On Fire! with Thomas Kinkade

Art Department

Thomas Kinkade painting inspired by Walt Disney's "The Sound of Music". No one on the cosmic staff had anything to do with it. We only looked at it because we were forced to by Bob.

The Von Trapp family apparently setting fire to their mansion to prevent the Nazi's from benefitting from it.

Phineas' Analysis:

     Thomas Kinkade was often referred to as "The Painter of Light©" - but why? . Kinkade made mega bucks selling gobs of prints, paintings and all manner of anything attached to his "art" and for good reason. Every day "people of the earth" like it. But how, by what machination? Critics far and wide (well wide enough) say people are drawn in by the "light" that appears in practically every one of his paintings. This "feature" is a commonality - obviously loved by many commoners.

     Years ago (many) back to when Kinkade was a Disney animation background artist, Walt came by and said, "Dammit Kinkade, I need those building windows to glow, to draw the audience into the scene." Kinkade readily began making every scene with a building in it "glow, like fucking hell" (his words) and thus began what he later termed as "the process".

     Take a close look at a few Kinkade paintings. Closer... Closer... You will notice something about the buildings interiors. What you will notice is that the buildings are ON FIRE! Once you look closely you want to do something, and that something is to call the fire department.
     People, like moths, are drawn to fires - like when you almost burned down the house that time...

      Kinkade left Disney just in time to avoid his own termination, but he never stopped with the flaming interiors. His methodology involved using the "Disney process" to create warm and wonderfully kitschy illustrations. Some elevate these to the level of  "fine" art because they have been duped by the fiery assault on their visual senses.

The whole damn village is on fire.

People simply cannot contain their curious wonder about these paintings. Why do they like to see them so much? The reality is they don't recognize that they are watching a display of arson, cute arson, but arson nonetheless.





*Deegan says that there is more artistic merit in a Popeil Pocket Fisherman® than any TK painting, and he just might be correct.

The sensual and torsional tension in the design of Ron Popeils' Pocket Fisherman is held in very high esteem among art critics worldwide.