[Images] Thomas Kinkade

Finding more and falling more and more in love :D The classics. . . .

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Yosemite Valley Sunset, 1865 by Albert Bierstadt. Luminism. landscape. Private Collection

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Romantic Landscape by Antal Ligeti. 1860 by Antal Ligeti (1823-90)

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‘Venice: Ducal Palace with a Religious Procession’, Richard Parkes Bonington, exhibited 1828
 
I like kinkades paintings. He did some paintings of coeur d alene and several galleries had originals hanging. They had them lit up in the windows and they looked really good at night. I used to hang down town on my motorcycle and I would stop and look at his art work.

He had a lakeside development up here that I used to go take photos from until they put up barb wire up so you could not go in there anymore. I think he lost it in the bush Cheney recession. It was just lake view lots. He did some paintings from up there and sold them.
 
Gaze said:
I don't know anything about this artist, but from this painting, I find that I see this more as a slightly offbeat take of Alice in Wonderland. There's a slap in the innocence of childlike dreams or fantasies. The tree, unlike Alice's adventure down the hole, the three will not take these young girls on a wild journey. Rather, it will engulf them whole if they are not wary or guarded. They can't simply assume nature is there to protect or soothe them.
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I agree, getting lost in ideas about kitsch I kind of failed to notice this aspect of the content. This is a playful but also very cynical perspective on childhood and nature. Both are treacherous and dangerous in this image. On an innocent walk, this child has fallen prey to this malign influence, and her companions look on helplessly - gently surprised! but also generally unruffled and without any apparent sense of genuine fear.

Not an sophisticated analyst like you :D, but I loved his work in the past, and my mom did as well. We also, like @acd, got a few puzzles with is artwork. I liked his use of color and the brightness in his images. His style was a mix of impressionism of course and romanticism, two art and literary movements I dearly love. Yes, he later became popularized, and maybe the work suffered from this.
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Thanks for the compliment. I notice that you are open minded about art in a way that I'm not and you notice things that I would never notice.

Awesome insight into the combination of impressionism and romanticism. I would like to come to understand artistic movements in the way that you do.

I really don't know whether his work suffered from its popularity... definitely it suffered in the sense that he attracted more critics...!

I read on the internet that this is his final work:

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The title is "Away From It All". I find this work beautiful. Probably my favourite. It really recognises itself as dealing with that theme that people on thread have mentioned... of just leaving it all behind for a little while and going to a better place. It says "It's OK to escape it all, just for a little while..." Beneath the surface there is quite a lot going on in this picture... so judging by this picture alone (which I admit is not really fair), I would say that his work improved throughout his life.

Here are a few that I love, because of the composition including the geometric shapes and lines he uses in the house and the nature to separate and unite the two in the same space.
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So true. There is a really big contrast in the lines of nature and man-made, there's a distinction, but the conflict is made coherent in the way the two are united in the composition. It's really an idea that there is a good and comfortable way to live in amongst nature, and to be at harmony with nature as a human being.

I enjoyed the examples of his work that you chose and your remarks on them. (Also enjoy looking at your other examples of impressionist art posted on thread and agree with the similarities.) Like you, looking at these pictures makes me feel serene, calm, and as you say "inviting", they make me feel at home and comfortable.
 
efromm said:
https://thomaskinkade.com/art/coeur-dalene/

This was the painting. Kinda effed up killing that view for houses. The place is still vacant as fas as I've seen I'll have to go give it another look here soon.
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That is spectacular. What an amazing environment. There's nothing like that where I live. It must be awesome to see it. I liked your story of looking at the paintings in the shop windows, I would like to see an original someday.
 
acd said:
I'm actually really drawn to the one with the church by the stream @Gaze posted. At first I thought, "What an odd place for a church, just right there in the middle of the wilderness!" How do you get there? (Maybe it's a brisk walk down a mountain or wooded path from town.) Imagine sitting in one of the pews and not being distracted by the beauty of what is outside of those big windows. If I was in church, I'd be anxious to get out and walk around or sit by the water. I can almost hear the babbling brook when I imagine myself sitting in the pew. It's drowning out the sermon, hallelujah!

I just think it's curious. The church windows are glowing and inviting, but you're also drawn to the nature outside of it. It creates a conflict.

I better head on out to Walmart and pick up a puzzle of this one to frame!
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I agree, it's unusual, and it reminds me that he was devoutly religious. I think from one perspective it makes sense to have a church surrounded by all the natural majesty of God's Earth. Maybe the idea is that as a religious person, while worshipping in this church you would be filled with this sublime sense of wonder and reverence at God's creation... As a religious person who worships in some church in a less beautiful location you might be reminded that this is what it's all really about, all of the divine beauty and wonder...

