Posted on 04/06/2012 8:34:22 PM PDT by Free ThinkerNY
Thomas Kinkade, the "Painter of Light" and one of most popular artists in America, died suddenly Friday at his Los Gatos home. He was 54.
His family said in a statement that his death appeared to be from natural causes.
"Thom provided a wonderful life for his family,'' his wife, Nanette, said in a statement. "We are shocked and saddened by his death.''
His paintings are hanging in an estimated 1 of every 20 homes in the United States. Fans cite the warm, familiar feeling of his mass-produced works of art, while it has become fashionable for art critics to dismiss his pieces as tacky. In any event, his prints of idyllic cottages and bucolic garden gates helped establish a brand -- famed for their painted high lights -- not commonly seen in the art world.
"I'm a warrior for light," Kinkade told the Mercury News in 2002, alluding not just to his technical skill at creating light on canvas but 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."
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
*** He had so many utterly dopey paintings, such as the one below, of buildings improbably placed feet away from mountain streams (all ready to be flooded come spring thaw)***
My thoughts exactly. I saw one of his paintings that almost made me go blind. Nice painting of a country lane going up to a bandstand. Then the path splits. The left eye wants to go left, and the right eye wants to go right. I felt cross eyed for the rest of the day.
I’m still waiting on my garage sale bonanza.
Didn’t some gal go to a garage sale and pay like ten bucks for a big mess of a painting that turned out to be an original early Jackson Pollock worth like $250K?
I think I heard recently about some guy in like Cleveland or something going through some folders and ended up finding an original Picasso.
Just one Van Gogh, that’s all I want, just one!
Picture in the middle is cool...but it needs the State Rental Decals on it (most I see here in North Georgia have 6-10 decals on them. Also, it could use some of the icicle Christmas lights.
Thank you, Psalm, for the ping. Whenever I get one of your rare ones, I know the discussion is worthwhile. I haven’t read all the posts on this thread, but I scanned a few. While I can’t share your sentiments re: Kincade [neutral and unobjectionable as they were], it did bring to mind a recent fascinating discussion I had w a real, singularly talented bona fide artist.
It came about when I read an AT article that lumped Jackson Pollock and Pablo Picasso into the same no-talent category. I don’t care for Pollock, and my non-artistic view is that Picasso had real and simply amazing talent. So I asked this artist if he agreed.
He said in art circles the ‘right’ answer is that they’re equally good. He said personally he gives more than a minor edge to Picasso. But he followed that w the part I found extraordinarily fascinating.
Namely, he described the time he viewed Monet’s work firsthand in a gallery. He told me—which I didn’t know—that the famous Haystacks are gargantuan. Just colossal. He said from close at hand they look like nothing more than chaotic colors thrown together; you have to step back at least 20 feet to see the actual haystacks emerge. [Monet had a special pulley system designed to enable him to paint them.]
He said he came away awestruck at Monet’s genius. Then he said he’s never viewed a Pollock at similarly close quarters. He had, however, observed Pollocks’ early work, and told me the man had sufficient artistic ‘chops’ to make it at any type of art he chose: realism, impressionism, etc. He said he was reserving ultimate judgment on his later works until, as he hoped, he one day saw them in a gallery.
Something to think about. My artist friend didn’t change my mind, but he gave me tons of food for deep reflection.
Fwiw.
I don’t think one should have to take a class at college to figure out what art they like and what art they dislike...
Generally, the movies, art, music, etc... that the “experts” praise suck. Wasn’t it the “experts” who kept telling us that Al Gore beat G.W. Bush in the 2000 election?
as for wine, I couldn’t tell the difference between the “good” stuff and the discount variety in the supermarket....
A few years ago, a morning news show reported that a wine referred to as “two buck chuck” took first place over a lot of fine producers at several competitions.
It doesn’t have to be expensive, just good.
Compare Kincaid’s art to “modern” art. Even “modern” art from decades ago until now.
Kincaid is King of all Artists compared to any modern art.
No doubt, Monet was brilliant.
The soft combinations of colors, the diffuse borders, the subject matter itself leave one with a peace that is practically unmatched.
Van Gogh is now and will always be my favorite.
