A SURPRISING HERO

It may surprise you that one of my great artistic mentors was Paul Cezanne. This early modernist disintegrated the common conceptions of pictural space and in so doing created his own visual language. He is credited with being the prototype of the later cubist masters including Picasso and Braque, but to me he was one heck of a picture maker. During my years of mentorship with the great Glen Wessels he constantly referred to Cezanne as a towering genius whose utilization of pictural space revolutionized the way art was viewed. Take a look at some of his images. He constructs still-life paintings as though they were landscapes with foreground, middle ground and distance, all the while bending the eye's perception and allowing us to wander all over the canvas. A basic tenant of my creative process is to realize that I am crafting a three dimensional world on a two dimensional surface. Cezanne was the master of utilizing what later scholars referred to as “plastic space” – that is, a utilization of and awareness of the interaction between the two dimensional surface and the three dimensional world which is represented. People ask why my paintings are popular and it is easy to point to my use of light and mood. In truth, I view each painting as a geometric jigsaw puzzle that requires great insight to construct a spacial platform to allow the eye to wander in and out while maintaining its awareness of the surface. And, thinking along these lines all goes back to what I learned from Cezanne.

While in Provence last month, I was able to visit the garden and studio of this “towering genius”. It was a tremendous moment for me.

A FEW SNAPSHOTS FROM OUR TRIP, PART II

Nanette really enjoyed the fields of bright red corn poppies we saw along our journey and would often stop to tuck one into her bike helmet as we rode. The French poppy, too, holds great symbolism to veterans from many countries. I think I’ll do something with poppies in the future…













As we traveled, we kept discovering other sites painted by Vincent Van Gogh. Nanette and I were able to visit many of the actual settings where Van Gogh painted during his short and troubled lifetime. I was enamored with Van Gogh as a child because of the raw emotion he put into his art. He was a prolific artist, creating over 900 paintings in his lifetime before tragically ending his own life in his mid-30’s. The passion he poured onto the canvas was so significant and such a reflection of the intense color and subject matter of the south of France. One of our stops was the town of Arles. The Night Café (Le Café de Nuit) was painted here and a café stands in the same location to this day. I painted the scene from the exterior, capturing the yellow awning and charming village street in watercolor. I've attached here a small detail taken from my final watercolor sketch.











One of my favorite stops was Saint Paul-de-Mausole, the asylum where Van Gogh spent many hours painting in St-Rémy-de-Provence. While I sketched the beds of lavender and poppies, I received several offers from other tourists to buy my little watercolor. I thanked them, but declined, as I’d like to be able to publish the entire set of watercolors from this trip later this year.








This world-famous painting by Van Gogh known simply as “Irises” - the original now owned by the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles - was painted here in this very garden. An unrecognized artistic genius, Van Gogh sold only one painting during his lifetime. It was both humbling and saddening to walk the very paths the great genius trod, seeking comfort in his art, seeking solace from his troubled soul.

A FEW SNAPSHOTS FROM OUR TRIP

While in Europe, I stopped by the Thomas Kinkade gallery in Dublin and enjoyed a bit of Irish warmth and hospitality.

From Ireland we flew to England and had the delightful opportunity to tour the estate of Dame Barbara Cartland. Dubbed by Vogue magazine as “The True Queen of Romance” Dame Cartland wrote over 700 novels in her lifetime, selling over a billion copies. Her personal library of first editions was overwhelming. You might also know her by her affiliation with the Spencer family – as in Lady Diana Spencer, later known as Diana, Princess of Wales. Dame Cartland had one theme throughout all of her writing – Love Conquers All. Really, just another way of saying that light always wins out over darkness. I was there as a guest of her eldest son, Ian McCorquodale, and we were discussing how I might be able to honor the legacy of Barbara Cartland in the future. Suggestions?

I was on a walk with Nanette and we hadn’t brought any food – I walked into a village store and asked for something with protein and what they offered me were “Burger Flavored” chips…

Paris: it was breathtaking. There simply aren’t enough words. I did a number of watercolor studies while I was there and I’m looking forward to bringing some of those to canvas in 2009.

