07 March 2006

[art and artists] Thomas Kinkade, Painter of Light, Acting Out

I've admired Thomas Kinkade from afar. As an artist, he's much much more able than I could ever be; as a producer of modern kitsch, he has no equal.

He's also incredibly wealthy (am I a little envious? Perhaps. Sure, I'll cop to that; but in my defense it would be nice to be able to pay the bills without having to budget to the penny. But I digress).

In another example of how The Rich And Excentric Are Different From You And Me, this story at the Los Angeles Times (I think you need to register to read it) shows (I guess) the result of all that pressure on a person. It's tough to be a Painter of Light, and I guess all that pressure will get to you after a while.

2 comments:

pril said...

JMO, here, but his stuff makes me ill. I think i'll go buy a print now, go wee wee on it and holler "This one's for you, Tom!". I don't mind that other people are fanatical about it, or even like it just a little bit, but I'll take the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood over Kinkade's stuff anytime, at least as far as luminosity and detail goes.

carla said...

Yup--gotta go with pril on this one. I find Kinkade's work contrived and uninspiring, personally. I would definitely take a Pre-Raphaelite work (or a 18th century Impressionist, for that matter) over Kinkade easily.

Sounds like the guy spends a little too much time insulated from reality.