This past week, Thomas Kinkade, famed “Painter of Light,” found himself behind bars after an arrest based on suspicion of drunken driving (mugshot shown). That sad episode came on the heels of Kinkade’s company recently declaring bankruptcy to elude paying millions of dollars to parties defrauded by Kinkade’s company years before. A self-styled Christian, Kinkade’s decidedly un-Christian behavior in busines...Read the rest.
26 June 2010
Of Light And Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars
This past week, Thomas Kinkade, famed “Painter of Light,” found himself behind bars after an arrest based on suspicion of drunken driving (mugshot shown). That sad episode came on the heels of Kinkade’s company recently declaring bankruptcy to elude paying millions of dollars to parties defrauded by Kinkade’s company years before. A self-styled Christian, Kinkade’s decidedly un-Christian behavior in busines...Read the rest.
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Don't mean to be rude, but this guy's art is creepy.
How so? His whole "thing" is really interesting to me.
his art aside (which i have not much use for at all, frankly), this guy just seems like another typical religious huckster, someone who's done what televangelists have done for decades, and what snake-oil salesmen did for generations before them-- cashing in on the big fat wallets and gullibility of the american christian right, while living a lifestyle that's totally contradictory to his message.
I'm not sure why you guys are slagging Kinkade, he's obviously a successful artist. I wouldn't dismiss his work(which I think is technically strong and meaningful to lots of people) because of a DUI.
I guess you guys also feel that Robert Munsch is a right-off now too?
Kinkade's accolades below:
Awards and Recognitions
Thomas Kinkade has received many awards for his works, including multiple National Association of Limited Edition Dealers (NALED) awards for Artist of the Year and Graphic Artist of the Year, and his art has been named Lithograph of the Year nine times. Most recently in 2004, Kinkade received a special award from NALED recognizing him as the Most Award Winning Artist in the Past 25 Years.
Thomas Kinkade has been recognized not only for his art, but also for his philanthropic efforts. In 2004, NALED honored Kinkade with the Eugene Freedman Humanitarian Award. In 2003, he was chosen as a national spokesperson for the Make-A-Wish Foundation(r) and has raised over $350,000 for the organization while on his 20 Years of Light Tour. He was honored with the 2002 World Children's Center Humanitarian Award for his contributions to improving the welfare of children and their families through his work with Kolorful Kids and Art for Children.
In 2002, Thomas Kinkade was inducted into the California Tourism Hall of Fame as an individual who has influenced the public's perception of tourism in California through his images of California sights. He was selected to commemorate the Salt Lake City 2002 Olympic Winter Games and the 2002 World Series. Kinkade has met with the Pope, U.S. Presidents, celebrities, and other well-known dignitaries to convey his hope-filled, life-affirming message. His influence knows no bounds.
as far as i can tell, NALED is a front for this guy's shady, faux-religious business operations, so of course they name him repeatedly as their top artist.
google this guy-- sure he's talented, and sure he's been successful, but he's also a super shady, unethical businessman who sells the rights to his work as business franchises, guaranteeing people exclusive rights to the sale of his work, and then he undercuts them in the market, so that he's making money at both ends-- from their struggling "exclusive" businesses, and from his own sales.
as far as i can tell, as i said in my comments above, he's someone who uses christianity to get himself rich, while not actually following its message. in other words, he's a hypocrite.
ken danby was a technically proficient artist too. should we open that can of worms again?
ah-- here is a direct quote from Mondo's link...
Kinkade used his religious clout and connections to entice investors to buy into franchises of his “signature” stores, with the understanding that those stores would have exclusive selling rights to the “Painter of Light” oeuvre. When Kinkade’s company then began selling prints and other Kinkade merchandise elsewhere at lower prices than those the “signature” stores were locked into, they effectively undercut their investors sales and destroyed the value of their investment. After years of litigation, a judge finally agreed with the spurned investors in 2006 and demanded that Kinkade’s company pay $50 million in damages. Four years later, the lights went out at “Painter of Light” Inc. as a bankruptcy sign went up. "Kinkade is a ... deadbeat," said Norman Yatooma, lawyer of some of the defrauded after the bankruptcy announcement. "Kinkade's word is as worthless as his artwork."
also, Knack, you left a sentence out of the Wikipedia quote--
"It should be noted these awards are, for the most part, based on number of sales rather than any inherent artistic merit in the work itself."
now i'm wondering: "is this guy a real, actual, human being, or an internet hoax?"
like, did someone just create a character and some news stories?
i dunno. it's all so weird.
if you open links from other web sites that should lead you to NALEB web sites, it takes you to some moving guy's van company in London, England.
totally unrelated. all very weird.
Snake oil is snake oil, regardless of awards and accolades.
Uh huh, fishy. Makes me wonder if there's a Colonel Parker involved, or the company is the true evil, or shit, maybe this guy is an ass. Hard to say from all the weirdo rhetoric.
And his paintings are picturesque little scenes of cabins, and campfires and cuteness. All very bizarre that this could all turn into corporate evil, ending with the artist blamed and finger pointed at. Suspicion of drunk driving and being hypocritical and sprinkle a company named after him being dubious....enough to crucify the guy? I dunno. He has still made some damn pretty pictures, but there is way more to life than that!
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