NBC's "AD The Bible Continues" doesn't go "full Thomas Kinkade"

CHRISTIANITY TODAY
By Peter Chattaway

Image: NBC Pilate (Vincent Regan) forces Caiaphas (Richard Coyle) to eat the ashes of his dead soldier.

HOLLYWOOD---The first three episodes all peaked with spectacular sequences like the resurrection of Jesus and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. This episode, on the other hand, gives us a sense—just a small sense, but a sense nonetheless—of how the Church is beginning to grow and work as a community. There is no moment in this episode that goes the full Thomas Kinkade, but bits of kitsch remain, like the repeated gusts of wind that flutter across Peter's face during his trial before Caiaphas. A.D. The Bible Continues began airing on Easter Sunday, and during its run, Peter Chattaway recaps episodes as they air. Recaps involve spoilers, especially if you’re not familiar with the Bible story. [link]

Book Review: Thomas Kinkade, Collapse of America's Christian Artist

THE ROANOKE TIMES 
Reviewed by Jason Barr

PUBLISHING---Although G. Eric Kuskey’s “Billion Dollar Painter” is about Thomas Kinkade, the book — written by a former Kinkade partner and confidante — reads more like an insider’s business expose. Part of the collapse is directly attributable to Kinkade’s decision, through the company Media Arts Group, to put his paintings on almost every piece of merchandise he and his associates could conceive of: mugs, prints, T-shirts, commemorative plates and so on. Additionally, Media Arts Group’s contracts with gallery owners were so limiting that many gallery owners — who felt duped by Kinkade’s marketing as a “Christian” artist — were left with stock that they could not sell. Thus began the lawsuits, and thus began the collapse of Media Arts Group. [link]

Thomas Kinkade's Last Known Paintings Now Being Unveiled

NBC 40 
By Lynda Weed

NEW JERSEY---History was made this weekend when one of the last ever Thomas Kinkade paintings was unveiled. A picture is worth a thousand words, and for the dozens of paintings that hang on the walls of the Victorian Walk Gallery; a thousand is just the start. The pieces are all part of the Thomas Kinkade Limited Edition Series. On Saturday the first in a series of paintings was unveiled in historic Cape May. The works were discovered in Kinkade's studio following his death. [link]

Thomas Kinkade Wanted to Build a Museum for His Fans, Says Girlfriend

MERCURY NEWS
By Julia Prodis Sulek

CALIFORNIA---In the months before his death, Thomas Kinkade was "extremely focused" on establishing a museum of his artwork at his Monte Sereno home, his embattled girlfriend said in court papers filed Thursday. "Thomas appreciated that while his art never received critical acclaim, he had legions of fans who were moved and uplifted by his art," Amy Pinto-Walsh wrote in a declaration filed in Santa Clara County probate court. "Thomas wanted to create this museum for his fans." [link]

Theologians Question Religious Value of Kinkade's Art

ABILENE REPORTER-NEWS
By Terry Mattingly

Painting by Thomas Kinkade

When describing his painting "Candlelight Cottage," the late Thomas Kinkade said its "candlelight has a cozy, intimate quality — especially when it's suffused in the soft mist of this fine English evening." Secular critics have long detested Kinkade's art, in part because of his great popularity among heartland evangelicals who were eager to claim the University of California, Berkeley-trained painter as one of their own. Now, three months after his death at age 54 — while struggling with alcoholism, bankruptcy and a shattered marriage — some religious writers are focusing on what they see as another troubling question. The bottom line: Was Kinkade selling bad theology as well as bad art? [link]

Taking the Culture Back: Leaving the Christian Art Ghetto

LIFE SITE NEWS
By John Stonestreet

"Aspen Chapel" by Thomas Kinkade

When I say the words “Christian art,” most of you probably think of a tranquil cottage, windows alight and chimney smoking, with a snippet of a Psalm scrawled on the frame. But what if these things radically miss the mark of true Christian art? As Christians, we too often dismiss good art and accept mediocre substitutes just because they’re labeled Christian. We’ve created for ourselves a kind of “artistic ghetto,” and are willing to preserve it even at the cost of quality. In his book, “Bad Religion,” Ross Douthat quotes Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict): “The only really effective apologia for Christianity comes down to two arguments, namely, the saints the church has produced and the art which has grown in her womb.” Reflecting on Ratzinger’s words, Douthat added, “Today, we have too few of both.” [link]

What is Religious Art? Daniel Siedell's Argument With Thomas Kinkade

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest O. Britton

Deceased Painter of Light Thomas Kinkade and cultural critic Daniel A. Siedell have not been recognized for taking criticism lightly, and so it continues with Siedell's recent blog post on Patheos.com, "Concluding Thoughts on Thomas Kinkade". While Kinkade was well known for attacking his critics, Siedell also easily expresses his disdain, claiming that his critics "...only wanted visual images that didn’t cause them to think too much".

