll cut it off so that these also aren't gonna fall out of place.

Then we can start arranging.

Obviously, we're gonna start with our happy little trees.

These are pine trees that I actually cut from the yard.

And I'm gonna place those where the trees are in this beautiful painting.

Then we're gonna add the river.

I want some dimension to the riverbed.

So I'm gonna add some sapphire chrysanthemums first.

Then we'll add delphinium over the top.

And I'm sticking it in at an angle so that it goes crossways and gives those wonderful lines that Bob painted in the river.

Green Trick Dianthus, a beautiful carnation, looks like moss, so it's gonna be a perfect way to create the shores along the riverbed.

Bushes are a whole lot of fun because we can create them with spirea blooms.

I'm also gonna use some Solidago.

Even though this is yellow, it brings out that wonderful yellow-green that's in the painting.

I'm reminded of a quote from Bob Ross -- "You can do anything you want to do.

This is your world."

And for the world in my arrangement, I'm creating that world with flowers.

We've got some beautiful wax flower that matches the color of the shading back here in the distance.

So we'll use that wax flower to mimic that shading.

Trachelium and Hypericum make great bushes, too.

Now's a great time for us to add our rocks so that these rocks start to become part of the arrangement.

I don't like to tuck them in at the very end because they'll sit on top of things.

I'd rather add other pieces to build around those rocks.

We use a little dark ninebark down in here and also some astilbe and yarrow to bring in this wonderful coloration.

Tweedia is one of my favorite flowers, and it's gonna be perfect for that blue coloration that's tucked up along the hill.

Now I need to mimic that bare tree in the center and those two off to the side.

Some Rose of Sharon that's expired for the season is gonna be perfect in there.

What would an arrangement inspired by a Bob Ross painting be without a couple of happy little clouds?

And we'll use these Peegee hydrangeas to create the clouds over the top of the landscape.

One of my favorite things about this painting is that Bob signed it in the corner in red paint.

So it's a perfect place for me to add a red carnation as my personal signature for this arrangement.

So, Joan, what do you think?

>> First of all, it looks so much like the painting, but then there's just you in it.

That's what's so amazing watching you put it together.

It's funny.

People used to say, "Oh, Bob, don't add anything to it.

Don't.

Stop.

Stop."

And then he would add more, and it's better and better and better.

And you're doing the same thing.

I'm thinking, "Okay, he's done now, right?

No.

Look at that.

Oh my God."

Yeah.

And you did it like a painting.

You started in the back, worked your way up front.

I mean, you've been watching Bob Ross.

>> And I specifically watched this episode because I wanted to see how he constructed it... >> Yeah.

>> ...which is so important.

>> Yeah.

>> What a fun idea that you had.

Thank you for including me.

>> Of course.

>> And I pinch myself because this is -- this is crazy, right?

That I'm here with you, with this painting, and I get to do this where Bob stood, on his birthday.

I don't know.

We can't add much else to that.

I know.

That's all together.

>> I know.

>> So, from all of us here, I'd like to wish you happy painting, and God bless, my friend.

>> I met Eric Santoli in December of 2023.

He, like many others, sent an e-mail telling me how much he enjoyed watching "Life in Bloom," as he was an artist and enjoyed painting flowers.

He also shared that he'd been an artist in residence at Claude Monet's estate in Giverny, France.

His offer to instruct me in painting flowers was too good to pass up.

Eric, who resides in Ridgewood, New Jersey, is joining me today in my garden to share his experience at Monet's garden and, most recently, Florence, Italy.

And I'm excited to learn expert watercolor techniques from him.

Tell our viewers what an artist-in-residence program is.

>> Various programs and institutions.

Museums have artists' residencies.

And you go somewhere and you study for a period of time.

It's an amazing experience.

Some of them are shorter.

Mine was a little longer, three months.

>> Did you live on the estate?

>> Yeah, so, I lived literally a stone's throw away from Monet's garden.

>> Okay.

>> And I had a key to the garden, and I could go in there, middle of the night if I wanted to, and, you know, paint.

>> This was an experience of a lifetime.

