# Thomas Kinkade, Painter of Light, Bite me **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 22, 2000, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thomas-kinkade-painter-of-light-bite-me/23202 "2000-06-22T17:16:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![NicePete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee7513/32.png) [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2000, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thomas-kinkade-painter-of-light-bite-me/23202/81 "2000-12-18T21:35:01Z")
Hey, I joke because I love! I think Bob Ross was terrific, and made a infinitely greater contribution to “Art” than Kinkade ever will. Why? Because he encouraged people to CREATE. To feel. To look and to see. He stressed that there were no rules, that painting was supposed to be fun and that the decisions about your painting were yours and yours alone. Bob Ross didn’t just make art, he made ARTISTS. ---
**Author:** ![egkelly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/db5fbb/32.png) [@egkelly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/egkelly)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2000, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thomas-kinkade-painter-of-light-bite-me/23202/82 "2000-12-18T21:52:49Z")
I am no expert, but didn’t the great masters (Rubens, Rembrant, etc.) have tons of apprentices who painted most of the paintings? The masters would usually just do the faces. In any event, mass production of are is nothing new-Picasso churned out crap by the ton! A few years back, i read a story about the Dutch abstract artist (Willem De Kooning). It seems that when he was very old, his daughter insisted that he not see any visitors-yet his are kep appearing like a miracle-probably thee relatives were having this crap painted by another artist, and getting the (senile) old man to sign them! There is so much money at stake, that even pricipled artists sometimes cheat-there is even evidence that certain of the late mark Rothko’s paintings were done AFTER his death! ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2000, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thomas-kinkade-painter-of-light-bite-me/23202/83 "2000-12-18T22:05:44Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Silo \* > \*\* The marketing aspect has gotten outta hand, I agree with ya’ll on that. Just think, he’s probably laughing all the way to the bank._\* Great. The Stephen King of the art world. I first encountered his stuff last year, doing the design for an ad for one of his many many stores. It’s high-quality greeting card material, no more. He is talented, but his subject matter is a bit…sugary. My vote for “Painter of Light” is Michael Parkes: [http://www.piersidegallery.com/artists/parkes/posters/](http://www.piersidegallery.com/artists/parkes/posters/) (my personal faves are _Gargoyles_ and _The Juggler_) ---
**Author:** ![SisterCoyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@SisterCoyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SisterCoyote)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2000, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thomas-kinkade-painter-of-light-bite-me/23202/84 "2000-12-18T22:28:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by blessedwolf \* > My vote for “Painter of Light” is Michael Parkes: > > [http://www.piersidegallery.com/artists/parkes/posters/](http://www.piersidegallery.com/artists/parkes/posters/) > > (my personal faves are _Gargoyles_ and _The Juggler_) \*\* I’ll second this - interestingly enough, current roommate and I each have a copy of Gargoyles, and she has a copy of The Juggler. And I also loathe whatshisface…every time we walk past his shop in our mall I end up muttering “hack” as we pass. Roommate threatened to buy me one of the teddy bears in the window. ---
**Author:** ![Tymp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Tymp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tymp)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2000, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thomas-kinkade-painter-of-light-bite-me/23202/85 "2000-12-18T23:00:44Z")
I just need to mention that the resurrection of this thread makes me feel like someone just walked over my grave . . . again. Now I’ve got the heebee jeebees **and** the willies, thank you very much. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2000, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thomas-kinkade-painter-of-light-bite-me/23202/86 "2000-12-19T00:29:35Z")
Since this thread has started I’ve moved to an area that has a Kinkade gallery within walking distance. Maybe I should head over there with a can of brown spray paint… ---
**Author:** ![Welfy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e56c9b/32.png) [@Welfy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Welfy)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2000, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thomas-kinkade-painter-of-light-bite-me/23202/87 "2000-12-26T00:44:36Z")
I received a Thomas Kinkade calendar for Christmas! 365 days of his pretty little cottages and lighthouses!!! _throws on army helmet and jumps into trenches, dodging flying stones and rotten fruit_ Actually, I got it because my mom said, “Well, you _were_ talking about his art a lot lately, so I figured you liked him!” I was talking about him because I was telling her how much the Dopers _hate_ him! Oh well, he’s all right with me. ---
