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''Let's Paint TV'' is an American television show hosted by artist John Kilduff. The show is best noted for its live episodes, which consist of the host painting while he runs on a treadmill; in addition, he sometimes takes calls from viewers, cooks food, plays ping pong, or makes blended drinks. The show's episode titles typically reflect whatever tasks are being undertaken, for example, ''Let's Paint, Exercise, and Play Ping Pong.'' ''Let's Paint TV'' was originally broadcast on
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Public-access television cable TV from 2001 through 2008; after the LA public access studios were shut down in early 2008, the show transitioned to being an online-only program. The program began receiving world-wide attention in 2006 when Kilduff began uploading video clips of his show to
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.."


Show information

John Kilduff conceived the idea for ''Let's Paint TV'' while working on a different comedy Public-access show. He was waiting for a
Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutio ...
impersonator to arrive and began thinking about his "
exercise bike A stationary bicycle (also known as exercise bicycle, exercise bike, spinning bike, spin bike, or exercycle) is a device used as exercise equipment for indoor cycling. It includes a saddle, pedals, and some form of handlebars arranged as on ...
in the storage room, and I thought visually painting on an exercise bike could be interesting."Ink KC article: " ouTube's ‘Let's Paint TV' comes to KC" He eventually decided that a treadmill would be more feasible for painting than an exercise bike. John Kilduff claims his aim with the series is to make people of all skill levels try their hand at painting or other forms of creative self-expression. Kilduff frequently encourages viewers to use very large brushes in order to cover the canvas as quickly as possible before worrying about details, as he feels an empty canvas can be very intimidating to novices. Although Kilduff says that the show is meant to inspire creativity in others, many of the callers he gets tend not to take him seriously. As the show was once on Public-access TV and is now on the internet, there is little to no censoring. The show also lacks caller screening. Many take advantage of this by expressing prejudice, cursing, accosting members of the show, and making derogatory comments about rival gangs. Despite the overwhelming number of prank callers, John generally continues to take calls. The sight of an artist simultaneously jogging, painting, blending drinks, and chatting to guests and painting live
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has led some to speculate that the whole show is an ironic piece of
performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...
. Kilduff denies this and states that he is completely sincere in trying to encourage people to do something creative.''"


Terrestrial television run

The show originally began airing on
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Public-access television in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
in 2001 and is now being seen in
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and
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. Clips of the show appeared on ''TV's Naughtiest Blunders'' in 2005 airing on England's ITV television network, and in 2008 on '' Whacked Out Videos''. ''Let's Paint TV'' became more widely known in late 2006 when Kilduff began uploading recordings of episodes to the online video service
YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
, where it has since become a cult hit and increased his live show's viewership.


Transition to internet television

On December 6, 2008, the last episode of the Public-access TV version of ''Lets Paint TV'' was taped. The Public-access TV studios in the City of Los Angeles shut down on December 31, 2008. The show currently streams live Monday through Friday 11am-12:00pm PST on letspainttv.com.letspainttv.com page:
John Kilduff - Let's Paint!
."


Reviews

''LA Weekly'' warmly reviewed the show, saying that "it jettisons the inverse snobbery of the Bob Ross tradition, assuming a sophisticated audience informed by the inescapable influence of
Modernism Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...
and the indeterminate sincerity of post–''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves ...
'' television. It turns out ''Let’s Paint TV'' is indeed a clever parody of Bob Ross and company, but — like so much parody, from Don Quixote to the novelty music of Spike Jones — this one turns out to be better art than that at which it pokes fun." ''
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'' noted that "Kilduff makes the average multitasker look like a slacker." CBS's ''Mancave Daily'', using images of Kilduff throughout their article, spoke about ''Let's Paint TV'' and wrote, "it displays all that is wrong and entertaining about public access television". In revisiting Kilduff in 2014, they examined his broadcasting on YouTube and Stickam and his use of a treadmill for his multi-tasking, and observed "If this isn’t the epitome of public access television, I don’t know what is".


John Kilduff

John Kilduff, the show's host, is an artist and longtime Los Angeles resident. He received comedic training at
The Groundlings The Groundlings is an American improvisational and sketch comedy troupe and school based in Los Angeles. The troupe was formed by Gary Austin in 1974 and uses an improv format influenced by Viola Spolin, whose improvisational theater techniq ...
, studied improv at Los Angeles City College, and attended the Otis/Parsons Art Institute.." In 2008 he received a Master of Fine Arts degree from UCLA. Kilduff has appeared as a guest on '' The Tyra Banks Show'', where he painted Banks' portrait. He appeared on the red carpet for the VH1 2006 Big Awards, and painted
David Hasselhoff David Michael Hasselhoff (born July 17, 1952), nicknamed "The Hoff", is an American actor, singer, and television personality. He has set a Guinness World Record as the most watched man on TV. Hasselhoff first gained recognition on '' The Yo ...
's portrait on the second season of '' America's Got Talent''. Kilduff was also filmed painting and jogging for a 2006
USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madi ...
commercial. '' LA Weekly'' notes that during most episodes of ''Let's Paint TV'', Kilduff wears "his trademark crumpled and paint-stained
Brooks Brothers Brooks Brothers, founded in Manhattan, New York, in 1818, is the oldest apparel brand in continuous operation in America. Originally a family business, Brooks Brothers produces clothing for men, women and children, as well as home furnishings. B ...
suit."" In order to avoid working a day job, Kilduff sells many of his paintings at art fairs around California. He has appeared at several art shows throughout Southern California, often running on his treadmill, painting, and doing various other activities while museum patrons look on.


Partial guest cast

* John Kilduff * Paul Kilduff (John's Brother) * Eric André * Michael Q. Schmidt *
Zach Galifianakis Zachary Knight Galifianakis (born October 1, 1969) is an American actor and comedian. He appeared in ''Comedy Central Presents'' special and presented his show ''Late World with Zach'' on VH1. Galifianakis has starred in films including ''Th ...
* Deborah Hunter * Inga Svorkist * James Evans * Kelly Taylor * Frozen Plastic (musicians) * Los Cremators (musicians) * Mondo (musicians) * Ultraviolet Eye (musicians) * Rahdunes (musicians) * Anal Holocaust (musicians) * Lamont Paul * Josh Robert Thompson * Mark Wentzel * Cannon Kelly * Paulette Nichols * Ask a Chola * Venus Alexa * Bernard Nacion * Gabe Rothschild * Molly Barnes * Raymond Chavez * Irish Kid Charles * Francine Dancer


References


External links


''Let's Paint TV''
- official website * {{IMDb title, 1796302
''Let's Paint TV'' channel
on
YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

''Let's Paint TV'' channel
on
Stickam Stickam was a live-streaming video website that launched in 2005. Stickam featured user-submitted pictures, audio, video, and most prominently, live streaming video chat. The site quickly expanded to include live shows and produced content from ...
* '' Vice'' article
"Mr. Let's Paint Is the Most Inspirational Outsider Art Maniac You've Never Heard Of"
* '' Torontoist'' article
"Let's do it all simultaneously right now"
* Article
"The Legend of John Kilduff"
as archived January 7, 2016 2002 American television series debuts Works about painting American public access television shows