4.14.2011

McNaughton and Thomas Kinkade



Today I was asked a good question on my Facebook page, “I see some wonderful similarities between your work and Thomas Kinkade. Who would you say has influenced you the most as an artist?”

That's an interesting comparison. Being an artist is sometimes like being a chef. We all have our specialties. Kinkade likes to make desserts. Sometimes I make desserts too. The difference is that his art is a little sweeter. Right now my focus is on painting what I consider the meat and potatoes.”  

Thomas Kinkade has been popular with many Americans in the last decade.  His dreamy paintings of cottages with cobblestones streets enveloped in spoonfuls of color have been a marketing sensation.  He brands himself as the “Painter of light.”  He has become the whipping boy among many artists today either out of jealousy for his financial success or because they simply don’t like his sentimental paintings.  My only beef against Kinkade is that I can’t paint an English cottage without someone saying the name Thomas Kinkade!  (I suppose that is a credit to his marketing manager.)

Who is my inspiration…a little of everybody and not much of any single individual. I suppose I admire the Renaissance Masters. But I don't like to compare myself to anybody. I have my own voice and own way of doing things.  I am an artist with a mission.  I hope my work will help people to think about their relationship with God and their duty to preserve the liberties we cherish in this country.  My art is a personal journey and the result is for everybody else. Thank you for the question.




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