Posted on 03/24/2006 6:35:10 PM PST by aculeus
Entrepreneur artist who hangs in one in 20 US homes accused of fraud and drunken antics
"There's over 40 walls in the average American home," a business manager for the artist Thomas Kinkade once said, "and Thom says our job is to figure out how to populate every single wall in every single home and every single business throughout the world with his paintings."
Kinkade's luridly idyllic landscapes, full of quaint cottages and glowing firelight, already hang in an estimated one in 20 US homes. "In the often hurried, unsympathetic and complex world we live in, the images Thomas Kinkade paints offer a place of refuge," his company's literature purrs. "A place where the transient things of life give way to the things that matter most ... faith and family, a loving home and the people who know and love us."
Art critics have long dismissed his work as a kitsch crime against aesthetics. But now the world has grown even more "unsympathetic and complex" for the artist, who describes himself as a devout Christian and has trademarked his "Painter of Light" soubriquet. In court documents and other testimony, he has been accused of sexual harassment, fraudulent business practices and bizarre incidents of drunkenness including a habit of "ritual territory marking" that involves urinating in public places.
'Misleading picture'
A court-appointed arbitration panel has ruled in favour of two former owners of Kinkade-branded galleries, ordering his company to pay them $860,000 (£500,000) for breaching "the covenant of good faith and dealing" and failing to disclose pertinent business information.
(Excerpt) Read more at arts.guardian.co.uk ...
lol i suppose he qualifies as an 'artist', so drunken escapades are probably a requirement in the job description somewhere.. but he is a far far better businessman than an artist
Snap!
They all look the same. My parents have his stuff all over their house. I like landscapes and paintings that tell a picture but that's junk
I think you have turned Kinkade's schlock into a cyber-masterpiece.
LOL Thanks. I just hacked that together quickly. The goons at Something Awful did an amazing job with some of his pieces, though.
Nah - the cap is too much, Do not mess with a masterpiece
ROFL. I think you're right.
Picasso Bulls Head Award
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Have a nice trip, but please hand someone else your car keys.
Not only are his paintings tacky and just bad, they are kind of creepy.
You still have to ask yourself, why is every light in every building on in the middle of the day? All those lights blazing look strange.
Kind of rude eh?
What makes you an expert?
Obviously there are many people who like his paintings or they wouldn't ever have become popular. Just because you don't doesn't mean it's ok to insult, insinuate, and degrade anyone who says they like them.
I didn't even say I like his art, just made a statement, and you're assuming things about me? You don't know me from Adam.
Like I said: creepy.
bump to show my wife & Momma n law...snicker snicker
Only they will truly appreciate your work of art.
I heard the Norman Rockwell would many times paint himself into his paintings. I have always liked his paintings.
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