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Posted on 04/06/2012 8:34:22 PM PDT by Free ThinkerNY
Thomas Kinkade, the "Painter of Light" and one of most popular artists in America, died suddenly Friday at his Los Gatos home. He was 54.
His family said in a statement that his death appeared to be from natural causes.
"Thom provided a wonderful life for his family,'' his wife, Nanette, said in a statement. "We are shocked and saddened by his death.''
His paintings are hanging in an estimated 1 of every 20 homes in the United States. Fans cite the warm, familiar feeling of his mass-produced works of art, while it has become fashionable for art critics to dismiss his pieces as tacky. In any event, his prints of idyllic cottages and bucolic garden gates helped establish a brand -- famed for their painted high lights -- not commonly seen in the art world.
"I'm a warrior for light," Kinkade told the Mercury News in 2002, alluding not just to his technical skill at creating light on canvas but to the medieval practice of using light to symbolize the divine. "With whatever talent and resources I have, I'm trying to bring light to penetrate the darkness many people feel."
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
Sorry for his passing.
His “art” was vapid and sophomoric.
WOW! May God rest his soul in peace. Prayers for the family.
I am so sorry. May he rip.
He was a customer at my wife’s salon. Looked pretty out of shape.
The one thing I always noted about his paintings was how much I wanted to live in the places he painted.
RIP Mr. Kinkade
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I love looking at his paintings.
RIP
Wow. Pretty young to die. Condolences to his family.
He knew the market
Perhaps it was. However, since he as an artist created works that I enjoy looking at, he was by definition a successful one. And his art, succeeded in touching something in another person. Love it or hate it, it is indeed art.
” He read classic books but also enjoyed shooting and blowing up things on his ranch.”
Couldn’t be all bad with those hobbies!
Thom Kinkade was a pretty interesting fellow.
From Wiki:
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The Los Angeles Times has reported that some of Kinkade’s former colleagues, employees, and even collectors of his work say that he has a long history of cursing and heckling other artists and performers. The Times further reported that he openly groped a woman’s breasts at a South Bend, Indiana sales event, and mentioned his proclivity for ritual territory marking through urination, once relieving himself on a Winnie the Pooh figure at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim while saying “This one’s for you, Walt.” In a letter to licensed gallery owners acknowledging he may have behaved badly during a stressful time when he overindulged in food and drink, Kinkade said accounts of the alcohol-related incidents included “exaggerated, and in some cases outright fabricated personal accusations.” The letter did not address any incident specifically.
In 2006 John Dandois, Media Arts Group executive, recounted a story that on one occasion (”about six years ago”) Kinkade became drunk at a Siegfried & Roy magic show in Las Vegas and began shouting “Codpiece! Codpiece!” at the performers. Eventually he was calmed by his mother. Dandois also said of Kinkade, “Thom would be fine, he would be drinking, and then all of a sudden, you couldn’t tell where the boundary was, and then he became very incoherent, and he would start cussing and doing a lot of weird stuff.” On 11 June 2010, Kinkade was arrested in Carmel, California on suspicion of driving while under the influence of alcohol.
You sure sound like a liberal when you say that.
Thomas Kinkade was only 54? If I’d had to guess, I would have picked late sixties, minimum.
Indeed he did. I wish I had his entrepreneurial talent. Perhaps that's why "critics" dismissed his art? Can't say. I only know that the ubiquitous galleries of his "masterpieces" seemed to diminish his work rather than enhance it.
What an arrogant and nasty comment. Shame on you, but these words are wasted. You are so full of yourself.
The Los Angeles Times has reported that some of Kinkade’s former colleagues, employees, and even collectors of his work say that he has a long history of cursing and heckling other artists and performers. The Times further reported that he openly groped a woman’s breasts at a South Bend, Indiana sales event, and mentioned his proclivity for ritual territory marking through urination, once relieving himself on a Winnie the Pooh figure at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim while saying “This one’s for you, Walt.” In a letter to licensed gallery owners acknowledging he may have behaved badly during a stressful time when he overindulged in food and drink, Kinkade said accounts of the alcohol-related incidents included “exaggerated, and in some cases outright fabricated personal accusations.” The letter did not address any incident specifically.
In 2006 John Dandois, Media Arts Group executive, recounted a story that on one occasion (”about six years ago”) Kinkade became drunk at a Siegfried & Roy magic show in Las Vegas and began shouting “Codpiece! Codpiece!” at the performers. Eventually he was calmed by his mother. Dandois also said of Kinkade, “Thom would be fine, he would be drinking, and then all of a sudden, you couldn’t tell where the boundary was, and then he became very incoherent, and he would start cussing and doing a lot of weird stuff.” On 11 June 2010, Kinkade was arrested in Carmel, California on suspicion of driving while under the influence of alcohol.
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Sounds a lot like an artist/creative type.
Ping!
His "vapid and sophomoric" art is loved by many people, not for being deemed worthy by people such as you, but for its simple goodness. It is soothing to the soul in a way that other art isn't. It's not magnificent like a Renoir or Klee or Rembrandt but instead is what I liken to an innocent child.
RIP, Thomas Kinkade.
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