Throughout "The Joy of Painting," Bob Ross would encourage viewers who painted along with him to name the trees, bushes, and mountains in his landscapes and make friends with them, even invent stories about them. He even encouraged them to go outside and talk to the trees and plants in their yard. "People [will] look at you like you're a little weird," he cautioned with a laugh (via YouTube ), "but just tell 'em you're an artist ... as artists, we're allowed to be a little different."

If not universally true — plenty of people take up arts and crafts without talking to trees — Ross' broader point that the arts are a haven for eccentrics has been the case throughout history. Whether it's painters who go about with flamboyant moustaches and pet ocelots or brilliant composers with scatolog

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