I was shocked when I logged onto the computer on Saturday and saw the headline – Thomas Kinkade dead at 54. What?? I posted a link to an article on the Art Licensing Info Facebook page and a discussion ensued. With his huge success in art and art licensing, I thought it only fitting to tip our hats to a man who created a very successful brand in art licensing.
Thomas Kinkade died of natural causes (as yet, that is all that is being said) in his California home. “The Painter of Light” – whether you were a fan of his art and style or not, has one of the most recognizable brands in America. An article in the New York Times describes Kinkade and his work:
Though often disdained by the fine art establishment, Mr. Kinkade built a decorative art empire by creating sentimental paintings that were, for the most part, relatively inexpensive and resonated with the desires of homeowners who did not ordinarily buy art. He sold his work directly, through his own franchise galleries or on cable television home shopping networks, and eventually online.
Much of his work reflected Christian themes or visions of a traditional, rustic America residing in comforting solitude. The paintings — of homey cottages and rural churches and rivers flowing gently through brilliant foliage — rarely included people, which allowed the owners to project themselves into the scenes.
This, and other descriptions saying he did “art for the common man” really show the rift within the art community that artists in licensing face on a regular basis. It’s like there is a “team fine art” who look down their noses at artists who create art for commercial purposes – as if it isn’t really art at all if you can figure out that a snowman is a snowman without a lot of deep reflection.
There are so many measures of success – it’s up to you to create your own definition and not worry about how others look at it.
From where I sit, Thomas Kinkade was a very successful artist. He had his challenges, certainly, both in his business and personal life. But he set out on a mission to build a business based on his Christian values, create art that would connect with the masses, and earn a very, very nice living at the same time.
He thought outside the box and adapted his brand and offerings over time. Beginning with training in art from UC Berkeley he then painted backgrounds in an animated movie. He later sold prints of his work so the price points made the art accessible to a wider audience. In the ’90s he opened his own galleries and in the late 90’s he began licensing his art so it could appear on more products. He even created gated housing communities in California with houses that looked like those in his paintings… now that is some out-of-the-box thinking!
Some lessons to be learned from Thomas Kinkade in both his life and death include writing your own definition of success, finding your market and being true to the consumers that resonate with your art, build your brand and above all – take action because you never know how long or short your life might be.
Here’s to your creative success!
– Tara Reed
A very good point- that you should create your own definition of success. I find it interesting that many people who make cloth art dolls like I do get very upset when people call them “dolls”. I don’t really care. You can call them figurative sculpture or soft sculpture or dolls, it doesn’t change how I feel about what I make. I understand that certain labels carry the suggestion of value of a piece of work, but those labels are how other people understand (or don’t understand) what I do, it doesn’t affect how I feel about what I create. Thanks for sharing the story of someone who so succesfully did exactly what he wanted.
While Thomas Kinkade will always be remembered for his ability to build a brand in art he is another example of a celebrity who set his standards for himself and his brand too high for his own ability. His attachment of his art to Christian ideals did not, in the end, allow his personal life the latitude for error. Much like Tiger Woods, Kinkade could ultimately not live up to the ideals he portrayed to the public. Will Thomas Kinkade and his art be vindicated as was Norman Rockwell or will his art be like the Beanie Baby craze, to be remembered as a brief lived consumer phenomenon on sale at bargain prices on e-bay? Only the future holds the answer to that question.
My other thoughts on Thomas Kinkade are that, for artists, society actually gives you quite a bit of leeway for personal behavior. Non-normal behavior is tolerated and even expected from artists, think Andy Warhol, Salvador Dali and Picasso. He really set himself up to fail both as an artist, “Greatest, Best, Most Collected”, and as a human, “Christian, Family Man”. But, as they say, America like a rags to riches story, but loves a riches to rags story better and a redemption to riches again even better. Kinkade should have only lived long enough to redeem himself. I do believe he was a talented artist but a bit of humility could have helped his reputation and his personal life. As my son Anders, the Greek scholar, would say, the Greeks have explained all of this and you only need to read the Classics to guide your life.
Thank you, Tara, for a great article! And totally agree that there are a myriad of lessons to be learned from Thom and how he approached his life, art and brand. One thing we can say for sure is that Thom played a valuable role in establishing the viability of art in the licensing industry. Certainly the final chapter of his story is yet to be written – will it transcend? Live on like Andy and Norman? Maybe those Greek Classics will be a guide. For now, may a talented artist rest in peace.
Thank you for your blog, Tara. I’ve been watching this mans talent ever since I was in art school. I love how you can sit and dream into his artwork. He certainly will always be an inspiration and will continue to be hung on my walls like many others.