It makes one wonder about motives. Monet’s works do not make me wonder about past or future or circumstances. But I saw a copy of a simple still life by Van Gogh that showed shoes in a closet and it brought to my imagination ten thousand questions about who wore the shoes, where they were worn, what path they trod...
Picasso had two important qualities. First, he was technically, a great painter.
Secondly, he was crazy.
His artistry takes you to a place where you almost immediately forget the picture and start to reflect (internally reflect) on the meaning.
That’s not always an easy thing to do, even writers have a hard time sometimes of using narrative and making the reader wonder how that reflects them.
I am getting to be an older man now, spent most of my life with computers.
But if I could live my life again, it would be with watercolors at hand.
Oh s**t! I had to run to my bookcase to see if someone had stolen my book IT’S A MAN’S WORLD by Adam Parfrey! I love that old MAN”S magazine art.
One of my favorite calender artists from the 1960s had an unpronounceable Norse name. His art was beautiful. Nostalgia paintings of old blacksmith shops, kids skipping stones across a creek, old trains. His name which I can’t spell correctly was Delfsindorf or something like that.
My personal favorite calender artist was GIL ELVGRIN! :-D Wo wo wo!
Back in the 1960s magazine publishers decided to drop their cover art and go with photos. So, all those Connecticut artists put on the big hat, went west and became Western Artists. I will admit, they were good!
***Sort of like those gold coins that Franklin Mint tries to pawn off at outrageous prices;***
You mean those zinc coins with 100% 24 carat pure GOLD plate from the Marshall Islands! ;-D
Here’s one (of many) measures of the merit of an artists:
It’s the ratio of the current value of his body of work (or a subset being measured) to the first sale price. Preferably adjusted for inflation.
Van Gogh, and others are highly ranked, selling for little in their lifetimes, but fetching high prices now. Kinkade is at the other end, retailing at hyped prices that can’t be recovered at retail.
There is a polite word in the art world for work like Kinkade’s: “Decorative.”
Yeah, I would have loved to have owned that land. I believe that it was offered as settlement, but I think that the company I worked for was kind of in the hole as far as billable hours vs. cold hard cash was concerned, and they wanted the money, pronto. Beautiful property, I-90 used to run the shoreline at only 2 lanes there, until a bridge was built and freed it all up.
We spent many hours in the field and office there. Between a cheating dirt work contractor cutting corners and some SERIOUSLY messed up boundary to contend with, our company lost considerable money, I figure. Looking back, it was doomed from the start...
We are not all art investors, sometimes people, believe it or not just buys a painting that they believe will look good in their den or living room.
Thank you for the Carravagio
Thank you for a fascinating post. I savored every syllable. I am a big Van Gogh fan, but my artist friend is a massive one. I wish I could remember every word he said about Van Gogh. He mentioned something about a particular self portrait Van Gogh painted 3 times, iirc, and how two of them were done via [the artist looking at himself in a] mirror and the third wasn’t. Don’t quote me; I’m already making a mental note to ask my friend about it the next time we speak.
Anyway, your observation is so intriguing. I hadn’t thought about it, but it’s true. Monet’s paintings are just there, in all their breathtaking, genius glory. Van Gogh ignites the imagination w questions about the backstory of [at least some of] of his work. That is a gift, and as you aptly said, not many have it.
For your info, that is William Shakespeare.
***Just a few thoughts on Kinkade and his art.**
Well, he IS better than Bob Ross.
The better question might be, "Why am I bothering responding to you?"
I know little about Kinkade other than I always enjoyed his paintings. He died young, at 54 - - which is younger than me - - of alleged "natural causes". I wondered if his recent legal battles with his art gallery franchises may have caused serious stress that contributed to ill health. So I did some research to try to learn more about the guy, find out who he was, where he was from. You know - - research.
I read the paragraphs about a drinking problem, along with several allegations of very erratic behavior, and decided to share the passage on the thread. That's what we do here - - share information and opinions.
FWIW, I don't enjoy the man's paintings any less.
Awww.... ya couldn't tempt me with a Diego Rivera mural with prominent hammers and sickles, or a self portrait by Trotsky's girlfriend, unibrow Frida Kahlo?
Shame on you.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.