What makes the paintings above any different than any other Kinkade print you would find in a dentist office, class room, or private home? Well, these are puzzles, and the women who put them together completely defied the Kinkade system whether they knew they were doing it or not.
Thomas Kinkade, self proclaimed "Painter of Light," is one of those artists that I have mixed feelings about. How much his work is really for Christ's glory and how much of it is for the profit? What does he do with all the money he makes on his products? Completely dismissing the many varieties of trinkets his images appear upon, his paintings alone are an interesting issue. The original is painted by the artist's hand, but that painting is never sold; reproductions are made and dabs of paint are added by workers to entensify the highlights. These glorified reproductions are then sold for anything from $800 to $1200 dollars a piece; priced based on size and framing options.
Art students and professors alike tend to classify Kinkade's work as "Kitch," basically art for the masses. Although I doubt he would use the term "Kitch," I think Kinkade would agree that his paintings are indended for a large audience. His own website claims that he is the most highly collected painter of our age.
However shady Kinkade's purposes, there is no doubt about the intention of the women who pieced together these puzzles. The missionary group who come to help at Camp Maranatha found themselves in need of an activity during their stay in Idyllwild, and so turned to the church thrift store where these puzzles were purchased at fifty cents a piece. The missionaries took time to creat the puzzles, bonding and spending time in fellowship. Hardly any money was spent on these puzzles, and the money that was spent went to a charitable organization. These are two Kinkades I have no dispute with.
