Religions > Atheism > Dark Portrait of 'Painter of Light' - LA Times exposes Thomas Kincade
| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"666" |
| Date: |
05 Mar 2006 08:25:47 AM |
| Object: |
Dark Portrait of 'Painter of Light' - LA Times exposes Thomas Kincade |
Los Angeles Times
March 5, 2006
Dark Portrait of a 'Painter of Light'
Christian-themed artist Thomas Kinkade is accused of ruthless tactics
and seamy personal conduct. He disputes the allegations.
By Kim Christensen, Times Staff Writer
Thomas Kinkade is famous for his luminous landscapes and street scenes,
those dreamy, deliberately inspirational images he says have brought
"God's light" into people's lives, even as they have made him one of
America's most collected artists.
A devout Christian who calls himself the "Painter of Light," Kinkade
trades heavily on his beliefs and says God has guided his brush - and
his life - for the last 20 years. "When I got saved, God became my
art agent," he said in a 2004 video biography, genteel in tone and rich
in the themes of faith and family values that have helped win him
legions of fans...
In litigation and interviews with the Los Angeles Times, former gallery
owners depict Kinkade, 48, as a ruthless businessman who drove them to
financial ruin at the same time he was fattening his business
associates' bank accounts and feathering his nest with tens of millions
of dollars. Last month, a three-member panel of the American
Arbitration Assn. ordered his company to pay $860,000 for defrauding
the former owners of two failed Virginia galleries. That decision marks
the first major legal setback for Kinkade, who won three previous
arbitration claims. Five more are pending.
It's not just Kinkade's business practices that have been called into
question. In sworn testimony and interviews, former gallery owners,
ex-employees and others say his personal behavior also belies the
wholesome image on which he's built his empire...
Dandois, who left the company to become chief executive of a group of
galleries owned by Kinkade's brother, Patrick, recounted that about six
years ago the artist was so intoxicated during a performance by
Siegfried & Roy in Las Vegas that people seated nearby moved away from
him. "I think it was Roy or Siegfried or whatever had a codpiece in his
leotards," Dandois testified. "And so when the show started, Thom just
started yelling, 'Codpiece, codpiece,' and had to be quieted by his
mother and Nanette."
At other times, Kinkade could be downright nasty, Dandois testified,
recalling an incident in which Dandois' wife tried to help the
allegedly inebriated artist to his feet in a bar. "He had been falling
down, and he fell off the stool, and he was laying on the ground and
just looked up at her and flipped her the bird and told her, you know,
just to 'F you' several times," Dandois testified.
And then there is Kinkade's proclivity for "ritual territory marking,"
as he called it. In an interview, Sheppard, a former vice president for
Kinkade's company who often accompanied Kinkade on the road, recounted
a trip to Orange County in the late 1990s for the artist's appearance
on the "Hour of Power" television show at the Crystal Cathedral in
Garden Grove. On the eve of the broadcast, Sheppard said, he and
Kinkade returned to the Disneyland Hotel after a night of heavy
drinking. As they walked to their rooms, according to Sheppard and
another person who was there, Kinkade veered toward a nearby figure of
a Disney character. "Thom wanders over to Winnie the Pooh and decides
to 'mark his territory,' " Sheppard told The Times... When pressed
about allegedly relieving himself in a hotel elevator in Las Vegas,
Kinkade said it might have happened...
At a signing party in Indiana in August 2002, Kinkade polled the men in
the room about their preferences in women's anatomies. "He was having a
conversation with the men in the room about whether they like breasts
or butts," said Lori Kopec, Cote's director of gallery operations, who
also testified about the party. "There were only two women in the room,
and I was very uncomfortable at that point." It was during that bawdy
discussion, according to arbitration records, that Kinkade turned his
attention to the other woman. "He approached [her] and he palmed her
breasts and he said, 'These are great tits!' " Ernie Dodson, another
Cote employee, told The Times, adding that he drank no alcohol that
night. "I was just standing in the corner in amazement. It was like,
holy cow!" The woman whom Kinkade allegedly fondled confirmed to The
Times that he touched her breasts without her consent... Cote and Kopec
said they also saw the alleged groping. "She let out a yelp and backed
away," Kopec said. "That's when I knew he had actually touched her."...
