Has there been a more divisive artist in recent American history than Thomas Kinkade? The late painter made quite a name for himself in the ’80s and ’90s with his particular style, consisting mostly of gardens and cozy cottages in the woods, usually painted with saturated pastel colors.
Although his work was almost instantly derided by art critics the world over as being kitschy and corny, prints of his paintings sold in the bucketloads, especially in mall poster stores across America, and on home shopping networks like QVC. It has been estimated that 1 in every 20 American homes owns a copy of one of his paintings, which means it is very likely that your grandma owns one.Due to his tendancy to paint quaint little forests with running streams and the like, it’s no wonder he was chosen as one of the artists to create an exclusive set of prints for the Disney theme parks. Even in his non-Disney paintings, it’s almost as if you can see Bambi or one of the seven dwarfs just off the frame somewhere.
Among those who definitely love the Disney work of Thomas Kinkade are the folks at Bored Panda, who recently showcased a collection of Kinkade’s Disney series on their blog. The site even goes as far as to say “the late Thomas Kinkade illustrated Disney worlds better than anyone I’ve seen – I’d say even better than Disney itself”. Yeah, I’m not so sure about that, but to each their own.
Among the Kinkade paintings, which you can see in our gallery below, are images inspired by classic Disney fare like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Little Mermaind, Beauty and the Beast, Tangled, and a whole lot more. Even the more recent live-action Cinderella is included, which means that one of Kinkade Studios’ officially licensed copycat artists made it, as the live-action Cinderella came out in 2015, and Thomas Kinkade passed away three years earlier.
What do you think of this Kinkade Disney art? Would you say it’s “better than Disney itself?” Let us know what you think down below in the comments.
Images: Walt Disney Company / Thomas Kinkade Studios
