OK, I admit it. I was one of those people who cringed when a friend or relative answered the question "Who is your favorite artist?" with "Thomas Kinkade".
After his death this past April, I felt properly saddened. Then, when I read that he was often depressed that a lot of people didn't consider him to be a "real artist", I felt guilty.
As an artist - a "fine artist" - I always thought of Kinkade as more of a craftsperson, not an artist. So, I was truly shocked when I heard that Kinkade was bothered because he was not assigned the title "artist" by .. well, by serious artists.
Honestly, I've never been fond of labels. I don't think any one descriptor can properly characterize anyone. Nor should it. We all wear many hats. We each have different gifts, different talents, different abilities. But to say that any one of those characteristics fully describes who we are? Well, I think that's folly.
Thomas Kinkade was a wonderful craftsman. He had a lot of talent and his works were loved - and bought! - by many. Was he an "artist"? I don't know. If his fans thought of him as such, who am I to argue?
I do know that I believe strongly that "Art is what you think it is.". (Yeah, I came up with that. All by myself.) And the more you think about that little saying, the more you realize that art is very much an individual preference. Heck, a leaf on the ground may be art to some people.
So, for me to say Kinkade wasn't an artist is nothing short of hypocritical. And, that's just another hat I wear far too often.
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