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.

[Al Simmons]

READ my post above yours (#3) and tell me WHERE I said ONE WORD about his art. I could care LESS about his art. He is an unethical crook in his BUSINESS PRACTICES.

Basically, he found a legal way to "print money" with his prints. A few years later, that market collapsed, and his company filed Chapter 13 (yet it didn't affect him or his calssic car collection). It only resulted in the "little people" down the line being laid off, as well as many buyers who realized that the prints we bought for $800 were selling for $200 8 years later....he sold my ex a "bill of goods", so to speak...

[Atlas Sneezed]

That is an insult to Muzak, which at least has a productive purpose.

[blowfish]

And in their eyes the even more grave sin is that Kinkade got rich from his art IN SPITE OF the art critics' constant put downs of his work.

Yes, and Yanni is clearly the finest musician of our times...

[Al Simmons]

Please read my post #3. It ain't the LA Times speaking, its one of his (former) customers - ME. The man is a crook. A could care less about his art. He is "All Talk and No Walk"...

[Al Simmons]

Read my post #3. He is a crook.

[AD from SpringBay]

The mirage is of exclusivity - create a product for the upper middle class and convince them its worth the price because, well just look at the price. It's almost as good as 'Members Only' glasses.

[AD from SpringBay]

That guy is trying really hard to look like Ned Flanders.

[martin_fierro]

Somebody -- SOMEBODY -- needs to represent for ol' Bob Ross on this thread.

Might as well be me.

[nitejohnboy]

Kinkade etc.

God this is a long article. Is it just me, or is it poorly written, oddly arranged and terminally repetitive?

[Liberty Valance]

ping

[maine-iac7]

That he's obviously well fed and not starving does not automatically strip him of the title many have given him of "artist".

No, it doens't.

but his 'art'does :o)

[Always Learning]

Well, I don't claim to know much about art, but I'd rather pay $800 for one of his prints instead of $1.5 million for Frankenthaler's gum depository.

[sphinx]

A tiresome article. I don't know Thomas Kinkade from Rembrandt, but mostly the article deals with allegations of a drinking problem. Sad if true, but a drunken artist is not exactly news. The only reason it's being written up would seem to be that Kinkade is a self-professed Christian, which licenses a nasty little hit piece. Tiresome.

I don't know if Kinkade drinks too much. If he does, I hope he gets help.

[maine-iac7]

LOL

you said it far better than I...

[AnAmericanMother]

I'm sorry to disagree with you, but this guy is merely a mass-production artist who is imitating a trick of light that was invented by the Hudson Valley School . . . and not doing a particularly good job at it, either. His work defies the laws of physics and perspective. He is also incapable of drawing human or animal figures correctly.

If you like his work, fine -- it's a free country. But don't mistake a one-trick pony for real talent.

His financial machinations don't interest me at all, plenty of good artists (like, say, Dali) have been involved in financial shenanigans. But he isn't one of them.

[lesser_satan]

I meant the LA Times, not you. If Jackson Pollack or some other worthless, no-talent splatterer engaged in the same business practices they would never print a word about it.

[MplsSteve]

I have none of Kinkade's works and likely wouldn't buy one.

However, I have seen several prints over the years that have definitely caught my eye.

I just can't justify the price nor do I have the wall space.

[maine-iac7]

Well and rightly said -

[Atlas Sneezed]

We entirely disagree. I'll take the abstract you posted, even paying a bit merely to stand before it, and you would have to PAY me for the shame and misery of living with a Kinkead.

There is more artistic talent under the bubblegum stain on that abstract than (excluding the ability to make money off suckers) in all the Kinkeads ever mass-produced.

[Thumper1960]

Oh, please......

The jealousy is unseemly.

The other posters bruised male ego as reason to despise Kinkade is a bit over the top, as well.

He makes money at doing what his "fans" call "art". Schools of art technique and execution have barked at one another since the first cave dweller painted on the walls and left their "art" in the dark until pretentious paleontologists hailed the work as proof of man's keen observational abilities.

Let the Kinkadites have their "art". You'll be famous, too......one day.

The old fashioned artist way, probably.