Glory of Creation (Thomas Kinkade's Lighted Path Collection)

Rating:
Summary: Buckeye art in full flower
Review: Thomas Kinkade is the name of a painter, and now an industry, that produces highly colorful, saccharin kitsch that is found decorating all sorts of objects. I first encountered Kinkade's work as elaborately framed "paintings" displayed in a gallery at the front of a local furniture emporium. I was shocked to see four-figure prices attached to pieces that were obviously some sort of reproduction. These prices led me to suspect a scam was under way, especially when I noticed blobs of white pigment standing in bas relief from the surface, obvously meant to give the illusion of a hand-painted work. When I asked a hovering saleslady whether she was aware the pieces were reproductions, she readily admitted they were. And recently, an ad in the local paper invited all and sundry to come watch an expert from the Kinkade factory apply these white "highlights" to the lithographs, which are apparently shipped without them. I would suggest that the lithos be sold with a tube of paint so the buyer can apply his own "highlights" and thus create a real original. For the prices asked, you should get at least enough paint to do your living room, too.