>> It was.

It was just magical.

I just -- I know it's something that's sort of a rare opportunity, and I really tried to soak it in as much as I could and to really experience it.

But, yeah, I'm very grateful that I got to do it.

>> This summer, you went to Florence.

>> So, yeah, in Florence, I was finishing my graduate degree.

And it was a very, very similar experience.

You know, got to experience the city of Florence, which is the heart of the Renaissance.

A lot of what I've studied in art history was also then there in front of me, you know?

Statue of David and everything.

>> Right, right, right.

You have gotten me so excited now about learning more.

We're gonna paint some watercolors with some flowers.

>> Yes, we are.

Yep.

>> Okay, I can't wait.

So, what do we do?

>> There's sort of a procedure with painting, which is we go from some simple drawing, with kind of outlines, and then we're gonna start putting some paint down.

>> Okay.

>> And then beyond that, we're just gonna have some fun with it, you know?

>> Alright, alright.

>> Watercolor is a material where it's best to stop when you're ahead.

So we're gonna kind of try to stop while you're ahead.

What I kind of encourage you to do is to maybe look at a particular section, something that catches your eye.

>> Okay.

Alright.

>> Work with just sort of simple shapes.

>> Okay.

>> So, for instance, I'll do a little bit of sketching first.

And I'm looking at the shape of this zinnia as sort of circular or maybe a little bit oval.

So, I say I like that, and I like the hydrangea kind of down here.

>> Right.

>> So I'm gonna put in the shape of the hydrangea, sort of like that.

So, at this point, it's relatively simple.

>> Well, and I'm kind of thinking about that dahlia... >> Okay.

>> ...that's up here and that same zinnia that you have.

But then I love that Scabiosa that's up here.

>> Is that this right here?

>> Yeah.

And then I love the little brain fern... >> Okay.

>> ...that's kind of in there.

So, am I headed in that right direction kind of?

>> That's good, yeah.

Simple shapes.

And the next principle, which is very important for painting, is something called value.

So, value just means light and dark.

Some things will be lighter, and some things will be darker.

It helps us figure out the overall tones of a painting.

So, some people wonder, and they say, "Oh, well, but, you know, the color.

I got to get the color."

And it's like, the color will be there, but the value has to be accurate first.

>> Okay.

>> The next step beyond that, which is sort of our third principle, is color.

So, we just go from shape to value to color.

We have colors on our palette that are very similar.

So, for instance, the zinnia being close to orange.

>> Right, right.

Okay, yeah.

>> But it's not quite the same orange.

So what we're gonna have to do is do a little bit of mixing.

And the other thing is -- Unfortunately, we don't know what it's gonna be like until you put it down.

>> Right.

>> So don't be shy about testing something and then seeing how it looks and altering it.

So, I'm gonna put down some paint.

>> So, you're putting full color.

>> I want to cover it.

I want to, uh... try to get rid of the white of the paper.

I always think about painting as sort of an experimentation.

>> Got it.

>> I think it's -- Like I said a little bit ago, it's trial and error.

And you have to put down some color and see what works.

Do you see how that already kind of feels like it?

>> Yeah!

It's amazing.

>> I'm gonna let this dry.

>> And I'm gonna let this dry.

>> Yeah.

Let that dry.

Don't tinker with it.

>> Because I feel like it's -- Yeah, exactly.

>> It's perfect.

>> Yeah, exactly.

>> Stop while you're ahead.

>> Stop, stop.

>> Stop while you're ahead.

I think this is a beautiful effect.

I would let something dry and then go back to it.

So, for instance, mine, with my zinnia, I know I have to add a little bit more detail at this point.

And I can add maybe some shadow and some shading.

There's no one way or one direct path of painting.

>> Okay.

>> There's a lot of different ways of approaching it.

>> The number-one thing I'm going to take away from your lesson is the value of looking at value.

And this -- I am so much happier with this Scabiosa.

I am so much happier with this cockscomb.

And you at the beginning warned me, "Don't do too much."

And I've done too much.

So, I mean, it's -- You have such a great eye with this, and it's so great.