Thomas Kinkade autopsy: alcohol, Valium and smudges of green paint

MERCURY NEWS

CALIFORNIA- After a drunken night popping Valium, Thomas Kinkade, the "Painter of Light," died in his bed. Smudges of green paint still stuck to his fingernails. An eight-page autopsy report released Tuesday by the Santa Clara County Coroner's Office, plus police documents obtained by this newspaper detailing a domestic disturbance at his home last summer, added more troubling details to the final months and hours of the world-famous artist known for his peaceful, pastoral images. [link]

Thomas Kinkade died of accidental overdose

USA TODAY | LIFE

CALIFORNIA -- An autopsy has found that artist Thomas Kinkade's death was caused by an accidental overdose of alcohol and prescription tranquilizers. NBC Bay Area News reported Monday that the Santa Clara County medical examiner concluded that the self-described "Painter of Light" stopped breathing at his California home April 6 from a combination of alcohol and Valium. [link]

Same people? Rev. Joel Osteen & Artist, Thomas Kinkade? Maybe so

HOUSTON CHRONICLE
By Menachem Wecker

The juxtaposition of the late “painter of light” Thomas Kinkade, who died on April 6 at age 54, and Joel Osteen, lead pastor at Lakewood Church, is not an unusual one. And when the two names are collectively invoked, it’s rarely complimentary. “You might liken Thomas Kinkade paintings to a Joel Osteen book,” wrote Matthew Rosebrock on his blog, Eyes of Faith. “They both tend to give people what they want to hear or see.” [link]

Legacy of Thomas Kinkade: Finding New Homes for Religious Art

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest Disney-Britton

Thomas Kinkade Gallery in Memphis, Tennessee, Courtesy of Gallery

You can say many things about Thomas Kinkade, and people certainly are, but he made collecting fun, and that's the future challenge for those who love religious art. For a long list of reasons, many being theological, we tend to forget the fun ingredient but Kinkade did it by concentrating on what I consider to be the top two challenges -- Community & Marketing. He understood that first of all, collecting is a shared experience, no matter how much money you spend; and secondly, he understood that we live in a browsing culture for the visual arts unless we can make it practical for our homes. That is what I admired about Thomas Kinkade. He identified the two obstacles, and he tackled them both.

Wife of painter of light, Thomas Kinkade seeks restraining order against his girlfriend

MSNBC
By Gil Aegerter

CALIFORNIA - There's a new twist in the aftermath of the death of Thomas Kinkade, the artist called the "Painter of Light." Attorneys representing his wife, Nanette, and estate have filed for a temporary restraining order against Kinkade's girlfriend, Amy Pinto-Walsh, to prevent her from disclosing information about him, Los Gatos Patch reported. Apparently, there are worries about trade secrets, Los Gatos Patch reported. The documents also state that Kinkade died April 5, not April 6 as previously reported, Los Gatos Patch said. [link]

Hack “Artist” & Christian Hypocrite Thomas Kinkade

CONSERVATIVE BABLYON

Hack “Artist” & Christian Hypocrite Thomas Kinkade Dies. Moral apex: After careful consideration, we have to choose the time he took a leak on a Winnie the Pooh statue. FBI investigations and other charges of fraud aside, you really can’t get much lower than peeing on Christopher Robin’s best friend… unless it’s getting busted on a DUI… or grabbing a woman’s boob… or hawking mass-produced, crassly commercial, perspective-crippled “art,” in which the windows of tightly-sealed gingerbread cottages glow with the hellish intensity of a nuclear bomb at the exact moment of fission, and blaming the result on God. [link]