The light in Provence lends itself well to the watercolor medium, to spontaneous results a la prima - all at once, or in one sitting. The countryside of France, with its dramatic colors and high contrasts of shade and sun, is the perfect subject matter for watercolors.

I’ll post additional photos next week from the bike trip in Southern France, and maybe one or two watercolors. Please enjoy!

WATERCOLORS AND BIKES - A NEW HOBBY

Nanette and I in the South of France, June, 2008



Long distance bike touring. I shouldn’t call it new. I’ve had an interest in bike touring since I was a kid. My brother and I planned elaborate tours all over the foothills and into the Sacramento Valley. It would be nothing for us to go 50 miles or more on a given bike ride—and this back in the day of the old Schwinn ten speeds. My recent discovery of bike touring has facilitated several trips that my wife and I have been involved in, not only exploring our local region, but envisioning trips to Europe and other locations even more remote. We have just returned from a trip to the South of France where we were able to tour Provence on our bikes – and coincidentally, visit many locations painted by Impressionist greats such as Van Gogh and Cezanne. This trip has re-ignited my passion for watercolor. Watercolor is the most portable of media, and allows a great platform for expression. I can paint a detailed watercolor in an hour or so - or in many cases on this last trip, just fifteen minutes. I love being able to take one of these study sketches back to my studio to use as the inspiration for a studio painting later on.

THANK YOU

In Daytona this past weekend, as always, I was delighted to make new friends and renew old acquaintances. I want to say thank you to all of you - those who came out to meet me in person, or stopped by this blog, or Facebook, or the Thomas Kinkade website - for your comments, kind words and encouragement. Your enthusiasm and appreciation for my art continues to be a source of great joy for me. God bless you all.

THE DISNEY CONNECTION, PART II

The first image in my “Timeless Disney Moments Collection” will recreate that pivotal moment in the film when Snow White stumbles upon the seven Dwarfs’ cottage in the forest. My goal in this image is to imaginatively expand upon what is actually depicted in the feature itself. I have tried to step into the world created by the film and “wander around” in my imagination, searching for new vistas. For the Snow White image I went back to the early design work for the film and discovered many great concept sketches of the cottage and the surrounding landscape that are largely unknown today - one of which I've shown here. For example, there was originally a waterfall envisioned near the cottage, so I included a dramatic cascade in my painting. One or two scenes reference the Prince’s castle in the distance – for my composition I have included a reveal of the castle at the right of the composition. I also couldn’t help throwing in animal details. These range from squirrels and rabbits to the gentle deer that help guide Snow White to the safe haven of the cottage. A wise tortoise observes the scene from the banks of the stream, and a curious squirrel sits atop a tree stump.

I hope your experience of my “Snow White Discovers the Cottage” equals the exhilaration and pure joy I had creating it. Look for Snow White, and the launch of my “Timeless Disney Moments Collection” in galleries by the beginning of August. What other images would you like to see in this collection?

ANOTHER GREAT TRIP TO DAYTONA!

Talking with Ryan Newman, winner of the 2008 DAYTONA 500.



We're just back from Daytona and the Coke Zero 400! It was incredible! The race was dramatic and exciting, the fans were enthusiastic, and I met so many new friends! Saturday was hot - and a little steamy – but everyone was having a blast! I was so appreciative that although it was so warm, so many fans came out to see me in the FANZONE in the hot sun! And I got to spend a little time with Ryan Newman right before he got ready for the race. Nanette and the girls were with me and the NASCAR and Daytona Speedway teams really made us all feel welcome – we even got to go to the Driver’s Meeting! Big thrill for all of us to be with the teams and drivers before the big race.

Thanks to everyone for a great weekend, for your generous and kind comments, and for all my new Facebook friends as well. I'm so glad you are enjoying my NASCAR THUNDER, The 50th Running of the DAYTONA 500 painting so much!

PACKING FOR DAYTONA

I'm leaving this week for another visit to the Daytona International Speedway. It's going to be hot, but amazing, to be back at the track - this time at the Coke Zero 400 race.

In the meantime, and in my effort to stay current with the web, I've also launched my own Facebook page.

More on that, and other things, next week. Thanks for stopping by