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.

[K-oneTexas]

Enjoyed these for some time now. Relaxing just to look at them.

 

 The letter "N" is hidden in almost all of Thomas Kinkade's paintings. I believe it is his wife's initial. It is typically on a mailbox or in a brick on a walkway. Most of the time it is easy to find. Below are two examples.

 

READ THE FIRST LINE CAREFULLY. .

If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.

Happy moments, praise God.
Difficult moments, seek God.
Quiet moments, worship God.
Painful moments, trust God.
Every moment, thank God.

 

 

This is a Thomas Kinkade painting.  It's rumored to carry a miracle!    

The water is supposed to be running, so if it's not moving then the picture
didn't come through entirely.

[Al Simmons]

"In sworn testimony and interviews, they recount incidents in which an allegedly drunken Kinkade heckled illusionists Siegfried & Roy in Las Vegas, cursed a former employee's wife who came to his aid when he fell off a barstool, and palmed a startled woman's breasts at a signing party in South Bend, Ind.

And then there is Kinkade's proclivity for "ritual territory marking," as he called it, which allegedly manifested itself in the late 1990s outside the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim.

"This one's for you, Walt," the artist quipped late one night as he urinated on a Winnie the Pooh figure, said Terry Sheppard, a former vice president for Kinkade's company, in an interview."

This guy is a rip-off artist. His galleries used to sell his PRINTS for $800 a pop more than ten years ago, all the while schmoozing you about the "great resale market", and how they would act as resale agents if you ever wanted to sell...well, a few years later, we tried to do that with a couple of extras, but we were told that "there is no resale market for prints right now."

Big surprise (I should say here that it was THE EX, NOT ME, who insisted on making these purchases, dazzled as she was by his little Christian markings in each painting.

On one of his "introduction videos" that came with one painting, he showed off his "Classic car collection".

I knew right then and there that this guy was all talk, no walk.

His business practices have treaded a very fine line between unethical, and now, apparently, outright fraudulent, as that recent court decision found.....

[lesser_satan]

They're just slandering Kinkade because he actually has talent, a rare trait in today's artistic world. You're not supposed to be successful unless you do something avant- garde, like bescumber a painting of Mary or pour paint haphazardly on a canvas from a ladder. The Dadaists' proclamation that "art is shit" turned out to be quite a self-fulfilling prophecy.

[blowfish]

Visual Muzak. Feh.

[LibFreeOrDie]

Thread about arbitration decision:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1586364/posts

[Jewels1091]

I love his paintings....I don't know the person, so can't comment. Wish I had half his talent.

[maine-iac7]

"He is a modern-day Leonardo da Vinci or Monet. There is no one in our generation who can paint like that."

I don't know which to do first - puke or LMAO.

I am an artist - a professional. I look at his cotton candy paintings as amateur fluff, dripping of sticky-sweet show masquerading as art - sorry, all you Kinkade fans.

(I'd post a painting to back up my claim as an artist but I've forgotten the formula...)

[Al Simmons]

If you buy a couple of my most exclusive, limited edition prints (only 100,000 prints will be made!!!) for $800 apiece, I'll sell my Duesenberg and give the money to the poor....really I will...

[derllak]

I think his stuff is kinda cheesy. Your typical cottage and flowers motif - it gets kinda boring after awhile.

[dead]

Black velvet is really underrated as a medium.

[maine-iac7]

LOL

you said it all!

[California Patriot]

Suddenly, when an artist is a Christian with (some) Christian-themed work, his alleged personal hypocrisy is a big issue for the LA Times. So big that it merits an enormously long story that starts on top of page 1.

A ridiculous example of bias. The only people this story is of legitimate interest to would be Kinkade's customers, few of whom, anymore, are likely to read the LA Times, or trust it.

[WorkingClassFilth]

He does, indeed, seem to have a dark side as the La-La Times suggests. Nobody in the world probably has a better fix on darkness than the LAT trolls scratching away in stygian darkness from the grottos in the anterooms of hell.

[fat city]

"This one's for you, Walt," the artist quipped late one night as he urinated on a Winnie the Pooh figure,

Man, I'd pay a bundle for a painting of that. Sounds like good composition, compelling theme, highly symbolic.

[zarf]

They're just slandering Kinkade because he actually has talent, a rare trait in today's artistic world.

Did you forget the sarcasm tag or are you King Cheese?

[Atlas Sneezed]

Anyone who makes lots of money at what they do will be condemned by most.

That said, Kinkead is a talentless hack, who we call "The Painter of Dreck."

[Southack]

"They're just slandering Kinkade because he actually has talent, a rare trait in today's artistic world. You're not supposed to be successful unless you do something avant- garde, like bescumber a painting of Mary or pour paint haphazardly on a canvas from a ladder. The Dadaists' proclamation that "art is shit" turned out to be quite a self-fulfilling prophecy."

Precisely. 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.

[Thumper1960]

Art is in the eye of the beholder.

I couldn't care less about Mr. Kinkade's work. It does seem that enough people wish to pay for his work to make himself a comfortable living. That he's obviously well fed and not starving does not automatically strip him of the title many have given him of "artist".

[BossLady]

I agree! Any "artist" who sells his 'work' on QVC is a joke....