Remembering Thomas Kinkade and learning from his meteoric rise.
The Painter of Light
by Scott Proposki
In the 1990’s I was young and had an extreme passion for business; add a business with images, photographs, or artwork and you had my total focused attention. Like many entrepreneurs today, I am always looking to add more products or services.
During the 1990’s I started a custom picture frame shop in my local neighborhood strip mall. I named it Frame Plus. I added the “Plus” because I knew I wanted to do more than just frames. I decided to add an art gallery within my frame shop. At the time, the buzz word “customer experience” or the mindset to create your small-town brick and mortar retail store with pleasant smells, the perfect music, and added spotlights to show off all your merchandise wasn’t something that was discussed. You either had the vision or not; it was that simple. Lucky for me, I did have a vision, and as my business coach would tell me, it was my “unique ability.” To see the future and to have a vision.
One day during a trip to Maine, I accidentally found this small art gallery in Kennebunkport, Maine. They had artwork from an artist named Thomas Kinkade, “The Painter of Light™,” I remember that day with vivid details because I ran into the former President, George H. W. Bush, and former First Lady Barbara Bush, who had been seen walking around this small town. Kennebunkport, Maine, was the summer home for the Bush family and still is today.
Kennebunkport was a town filled with unique art galleries, people but for some reason, this artwork from Thomas Kinkade stuck in my mind, and before the end of that day, I was convinced I wanted to have this artwork in my gallery. On Monday morning, I made a few calls to Thomas Kinkade art distributor. To my surprise, there was a handful of paperwork to complete, but I would be an exclusive dealer to sell his artwork, well, at least that’s what I thought!
Over the year, we could not keep enough Thomas Kinkade artwork in stock. One Christmas season, I launched an extensive postcard mailer advertisement campaign. I invited the entire town to see one of Thomas Kinkade’s original artwork on display valued at over $250,000; drop in the bucket if you could put your hands on one today.
We had refreshments with apple cider, cookies, with the added smells of fresh rose flowers blasted the entire store. We had music playing with outdoor nature sounds complete with loons and night peepers from speakers hidden in the gallery.
When customers would view Thomas Kinkade framed artwork in our gallery, you almost felt you were there in the scene of the whimsical cottage small town feelings. We had the lighting perfect in our showroom that made the artwork pop off the wall. My sales script was pinpoint clear on each artwork, Thomas Kinkade’s story, and how he was a true Christian, spoke highly of his wife and daughters, and many other significant details.
That night was a massive success for us. It was a bigger one for Thomas Kinkade as this was being repeated in galleries worldwide. Thomas was now on QVC and in retail shops in every big city. The limited-edition artwork was selling in many different sizes, and it wasn’t easy to know what was real and what was fake. Thomas Kinkade’s product was quickly becoming commoditized due to the quick saturation.
I didn’t give up on selling his artwork. I had an idea and made some sales call myself offering my services to be Thomas Kinkade’s personal photographer. I was looking into a new business venture and wanted to test this new software called Express Digital. It was terrific and had all the parts to puzzle including high-speed printers to print a photo in a minute, all on-site. I would take a picture of Thomas Kinkade with the guest and printed it immediately. Thomas would sign each of the photos and provide them a unique artistic keepsake, never seen before. It was a hit.
I got to know Thomas Kinkade a bit more than most people with our one-on-one conversations during our photoshoots. What was surprising to me was he didn’t talk much. It took a lot to get a few words out of him. He wasn’t a showman and much more introverted than I ever expected. I honestly don’t believe he wanted ever to be in the spotlight but reserved that glow for his paintings.
Years later, I sold my Frame shop and art gallery and went into the event photography space, and the software was a massive success for me. But I always kept my eye on all the Thomas Kinkade merchandise that was being mass-produced. His company was worth millions, and they could not pump out new artwork fast enough. Sales declined over the years as the uniqueness faded, and most people lost interest in his works.
Although Kinkade was among the most commercially successful American painters and one of the most collected artists of all-time, his quaint landscapes are widely reproduced. Kinkade died April 6, 2012, of “acute intoxication” from alcohol and diazepam at the age of 54. Diazepam is used for many medical conditions but is commonly used for anxiety.
I always felt until you meet someone in person, you don’t genuinely know them other than what you might see on social media or, in some cases, what you see on the national news. All that matters to me is I knew Thomas Kinkade, and by my interaction, it appeared he suffered from melancholy and anxiety; I saw it firsthand, but obviously, it was a much bigger problem.
Being famous and quickly becoming wealthy can change a person, sometimes for the good other times, it can cause a severe condition of depression, addiction, or suicide. Unfortunately, I’m sure you can think of a few famous people from high-profile CEOs to rockstars to professional athletes that fit this same unfortunate profile.
Today many high-performance coaches and mentors help these rockstar CEOs navigate the waters to ensure they don’t get into hot water. Sometimes, it can be challenging for people to speak with someone who carries so much influence. Professional high-performance coaches do not judge; they have a particular interest in making that top person succeed in business. They can help people with something as simple as seeing the world as it really is, living in the “now” and being present for the many enjoyable gifts it brings. As Tennessee Williams once said, “Time is the longest distance between two places.”
At Gallery760.com, we provide coaching strategies that help you create good habits that will utilize your time more effectively allowing for greater efficiency and balance. Please click Let’s Talk below to learn more and how we can help you prioritize your precious and valuable time.
