Posted on 04/07/2012 7:39:53 AM PDT by KansasGirl
(CBS/AP) One of the most successful artists of all time, prolific painter Thomas Kinkade - the self-described "Painter of Light" - died Friday at the age of 54.
A spokesperson for the Kinkade family said the artist died at home in Los Gatos, Calif., apparently of natural causes.
Kinkade's paintings were anything but controversial, depicting scenes of a light-filled America with a heavy emphasis on home, hearth and church. His sentimental scenes of country gardens and pastoral landscapes in dewy morning light were beloved by many but criticized by the art establishment.
The painter once said that he had something in common with Walt Disney and Norman Rockwell: He wanted to make people happy.
Those light-infused renderings are often prominently displayed in buildings, malls, and on products generally depicting tranquil scenes with lush landscaping and streams running nearby. Many contain images from Bible passages.
"I'm a warrior for light," Kinkade, a self-described devout Christian, told the San Jose Mercury News in 2002, a reference 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."
And he had a large following: Kinkade's paintings and spin-off products were said to fetch some $100 million a year in sales, and to be in 10 million homes in the United States.
Good attitude...The decussion at the time was why he died so young. Possibilities mentioned after looking at WIKI were cancer, heart attack and liver failure. Some of the most religious people I know fight the demons of life here on earth. Because of their faith they are assured of a victory in passing. NOT because of our good works but because of the GRACE of Jesus Christ our Lord.
We ALL know of the wonderful creative contributions he gave to the world. BUT works don’t get us to heaven. Grace does.
Are you Mormon? They believe in works. Christians believe in Grace. Major difference between the two.
Kincaid was a lib. After we purchased one of his paintings we were invited to a dinner for Gore.
Ditter rocks!
I agree.
In 1984, on the Via Dolorosa in jerusalem, I saw an ELVIS prayer Rug for sale. Oh How i wish i had bought THAT!!!!!!
Ditter created a painting of two of my min pins, father and daughter that she likes so well she sent me an actual photograph of it and kept it!
I love “Illustrators”!
I am watching “The Ten Commandments” right now, and Arthur Friberg’s “Illustrations” that were the storyboard for this epic movie are MAGNIFICENT works of art!
Norm, take a look at the paintings GVnana posted.
So, Prisoner6, add yourself to the Sa’ami list. We have several here ~
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzuWQpWCHls Sophia Jannock doing ABBA’s Waterloo in what I take to be Northern Sa’ami. She’s the one who looks like my cousin Sandy. Ms Boine looks like another cousin. Different tribes too. What these young ladies do not know is that there are at least 9 million Sa’ami descendants in America (by my estimation) with only a couple of hundred thousand left in Europe.
My photo doesn't do it justice as I look at my monitor and the actual painting.
The next week or so should be the games and ice fishing on Jurkasjarvi. (sp?) For YEARS I have watch the caravans gather HERE and wondered what it was about.
BTW I have been a huge fan of Sofia from her early days in Sofia Och Anna and their hit Du Calmmit (Your Eyes).
IIRC there was a bbs/chat room on the Gallivare website a LONG time ago and I think she or someone claiming to be her used to check in. That's how I found her and her jolk music. At the time she would have had to have been 12 years old or less!
Thanks for posting that!
7 figures won't even touch an original decent Rockwell. I seriously doubt Kinkade will ever get near that level of value. My experience says he will never break the $100K mark at best (a good one with provenance)
Either there or on her Facebook page she said she was terrified to move while singing Waterloo! The make up people pinned more hair on her and she was afraid it would come off while she was singing! Sometimes she can be VERY animated!
Beautiful, angelic voice and even better in Sa'ami.
Another of the true masters of light was Bierstadt who is ome of my personal favorites. When art snobbery of the early 20th century started down impessionist land, I understand his art could practically be bought for nothing. Thank goodness the grandeur of his work has been rekindled in the past 25 years.
As members of the smallest identifiable ethnic group with its own marker genes in Europe, no Sa'ami descendant expects there to be many of them around BTW.
Went to school with a lady named Stephanie Takala ~ platinum blond whose family were from Finland way up North ~ she was a Sa'ami dwarf ~ looked a lot like Sofia.
Going back just 4 generations my Great Grandfather and his folks were all members of the Old Apostolic lutheran Church but not exactly the one known in Scandinavia. This dated back a couple more centuries to the 1600s when their ancestors were captured and brought to America to cut trees and make pine tar for the Swedish Navy.
The later church still alive in Scandinavia and also here, is also a Sa'ami Church but it dates from the minister Laestidia and not from the earlier Russian Orthodox missionaries who tried to Christianize the Sa'ami.
All same folks anyway.
I bought his art book Stille Nacht for my daughter last Christmas.
RIP
Jesus washed away his sins, they are gone. There is no need to bring them up again.
If you asked Our Lord about YOUR sins, He couldn’t remember them.
Now you want to post this man’s? I’m sure Jesus would say, “Aw forget all that. Look at the good he did.”
Wow! That is precious! ditter did a fantastic job!
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