I love it.

So, Eric, thank you so much for coming.

But you also know that we have a tradition here at "Life in Bloom," which is a flower crown... >> Ahh!

>> ...for you.

And I made it with dahlias.

I made it -- This is my favorite tree.

>> That's beautiful.

Japanese maple?

>> Japanese maple.

It's a peach bark Japanese maple.

>> Wow.

>> And then these zinderella zinnias are one of my favorites.

>> Oh, man.

J, thank you so much.

>> This is for you.

Let's see how I did.

>> Wow!

I have to do a self-portrait wearing this.

This is so cool!

>> It looks great.

>> Thank you, J.

>> I appreciate you flying all this way.

You inspired me when you wrote to me.

I am just so happy that you came and you were part of this for us.

>> Oh, well, thank you.

>> So, I appreciate it.

>> I love it.

Thank you.

>> Joan, I thought it would be fun for us to create arrangements together.

I love that.

>> I'm excited.

My first.

>> Awesome.

>> Yeah.

>> How wonderful.

>> Yes.

>> Great.

A little bird -- I think it was you -- told me that your favorite flower is hydrangea.

>> Yes!

>> So I have hydrangea today.

>> Yay!

>> So, it's -- Lookit.

We have some antique purples.

We have some big mop heads.

>> Ah, I love these.

>> We have a mop head like this.

>> Look at that.

>> It's pinks and stuff.

This time of year is really wonderful because, as they antique, they'll even dry.

>> Yeah.

>> So your bouquet might even dry when you're finished, and you can have it around for a little bit longer.

Okay, so, we're gonna arrange.

I will give you some tips here.

>> Yeah.

>> It's great to start with a big hydrangea, even like this mop head.

>> Okay, good.

>> Okay?

And what -- Okay, so, one of the things that people think about is the first person you should please is yourself.

>> Okay.

>> And if you're happy, then everyone's happy.

>> Okay.

That sounds like Bob.

>> Yeah.

The shortcut is your friend, especially with your first one.

>> Okay.

>> 'Cause then you set it down in here, and it becomes a grid for the other ones to go through so it won't flip out onto the table.

>> I love it.

>> And like, in this case, I had this -- You know, it's -- The hydrangea foliage is beautiful.

>> Yeah.

>> So, I may stick that down in there, too, because one of my little tips is foliage first or a grid first to create that, too.

So, yeah.

So, make yourself at home.

>> Okay.

Yes, I am.

This one I'm going to cut -- Oh, I'm taking over now.

>> Okay.

Yeah.

Tell me.

What are you gonna do?

What are you gonna do?

>> I'm putting this -- Because it's so pretty.

>> In the middle.

>> Middle.

But I do need some leaves over here, so I took some leaves off.

>> I love it.

So, we are at the Bob Ross Experience... >> Yes.

>> ...which opened in 2020.

>> Opened in 2020.

>> Right.

>> Just around the time of the pandemic.

>> Okay.

>> So we worried a little bit nobody would come.

>> Uh-huh.

>> They still came, a lot of them, from all over the world.

>> Right.

>> This is a little tiny house that was owned by the Ball family, Ball mason jars.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> And they converted this little tiny house into a studio with black backdrops, and it's just a house.

>> And upstairs here, there's an exhibit.

>> And it's all huge mountains.

>> Majestic mountains.

>> It's just majestic mountains, all the mountains.

Mountains were people's favorite.

And they switch them out.

You know, you can come to this... >> Sure, sure.

It's a museum.

>> ...little museum more than once, exactly.

>> So, we're gonna change things up, and you can see all kinds of fun stuff.

>> Exactly.

>> So, in this studio, they shot season 2 through 15.

>> That's right.

Bob used to say, though, that he always felt more at home here.

And you can tell.

It's so tiny and comfortable here.

>> It's amaz-- I mean -- >> Yeah.

>> It's iconic because everyone knows him and everyone knows about him.

And it doesn't matter if you cross -- If you go to other countries, they know who Bob Ross is.

So, we have a tradition at "Life in Bloom."

