Dark Portrait of a 'Painter of Light'

latimes. ^ | March 5, 2006 | Kim Christensen

[tbird5]

Christian-themed artist Thomas Kinkade is accused of ruthless tactics and seamy personal conduct. He disputes the allegations.

Thomas Kinkade is famous for his luminous landscapes and street scenes, those dreamy, deliberately inspirational images he says have brought "God's light" into people's lives, even as they have made him one of America's most collected artists.

A devout Christian who calls himself the "Painter of Light," Kinkade trades heavily on his beliefs and says God has guided his brush — and his life — for the last 20 years.

"When I got saved, God became my art agent," he said in a 2004 video biography, genteel in tone and rich in the themes of faith and family values that have helped win him legions of fans, albeit few among art critics.

But some former Kinkade employees, gallery operators and others contend that the Painter of Light has a decidedly dark side.

[Antoninus]

Nothing about the position of his body says that. I think that the indications of "class" Rockwell gives us - his suit, his gloves, his hat - says he's learning something, and we don't know what the outcome will be.

I think I may have overstated my case on this one. That does not mean, however, that your take is right either. The painting is called "The Connoisseur". The man is in a drab-gray suit. He's not learning anything by looking at the painting. He's "appreciating" it because that's what he's been told is great art. Seeing that it was done by the ultimate anti-modernist, the painting simply could not be more ironic.

Rockwell has always been despised by the "connoisseurs." He couldn't come right out and say it without it seeming the height of artistic arrogance, but he must have wondered "Why is this splatter-junk in the greatest museums of the world, and my work is derided as 'old fashioned' and the supposed 'connoisseurs' look down their nose at me?"

History is the great winnowing fan of art. Rockwell will go down as the iconic graphic artist of American greatness and his works will appear in people's homes for hundreds of years. Jackson Pollack, Andres Cerano, Cy Twombly, and all the rest will eventually have their works accidentally thrown in the trash by an overly scrupulous janitor.

[Republicanprofessor]

Check out ArtJournal on line. That's where I get much of the inspiration for the articles I post...when I have time.

[painter]

I don't follow this man's career at all - why is he such a hot topic right now?

To be perfectly honest I didn't know who Kincaide was till I started reading this thread. To me art is in eye of the beholder. Last week a twelve year old kid stuck gum on a painting. After seeing the picture the kid was the smartist one in the room. Anyone who would PAY $1.5 MILLION for that should have gum stuck on it!

I also think anyone who would pay money for a "Print" as an investmet is an Idiot.

I go by the handle "Painter" not because I paint pictures on canvas,but as a person who can take a car that looks like hell and make it look better than new. My specialty is 1965-1970 Mustangs. One of these days when I get my scanner working I'll put some before and after shots on my web site.

[Atlas Sneezed]

I love much "modern " (abstract impressionist) art, but that stuff is monumentally awful.

Give me a Mondrian, Miro, or Matisse (just to cover one letter of the alphabet.)

[Antoninus]

Presenting the greatest modern artist of them all, Cy Twombly:

[linda_22003]

All RIGHT! Just when you're sure a thread could not possibly have anything to do with Bill Clinton, someone on FR will manage to bring him into it! Well done, but surprisingly late! :)

[Atlas Sneezed]

He's done more to make art a joke than the fools in the liberal circles who put crucifixes in urine or dung on the Madonna.

---

Well put.

[Richard Kimball]

I read Rockwell's notes on the painting. The gentleman is supposed to be perplexed. He also mentioned that one of the reasons he did it was to get a chance to try some of the splatter painting. He said it was a lot of fun, but not something that he had an interest in pursuing.

He was pointedly not critical of postmodernist art, but seemed comfortable working in his way, while accepting that other artists did different work for different audiences.

The more modern "shock art" is a reaction to increasing public indifference to recent fine art trends, particularly in visual arts. In many instances, they're doing anything they can to attract attention. They consider themselves "rebels", although you'll notice the same willingness to disparage Christianity, but not Islam, that is evident in the mainstream press. They choose to be brave against people who they are fairly sure will not firebomb their galleries.

[Atlas Sneezed]

I don't think he's inherently any more dishonest than a William DeKooning or a Mark Rothko, who did the same paintings over and over, but called them a "series."

---

I can't comment on the "series" issues, but I adore just about everything I have seen of Rothko's, and think it deserves its prominent display in the best modern art museums of the world. Of course, a postcard, poster, or Internet image can not do justice to the subtleties of his colors.

