Thomas Kink--ade, "Painter of Blight," Loses $2.1 Million Lawsuit

[onager]

A federal appeals court has some dark news for the self-described "Painter of Light," Thomas Kinkade - it has restored an arbitration panel's $2.1 million award to two former gallery owners who say Kinkade's company duped them into investing their life's savings in a doomed enterprise...

At a weeklong presentation for prospective Kinkade Signature Gallery owners, company executives "said they would support us as partners in spreading the light," Spinello said at the time of the arbitration award. "They said their business was blessed."

In its February 2006 decision, the arbitration panel said Kinkade and other company officials used terms like "partner," "trust," "Christian" and "God" to create "a certain religious environment designed to instill a special relationship of trust" with the couple.

What the company didn't tell them, said their attorney, was that they would have to sell Kinkade's works at minimum retail prices while the artist undercut them with discount sales, some of which he made himself on cable television.

Full story here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/17/MNJ11893SP.DTL&tsp=1

Major snark here: http://jezebel.com/5295394/bad-art

My favorite comment at Jezebel: Turner was the painter of light, dickwad, not you.

:rofl:

[rrneck]

1. I owe you one. Best news I've had all day! nt

[charlie]

2. Is that right?

He's only lost 2 cases? The number of gallery owners he's ruined in similar ways are huge. Maybe now they can do a class action and bag that fucker.

I didn't much like Bob Ross, but I didn't mind his You Too Can Be a Hack pitch. The high pretentiousness of the REO Speedwagon of Artistes however, is an affront to all decency. He needs some learnin' about humility, Biblical style.

[progressoid]

3. "Turner was the painter of light, dickwad, not you." Perfect comment!

Couldn't have happened to a better person. Suprised it's only 2.1 mil.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

4. J.M.W. Turner.

I remember him from Art History class.

"The Fighting Temeraire".

[Auggie]

7. "All I really want to do is paint light on the side of a house..."

Edward Hopper is another

[moggie]

5. When a businessman talks of Gawd, grab your wallet and run

I think overt religiosity from someone who is trying to sell you something usually means they're not to be trusted.

The appeal of Kinkade's work fills me with horror. He's like the high fructose corn syrup of art.

[Warpy]

6. There's an antidote to his paintings

http://www.somethingawful.com/d/photoshop-phriday/paintings-light-part.php

It's hard to pick a favorite, but I'm partial to the barrels of sludge going down the stream, the glue factory, the Klan meeting, and the erupting volcano.

Losing a big lawsuit like that couldn't happen to a more appropriate sanctimonious sleazebag. His "paintings" are pure scam, ugly prints of his stuff with a few blobs of paint here and there to make them "originals."

It's calendar art.

[progressoid]

8. Those are great!

It certainly is hard to pic a favorite. The Klan is great. Also the ape painting. Or the guy buggering the elk. The roll of toilet paper.

They're all better than Tommy Kinky's crap.

[onager]

9. Fashion update!

Not that I know anything about fashion. But I know what I like to laugh at...

I'm getting the day started here by mainlining coffee and browsing the interwebs. Our company is on a "9/80" work schedule, so we get every other Friday off. Yes!

Over at some site I forgot to bookmark, a poster called Ed Hardy "the Thomas Kinkade of fashion."

:rofl:

This mostly seems to be the fault of marketing vampire Christian Audigier, the same tool who mass-marketed Von Dutch into oblivion. After the artist himself was safely dead, IIRC.

Evidence submitted:

1. Jon Gosselin wears (free) Ed Hardy stuff.

2. Ed Hardy clothes frequently show up on this site:

http://www.hotchickswithdouchebags.com/