It's a flower crown.

And I made you a hydrangea flower crown... >> Oh, my gosh.

>> ...today.

>> I'm so happy.

>> Right?

>> I'm so happy.

Can I keep it?

>> You can!

>> I can?

>> You shared with me a year ago a wonderful little cocktail called Happy Trees Cocktail.

Would you like to come back and make a cocktail with me?

>> Yes.

>> Alright, let's do it.

>> Yes.

You introduced me to this, Joan.

And we had it at our American Public Television conference.

>> Correct.

>> The Happy Trees Cocktail.

>> Yes.

>> We're gonna put ice in our glasses.

>> Good.

>> So, we have gin.

And we're gonna use two ounces of this per person.

For the green element -- because that's extremely important -- we're using a kiwi-infused liquor.

>> Nice.

>> And we have some white cranberry juice, an ounce of that.

We need lime juice.

>> Lots of lime.

>> I know.

And I like fresh-squeezed lime.

I'll allow you to stir.

[ Laughs ] My beautiful assistant.

>> Thank you.

>> [ Laughs ] >> Yum.

That tiny tint of green is so pretty.

>> It is pretty.

>> Yeah.

>> Thank you for allowing me to come and do this, for helping me integrate a little bit of my flowers with the great Bob Ross.

>> The great Bob Ross.

>> To Bob.

>> And now it's time for my favorite part of the show -- Flowers from You," the viewers.

Today I have a few arrangements from Judith Szematowicz.

of Buffalo, New York.

Judy writes, "I love cutting flowers from my garden to fill my vintage containers.

My piggy pitcher is my favorite since it belonged to my mom.

It was her first purchase for her kitchen as a newlywed.

She's currently 103 years old.

Looking at her prized possession filled with flowers brings her joy into my home.

Love your show."

She adds, "I'm a watercolor artist and use these arrangements as inspiration for my paintings."

Please send me your pictures of flower arrangements inspired by "Life in Bloom."

We call them Schwankes, after a viewer's nickname.

Send them to [email protected].

That's the letter J at the letter U, bloom.com.

And watch for more Schwankes on upcoming shows.

I hope you've enjoyed my exploration into painting and flowers on today's show.

Learning something new or getting back into an old hobby stimulates creativity, activates the mind, and satisfies the soul.

For "Life in Bloom," I'm J Schwanke.

>> ...different ways.

You can tell a great artist by the way they -- >> One second.

[ Dog barking ] >> Ah.

>> Where they going?

>> Great.

They saw Grace.

Okay, brushstrokes.

>> Yeah, so, brushstrokes are -- [ Dog barking ] >> Ladybird!

Okay.

>> Yeah.

>> So, flower crowns.

>> Wow!

[ Laughs ] >> Flower crown for you.

>> Did you specifically not mention it because you wanted me to be surprised?

>> Yes.

>> 'Cause I was totally -- I'm totally surprised.

>> Okay, good.

Good, good, good, good.

>> That's so cool.

>> Good.

Well, I didn't know -- And I didn't ask you, and I forgot that I didn't ask you.

>> You know what's the funniest part?

My mom said, "I wonder if you're gonna get a flower crown."

And I said, "I don't know."

I hope so.

That would be awesome."

>> Yes.

"J Schwanke's Life in Bloom" is filmed in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

>> Visit uBloom.com to access all episodes of "Life in Bloom" plus exclusive flower videos, J's newsletter and blog.

Find recipes, flower tips, techniques, and much more.

Be sure to follow "J Schwanke's Life in Bloom" on social media.

"J Schwanke's Life in Bloom" is brought to you by the following... >> That flower feeling.

At home.

At work.

Or anytime.

CalFlowers is a proud sponsor of "J Schwanke's Life in Bloom," where flowers and wellness go hand in hand.

>> We have fresh in all our stores, from soups and steaks and all things flour to all things flowering.

Custom fresh arrangements designed by our in-store florists at Albertsons Companies.

>> With additional support from the following... PassionRoses... Suntory Flowers.

Closed caption funding provided by fabulousflorals.com.