[monkey]

palmed a startled woman's breasts at a signing party in South Bend, Ind

He should return them.

[jw777]

It's as valid today as it was when it was ignored. At least TK creates something of beauty.

[eleni121]

ping for later

[linda_22003]

"I think I may have overstated my case on this one. That does not mean, however, that your take is right either."

And that's the fun part; we can't either of us know for sure, but the piece has us talking about it.

"he must have wondered "Why is this splatter-junk in the greatest museums of the world, and my work is derided as 'old fashioned' and the supposed 'connoisseurs' look down their nose at me?" "

From everything I've read of Rockwell, he didn't have that big an ego. :)

As to your assessment of where various artists will end up historically, I agree that Rockwell will be known for a long time as representative of his time and place. I'm not hugely familiar with Twombly, and you don't even spell the names of the other two artists correctly, so I'll take your assessment of their futures for what it's worth. :-D

[aruanan]

Christian-themed artist Thomas Kinkade is accused of ruthless tactics and seamy personal conduct. He disputes the allegations.

So what? His art says it all. With the exception of a few guys on horseback riding down the middle of a river, I haven't seen anything by him that hasn't at least reached the level of utter crap. I saw one at the Focus on the Family headquarters. It featured a church by a stream--about 10 feet from a stream. It was as though someone had copied and pasted a church image onto a forest scene. There was NO connection between the building and the surroundings, no sidewalks, no parking, no approach road, nothing.

He's got quite a racket going. He has licensed people to go out with copies of his painting and, for a fee, sit and paint in sections for the buyer while regaling them with the Kinkade story.

[Xenalyte]

Ping 'cause there are schlocky cross-stitch kits of this guy's work. Not even cool enough to be kitsch.

[linda_22003]

"I read Rockwell's notes on the painting. The gentleman is supposed to be perplexed."

Then you have the advantage of me in background information.

As to those who shock just to shock, I agree that they are out there, and it's mine to choose whether I think their things are of interest, or just bratty.

[LexBaird]

Actually, he's a mormon rather than a Christian, isn't he

No, he isn't.

[bonfire]

"Thomas Kinkade was a Nazarene, a member of the Church of the Nazarene."

"was" Wonder what he is now?

[Sisku Hanne]

'69 Shelby GT - high art in automotive design. As were most of the late '60's muscle cars.

[ByDesign]

"*jealous*
I wish I had an ability to draw faces! You're very good. :-)"

You can. Go look up a woman named Betty Edwards. She taught at Long Beach State, where I attended, andshe taught courses for the non-artist to develop artistic skills - which evolved into a series of books, the first being "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain". She would take people with zero artistic ability, and by the end of the semester, would have them drawing beautiful portraits and still life. She's wonderful, she's done amazing work with her students, and she's a GREAT resource for those that want to try art, but think they have no ability. (Her core idea was, from talking to her, is that anyone can draw what they see, it's a skill anyone can learn.) If you have ANY urge to try your hand, go pick up her book (or if you're really lucky, and she's still teaching, take her class.)

For those in this thread who wish they had half of Kinkade's talent - you DO. Kinkade uses similar techniques to create his paintings, that are exactly like Bob Ross (Happy trees). There are sweatshops in Hong Kong and mainland China that will crank out one of his paintings for you, in your hands with the paint still wet, in less than an hour, it's really not hard to do what he does. It's very simple - use a formulaic setting, like a cabin, don't worry about such finicky and silly things like perspective, and load the canvas up with blobs of green with smaller blobs of reds and yellows and violets. Viola! You have a Kinkade. Kinkade has no real talent with brushwork or pallette knife, his use of color is clumsy at best, and his draftsmanship is abysmal. His "skill" is loading up the canvas with so much garbage, the eye cannot focus on anything, and you get the "cotton candy" poofy effect. It's taking advantage of information overload and the absence of an actual composition to create an "effect". It's not art, it's special effects - and not very good ones at that.

In fact, you'd probably get a lot more enjoyment and pleasure from trying to do this kind of art yourself (and investing in the canvases, paint, and brushes), than dropping $400 on a $1 print.

Me, I'd buy a Frankenthaler print. I'm not a fan of her genre, but there's a serenity to her work that I love. I grok her. At least she stuck to the traditional canvas/paint genre, and did'nt vear into the ridiculous "found" art, or the contrived ox hearts in vials.