**Author:** ![SanibelMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@SanibelMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanibelMan)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2000, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thomas-kinkade-painter-of-light-bite-me/23202/88 "2000-12-26T03:22:42Z")
My mom, who is very much an artist, hates Thomas Kinkade. She has lots of original works and invests a lot of her time into them. She works with many mediums, including oil paint, pastels, and color pencils, and has in the past worked with enamels and intalgio printmaking, which is a very difficult process. She feels (and I agree) that an artist that makes many prints of their work very easily is destroying its basic value. The prints that she makes are very time-consuming or else are simply color copies if she needs examples of her work for something. She doesn’t use modern print-making techniques for her work because it lessens the legitimacy of her work, or at least that’s how she feels. For those in the know in the art world, you might be interested to know that her work will be featured in an auction here at BIG Arts (Barrier Island Group for the Arts), alongside the work of Robert Rauschenberg (sp)! So she’s happy. ---
**Author:** ![uberDave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f04885/32.png) [@uberDave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uberDave)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2000, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thomas-kinkade-painter-of-light-bite-me/23202/89 "2000-12-26T18:53:45Z")
Thomas Kinkade --painter of ‘what a man with a lit flare in a small house would look like from outside’. He’s a pyromaniac in therapy. I’m sure his doctors are very troubled by his abundant use of the color yellow. Or, maybe he was the guy at Zappa’s house at Montrose with the flare gun. Dave ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2000, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thomas-kinkade-painter-of-light-bite-me/23202/90 "2000-12-26T19:32:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SanibelMan \* > \*\*For those in the know in the art world, you might be interested to know that her work will be featured in an auction here at BIG Arts (Barrier Island Group for the Arts), alongside the work of Robert Rauschenberg (sp)! So she’s happy. \*\* That’s cool, Sani. Does she have a website with samples of her work? Robin ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2000, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thomas-kinkade-painter-of-light-bite-me/23202/91 "2000-12-27T03:41:55Z")
Like I said-there is nothing wrong with prints…who wouldn’t like a Van Gogh, or a Monet, but can’t afford one-or it’s already owned by a museum? And not all museums can have the same painting… I wouldn’t mind a Waterhouse print. Especially Ophelia, or the Lady of Shalott. ---
**Author:** ![Nocturne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9fc348/32.png) [@Nocturne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nocturne)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2000, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thomas-kinkade-painter-of-light-bite-me/23202/92 "2000-12-27T04:15:47Z")
I like Van Gogh. I like Monet. I like the Waterhouse paintings. My favorite artist is Salvador Dali. Thomas Kinkade I do not like. Dali would probably paint Kinkade being murdered by a piano or a skull. Or worse. That’s a lovely thought. Better than one million idyllic little cottages that tell me about Jesus. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Pit\_and\_The\_Pendulum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@The\_Pit\_and\_The\_Pendulum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Pit_and_The_Pendulum)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2000, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thomas-kinkade-painter-of-light-bite-me/23202/93 "2000-12-27T17:25:21Z")
Kinkade collections are for the bubblegum card collectors that got too rich for that. At $600 to $1500 a pop for original prints, they are simply speculating on price rises. No one actually likes him, they just believe in the “greater fool” principle that you’re ok in a scheme as long as you’re not last in line. ---
**Author:** ![dustMagnate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/fbc32d/32.png) [@dustMagnate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dustMagnate)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2000, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thomas-kinkade-painter-of-light-bite-me/23202/94 "2000-12-27T18:27:14Z")
Reminds me of how top-40 radio sounded when I was young. The songs didn’t feel right except on a couple radio stations. Turns out they would speed up the songs a little to make them appear brighter. Very strange, but I could tell which were the ‘right’ radio stations. After I gave up top40 I never went back. I was about 11. I think the “painter of light” has crafted a world that is just a little off. When you are in that world, nothing else looks quite right. And those that don’t appreciate it aren’t quite right either. During the Cold War they called it brainwashing. Just another way to trick you out of your money. “Fuck art let’s dance”: one of those tiny little new wave buttons worn by an art student trying to get laid in the early eighties. ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2000, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thomas-kinkade-painter-of-light-bite-me/23202/95 "2000-12-28T12:23:49Z")
I like Michael Parkes too! In fact, we have a print of ‘Athena’ in our bathroom and ‘Ribbon Dancer’ on the wall of my stepdaughter’s room. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thomas-kinkade-painter-of-light-bite-me/23202.md?page=4)