Wow, only 54. Thomas Kinkaide has dabbed his last high-quality print, but death is no joke. He leaves behind a wife and four daughters. I’m sorry he died and left them too soon.
My friend’s father was distressed when he heard that his son wanted to go to art school. “Why do you want to spend your life being broke so you can be famous after you’re dead?” At least Thomas Kinkaide got to enjoy the fruits of his labor. Any owners of an original Kinkaide daubed print who expects the value to skyrocket now may have to take it on faith. The man generated volume.
He did have genuine talent and a nice way with color. Anyone who bought one of his paintings because they love to look at it and value his special personal brushstrokes has their money’s worth. That’s true of most art, houses are a safer investment than pictures of houses.
Some links to his shadow side are in my earlier post here, that links to the haunted Village at Hiddenbrooke. I think he was greatly overextended and in ways tormented. Sad, but it’s not nice to fool trusting Christians.
Kmareka.com 
I read your earlier post where you mentioned Mark Freedman-I’m trying to think-did the JRS Gallery show his work?Urban scenes?Or am I thinking of someone else?
If it’s what i recall he does some nice stuff.Ever hear of Aaron Bohrod?Noe deceased,he did some great realist paintings around Chicago and Pittsburgh.
Was JRS on Wickenden Street? I remarked to the owner that Mark painted on tar paper. He said that Mark would paint on anything that’s flat. I admire Mark Freedman. I’ll check out Aaron Bohrod, sounds good.
I think Thomas Kinkaide is sipping a cold one with Andy Warhol (who is drinking tea), discussing the life with Salvador Dali and Picasso. All those guys knew how to market the product. At least that’s what I like to think. Perhaps he’s now contemplating eternity in one of his cottages, and whether that is reward or punishment is in the eye of the beholder.
Dali and Picasso had some original talent.Warhol just re-arranged things that were already there.
So did Ed Kienholz,but his stuff was so relevant and powerful it was a world away from Warhol’s playroom crap.
I spent WAY too much time in Kienholz’ “The Beanery”when it was on permanent display at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam back in the late 90’s/early 2000’s.
Did not Kincaide and rip off galleries and other customers in a huge art scam, and tried to walk with millions in other people’s money? An effort to stave off creditors and I assume investigation by declaring bankruptcy was in progress as I recall. His work always looked to me like greeting cards or pages from kid book fairy tales rather than anything remotely called “art,” but then only the judgement of time will tell, but one must doubt if he will ever be more than a footnote.
Very true. I feel a little bad ragging on the guy when he has just died, but I followed his story over the years and am getting a lot of hits on old posts.
I think that whatever drove him to overextend himself and inflate his pretty paintings to be more than they were might have contributed to his trouble with alcohol and his premature death. He had a lot of people after him, which must have made it hard to sleep at night.
Too bad, because he had the means to earn a decent living selling those paintings. People liked them.