(Like you, I would be overwhelmed with the impulse to rush outside and just inhale the beauty)
 
invisible said:
That is spectacular. What an amazing environment. There's nothing like that where I live. It must be awesome to see it. I liked your story of looking at the paintings in the shop windows, I would like to see an original someday.
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I'lll have to see if any of the galleries downtown have any of his original stuff around anymore. Seeing it all together in the shop where they used to sell his work was interesting. Because you were totally immersed in the atmosphere of the time his paintings were set in. They were always nicely framed and the package all seemed to go together well. There were a lot of hidden cottages and mountains. The ones he did of the old town in like the 30's with the old cars on the streets were my favorites. They had a nice series of them to look at. And I would get lost in the atmosphere of the colors and the light. He captured the type of light I like to photograph. It always has that glow to it. I'll snap some photos of where he painted that painting of lake cour d Alene if I can get close enough to it. They got a barb wire fence up now. I have some photos from there I'll look and see if any are going that direction, east. I usually shot west from there because I was capturing sunsets.

Yes it is wonderful to be able to just about step into nature here. That's why I go take photos of it. One to enjoy gods glory. But also to share it with those who may not be able to go there. I really missed this place when I was in DC. And was glad to come home.
 
I just went to kinkade's development lots. I took a few photos of his sign and a photo of the mountain and lake where he painted it. I'll up load them tonight. I'm still here looking around at the lake.
 
invisible said:
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I'm not completely sure what's so bad about it, but the thing that for me is most striking about it is that all the fireplaces in the area are fired up. However down by the water, the foxgloves are blooming, they are a summer flower. Every fireplace around lit up in the middle of summer? That is nonsense. Is this a scene that is asserting itself as pure fantasy - the world can never be this perfect? Is it a comment on the imperfection of reality?
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In my mind, this could simply be due to the fact that the scene doesn't appear to be set in modern times, before electricity. People could have fires going for all sorts of reasons, like cooking, boiling water, etc. This is no longer the case for much of modern society, but the hearth used to be an integral part of any home, its center, its heart. Even the name of the Greek goddess of the home and domestic life, Hestia, translates right to "hearth." This combined with the warm glow of the lights in the windows, gives the scene a cozy feel (to me).

(Also I still need to read through the rest of the thread, this just caught my eye for some reason)
 
hush said:
In my mind, this could simply be due to the fact that the scene doesn't appear to be set in modern times, before electricity. People could have fires going for all sorts of reasons, like cooking, boiling water, etc. This is no longer the case for much of modern society, but the hearth used to be an integral part of any home, its center, its heart. Even the name of the Greek goddess of the home and domestic life, Hestia, translates right to "hearth." This combined with the warm glow of the lights in the windows, gives the scene a cozy feel (to me).

(Also I still need to read through the rest of the thread, this just caught my eye for some reason)
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Well done, fabulous explanation.

Although that chimney on the church is still just a little suspicious... :-)
 
invisible said:
Well done, fabulous explanation.

Although that chimney on the church is still just a little suspicious... :)
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I could be wrong, but I actually view only the building on the far left as the church, the one with the small cross adorning the top. I view the other buildings next to it as separate, although it's of course possible that it's a church complex with multiple buildings (not uncommon).

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The building to the right of the Celtic cross I don't see as the church, and the cross itself I see as some sort of community thing that's possibly been around for far longer than the buildings themselves.
 
I'm in a phase right now where I am buying landscape photography shower curtains for my bathrooms. (I can change them with the seasons!) Because I'm finally turning into that eccentric old lady I always knew was in there. From there, I was curious to see if the estate of Mr. Kinkade also had a shower curtain line out. And the internet did not disappoint. With my first purchase, my transformation will be complete. I can't wait to psych myself up to invite company over so that they too, may appreciate the splendor of Thomas Kinkade shower curtains when they use the facilities.
 
hush said:
I could be wrong, but I actually view only the building on the far left as the church, the one with the small cross adorning the top. I view the other buildings next to it as separate, although it's of course possible that it's a church complex with multiple buildings (not uncommon).

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The building to the right of the Celtic cross I don't see as the church, and the cross itself I see as some sort of community thing that's possibly been around for far longer than the buildings themselves.
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You're totally right! Nice thoughts about the monument thing. Actually I didn't even notice the church in that painting, which is very unobservant of me. I was talking about the white church in the glorious mountain landscape painting. Of the general weirdness about it, it maybe seems weirdest to me that there's a chimney on it. But I can still appreciate it for what it is.
 
acd said:
I'm in a phase right now where I am buying landscape photography shower curtains for my bathrooms. (I can change them with the seasons!) Because I'm finally turning into that eccentric old lady I always knew was in there. From there, I was curious to see if the estate of Mr. Kinkade also had a shower curtain line out. And the internet did not disappoint. With my first purchase, my transformation will be complete. I can't wait to psych myself up to invite company over so that they too, may appreciate the splendor of Thomas Kinkade shower curtains when they use the facilities.
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This acd master stroke has left me breathless. If only we didn't have glass doors on our showers in this house I would copy your genius decorating.
 
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