Thomas Kinkade Reading Notes

1. -What would his style of painting be considered"
-Why does he chose to paint in a dreamy sort of way?
-How does he chose his scenes?

2. -His work is meant to appeal to the masses and be widely distributed. I think I dislike that about his work.
-I wonder if he really likes painting these scenes or if he does so because he thinks it has such a wide appeal and he knows others will like it. I wonder what he'd paint if he painted what he really wanted to paint, without trying to appeal to the masses.
-I think he can paint very well, but don't like that he is motivated by the commercial side of distributing his artwork. To each his own though, who am I to say that that is any worse than other reasons people may chose to make art. Maybe if people really liked my work so much I'd want to pump it out and go commercial so that all who wanted could have it. Maybe he has good intentions behind going commercially.
-I think his paintings to seem to portray a "better time" that has passed when things were more simple and that may be why they appeal to so many people.
-His paintings do have a rather inviting feel to them.
-I wonder how he went about building such an extensive "empire."
-I like that in his mission he states ways he hopes his art will help others.
-Going back to art history, the availability/accessability of his artwork is probably a good thing so that everyone can own art and it is not just an elitist luxury.
-His work also doesn't require analytical skills, the "common man" can just enjoy it for its aesthetic quality, whether or not that's good I'm not sure, but it's a start at getting people into art.
-His marketing plans seem very well thought out and apparently he has quite a following.

3.-His art is considered contemporary art. I wasn't sure what it would be classified when I looked at it because the subject matter and some of the lighting concerns seemed impressionistic to me, but not enough so that I would think it'd be considered impressionistic. They are definetely landscapes too and have a serene dreamy feel to them.
-It seems like he paints in this dreamy sort of way for the aesthetic appeal, as well as the emotions it conjures up in people. He seems to set out to create ideal, inviting spaces where one could escape and not have any problems or hardships. I think this is also contributes to his wide appeal that helps sell his work, which is something he wants to accomplish.
-Once again, I think this decision is based off of his desire to appeal to the masses by creating ideal, inviting spaces that people feel they can escape to and not have any problems or hardships. The scenes he choses also seem universal enough that many people probably can attatch memories to them or they could have some emotional significance for them.

4. -Did he ever go to art school?
-How did he get started as an artist with commercial affiliations?
-Does he really enjoy what he paints, or does he just do it because he knows people like it and will buy it?