Brother says painter Thomas Kinkade battled alcoholism

THE REPORTER
By Julia Prodis Sulek

Decades of mean-spirited personal attacks against Thomas Kinkade for the bucolic images of storybook cottages he painted, as well as a heartbreaking split from his wife and four daughters two years ago, had taken a toll on the famous "Painter of Light," his brother said Thursday. He turned to the bottle, battling alcoholism over the past four or five years, Patrick Kinkade said of his brother in an exclusive interview with this newspaper. Even though he had sobered up and had been "in his studio painting religiously" over the past few months, he said, Thomas Kinkade had a relapse just before his death last Friday at his hillside home in Monte Sereno. [link]

Thomas Kinkade owed creditors $9M, and all art sale proceeds will go to those bills

THE CHRISTIAN POST
By Brittney R. Villalva

CALIFORNIA - The finances of Thomas Kinkade have surfaced following the well-known painter's death that came unexpectedly over the weekend. Following his passing however, it has been revealed that Kinkade had collected a substantial amount of debt. Although it was apparent that Kinkade had faced financial difficulties because his Morgan Hill Company was forced to file for bankruptcy in 2010 with $6.2 million in unpaid expenses, the extent of his debt appeared to remain unknown. According to Newser, Kinkade passed with an estimated $9 million of debt, which was owed to at least 165 creditors. [link]

Porn artist Ralph Bakshi says: Thomas Kincade was a misunderstood artist, like himself

COMICS ALLIANCE
By Andy Khouri

Kinkade once worked for porn-animation producer Ralph Bakshi

The late painter Thomas Kinkade, who died suddenly a few days ago of as yet undetermined causes, was a polarizing figure in the art world. Kinkade called himself a "painter of light" whose art agent was God himself. But the memory of Kinkade has found itself an unexpected defender: animator Ralph Bakshi, the author of subversive films including Fritz the Cat [See R.Crumb] and Cool World, who mentored Kinkade when the painter worked as a background artist on Fire and Ice. [link]

Thomas Kincade's girlfriend says he died while sleeping; and his wife says it was natural causes

LOS ANGELES TIMES

CALIFORNIA - Although the autopsy of painter Thomas Kinkade has been completed, the announcement of his cause of death may be weeks away, officials said Tuesday. The Santa Clara County Coroner's office performed an autopsy Monday, but is awaiting the results of several tests, including a toxicology screening, before deciding on the cause of death. Meanwhile, Amy Pinto, identified by the San Jose Mercury News as Kinkade's girlfriend, was at his home in Monte Sereno, an affluent enclave near Los Gatos in the Bay Area, and said the painter died in his sleep. Kinkade’s family attributed his death to natural causes, though the exact cause of death will be determined by the coroner. "We are shocked and saddened by his death," his wife, Nanette Kinkade, whom he had been separated from for more than a year, said in a statement. [link]

Christian Conservative, Thomas Kincade, inspires hate among critics

MILWAUKEE JOURNAL | ONLINE
By Mary Louise Schumacher

WISCONSIN - Kinkade, who was a conservative and a Christian, said his paintings were messages of God's love. If the polarization this taps into wasn't evident enough, Laura Miller, at Salon, called Kinkade the George W. Bush of the art world: "I felt compassion for the ripped-off (Kinkade) gallery operators, and at the same time I was aware that quite a few of them had probably also fallen for the similarly sanctimonious, bogus folksiness of George W. Bush, thereby subjecting our nation to one of the worst presidents in its history. Kinkade and Bush struck me as of a piece, probably because they had both borrowed from Ronald Reagan in promising that we could get back to a better way of life that never existed in the first place." [link]

Thomas Kinkade, Artist to Mass Market, Dies at 54

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Matt Flegenheimer

A detail from “The Forest Chapel” by Thomas Kinkade

CALIFORNIA - Thomas Kinkade, the prolific painter of bucolic and idealized scenes who estimated that his mass-produced works hung in one out of 20 American homes, died on Friday at his home in Los Gatos, Calif. He was 54. 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. [link]

Thomas Kincade, Painter of Light is Dead at 54yo

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Tahlib

The Cross (2010)

He died on Good Friday. He had thousands of followers; and he was scorned and hated by elites. Who am I talking about? Jesus Christ, well no, I was talking about Thomas Kincade, the American painter who sold more artwork than anyone ever before. Whose mother, and grandmother doesn't have something in her home by Thomas Kincade, a calendar, bookmark, print, etc.? A lot of people loved him (like my mother) but it seemed just as many hated him, including many artists, cultural critics and his own dealers. I've bought his calendar every Christmas for my mother for years, so we benefited from his commitment to give Americans what they wanted. May the mass marketer Rest In Peace.