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.
The word might have a genuine meaning, but in popular conversation it is used to insult one thing in order to elevate one's self and promote the idea that one is Intellectually Sophisticated.
The only people I know who use the word "kitsch" are Liberals.
Yes, Truth is not always “Pretty”.
That’s why I love FR. We celebrate beauty, but we are not afraid of the truth, even when it’s ugly.
Mr. Kincaid had chosen the Beautiful part of truth upon which to focus his talent. That is OK, as there is no shortage of Artists who revel in the controversial, the gritty, the harsh, and ugly aspects of the truth.
Kinkaid was refreshing in his depiction of Beauty, as it is getting quite rare these days. Nearly all aspects of our present culture (Art, Music, Film, Dance, etc)celebrate violence, deviant sex, racial hatred, misogyny, drug abuse, and death.
And that’s not even counting the porn.
Then you certainly won't appreciate one of my favorite artists, which is OK. Mrs p6 won't let me hang any of Ken Zylla - a gallery of his art. these in our home...sigh.
I liked Kinkade as well and if it were up to me I'd have both his, Zylla's and a few other paintings and prints from artists I enjoy around our home. As it is now it's all pictures of grandkids so no room for my stuff, LOL!
If you ever get a chance to go to a gallery that can adjust light when looking at one of his paintings, youll see that the lights in the windows, rooms and other places in the paintings really do light up. Its cool.
We have a photograph of a waterfall and a local watercolor of a lake scene for the same purpose. "Don't bother me ... I'm at the waterfall!"
I'm a mother of an artist (medical Illustrator) “they draw what can't be seen, watch what's never been done, and tell thousands about it without saying a word”
ALL artist have been given a talent from God...ours was a gift as well...I've always found Peace and Comfort in Thomas Kinkades works, he will be missed by many..
WISHING ALL FREEPERS A BLESSED EASTER.
I agree, but one man's kitsch is another man's living room. I find Kincade's style too predictable, but if it's popular, he deserves to be successful, and more power to him and those that like him. For me, the closest thing to what Kincade was doing that I like are Maxfield Parrish's landscapes.
Because their hearts are full of sin and black bile.
Therefore beauty and light are loathsome, "for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks".
Aren't we all?
I wouldn't give a penny for a Picasso or a Warhol or most anything abstract.
On a side note last year I picked up a "print" of a Lautrec Moulin Rouge poster for our bedroom. I should have sent it back because it's not well done but decided to keep it anyway because I like it, flaws and all.
There are painters and then there are painters who were/are masters of of their subject.
Here are two Masters of light
Joaquín Sorolla 1863 1923
Jan Vermeer
Heart attack comes to mind. Happened to my father at age 56. Happened to my neighbor at age 39. Happened to by best freind at 50.
...like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean.
Cancer
or
Liver failure (he was a drinker)
or
heart condition
His early stuff (I have an example over my mantle) was great; later on, he had so-called artists copy his paintings, sometimes adding different details. That stuff was pure schlock.
Ditter, if you sign up on photobucket and upload a pic from your computer with their green upload button, under the pic you upload it says “HTML link.” You copy that and drop it into your FR post and preview it. That is it.
Perhaps an imperfect seeker of light now has found that which he sought and that which he tried to share with other seekers.
Is that not enough?
Man's definition of "art" may not matter much, after all.
Yuck. His paintings all look like old happy holiday cards. People paid for this?
I have some pictures that I would like to highlight with light. But I would like to light the picture from behind with the light - maybe an LED light - set in a box frame.
I understand there is a type of photo print that allows backlit lighting. On the internet I have seen photo lightboxes that light up the whole picture, but I would like the backlight to just highlight a certain part of the picture - like a star in the sky for example.
Do you have any advice or experience with backlit photography? thanks for replying
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