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| User: "A." |
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| Title: Re: Dark Portrait of 'Painter of Light' - LA Times exposes Thomas Kincade |
09 Mar 2006 04:00:26 PM |
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666 wrote:
Los Angeles Times
March 5, 2006
Dark Portrait of a 'Painter of Light'
<snip>
In litigation and interviews with the Los Angeles Times, former gallery
owners depict Kinkade, 48, as a ruthless businessman who drove them to
financial ruin at the same time he was fattening his business
associates' bank accounts and feathering his nest with tens of millions
of dollars. Last month, a three-member panel of the American
Arbitration Assn. ordered his company to pay $860,000 for defrauding
the former owners of two failed Virginia galleries. That decision marks
the first major legal setback for Kinkade, who won three previous
arbitration claims. Five more are pending.
This happened to some old friends of mine - very sad. They took their
retirement account plus their money from selling their fast food
business and put it into a Kinkade franchise. Supposedly, Kinkade's
company had done a "complete business analysis" of the location of the
new gallery, which turned out to be completely false. Not only was no
analysis done, a false analysis (including demographics and false
statistics about previous sales of his paintings) was provided. These
two people were not particularly savvy about contracts or scams (or
art!), they have spent their entire lives ensconced in what they see as
"The Christian Community." They have now moved out of state into a
house with her ailing sister, their two kids are on their own
financially, but living with their grandma. So, instead of having a
nice retirement and something to leave to their kids, they have
nothing. Everyone speaks about it in hushed tones, as both are very
depressed and embarassed.
I'm glad the law is catching up to him.
A.
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| User: "Kris Baker" |
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| Title: Re: Dark Portrait of 'Painter of Light' - LA Times exposes Thomas Kincade |
09 Mar 2006 04:08:45 PM |
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"A." <atalanta.brilliante@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1141941626.024984.44160@j52g2000cwj.googlegroups.com...
This happened to some old friends of mine - very sad. They took their
retirement account plus their money from selling their fast food
business and put it into a Kinkade franchise. Supposedly, Kinkade's
company had done a "complete business analysis" of the location of the
new gallery, which turned out to be completely false. Not only was no
analysis done, a false analysis (including demographics and false
statistics about previous sales of his paintings) was provided. These
two people were not particularly savvy about contracts or scams (or
art!), they have spent their entire lives ensconced in what they see as
"The Christian Community." They have now moved out of state into a
house with her ailing sister, their two kids are on their own
financially, but living with their grandma. So, instead of having a
nice retirement and something to leave to their kids, they have
nothing. Everyone speaks about it in hushed tones, as both are very
depressed and embarassed.
I'm glad the law is catching up to him.
A.
Only when people sue.
People who "get embarrassed" when they are scammed, are the
ones that keep the scammer in business.
It's kind of like all the people who end up with timeshares, because
they got this little card in the mail offering them a free meal ;)
Kris
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| User: "stoney" |
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| Title: Re: Dark Portrait of 'Painter of Light' - LA Times exposes Thomas Kincade |
11 Mar 2006 11:14:29 AM |
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On Thu, 09 Mar 2006 22:08:45 GMT, "Kris Baker" <kris.baker@prodigyy.net>
wrote in alt.atheism
"A." <atalanta.brilliante@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1141941626.024984.44160@j52g2000cwj.googlegroups.com...
This happened to some old friends of mine - very sad. They took their
retirement account plus their money from selling their fast food
business and put it into a Kinkade franchise. Supposedly, Kinkade's
company had done a "complete business analysis" of the location of the
new gallery, which turned out to be completely false. Not only was no
analysis done, a false analysis (including demographics and false
statistics about previous sales of his paintings) was provided. These
two people were not particularly savvy about contracts or scams (or
art!), they have spent their entire lives ensconced in what they see as
"The Christian Community." They have now moved out of state into a
house with her ailing sister, their two kids are on their own
financially, but living with their grandma. So, instead of having a
nice retirement and something to leave to their kids, they have
nothing. Everyone speaks about it in hushed tones, as both are very
depressed and embarassed.
I'm glad the law is catching up to him.
A.
Only when people sue.
People who "get embarrassed" when they are scammed, are the
ones that keep the scammer in business.
It's kind of like all the people who end up with timeshares, because
they got this little card in the mail offering them a free meal ;)
A fee meal..... ;)
--
Fundies and trolls are cordially invited to
shove a wooden cross up their arses and rotate
at a high rate of speed. I trust you'll
be 'blessed' with a cornucopia of splinters.
.
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