Interview: Thomas Kinkade on mirroring God's creation
Rev Anthony Harper of InterMountain Christian News talks to one of America's best known artists, the "Painter of Light" Thomas Kinkade ...
When and how did you come to faith in Christ Jesus as your personal Saviour?
When I was a kid, my mother was a woman of prayer and she raised us to believe in what she would call ‘little miracles.’ If she got a $5 extra fee as a Notary Public, then that to her was a miracle. She believed that miracles were an everyday occurrence, not just something that was dramatic like the parting of the waters of the Red Sea. She believed that miracles were as simple as a kind word or a small gesture or some opportunity that came your way that you didn’t expect.
When I went off to college, she said: “Son, I’m going to be praying for you that God will always reach out and touch your life.” It was during my years at Berkeley, I began to notice that God’s hand was at work – first in the professors that I had, second in the way in which I found my faith getting reinforced, and thirdly sometimes by the way He closed doors. It wasn’t just a question of Him opening doors all the time. I began to notice that sometimes when He closed doors, it was the greatest blessing as well.
I went to southern California to go to Art school – when I was there, I went with friends to a Tent Revival meeting and that was the time I recommitted my life to Christ. I was about 20 years old at the time and I think that was a time where my faith emerged not just as a byproduct of my Mom’s faith, but as my own personal faith.
How has Christ Jesus inspired you in your art work?
Well, there’s no doubt that God created the world with a desire to give us pleasure. There is beauty in every sunset, there is hope in every sunrise and there’s a great sense of the abundance and diversity of the world itself.
Colour reminds me that God gave us senses that we can celebrate beauty. The world probably could have been just as easily created in black and white, but because we have a sense of colour, we can celebrate nature in all its diversity.
My belief is that the artist has a great chance to hold up a mirror to God’s creation and remind people of God’s love by revelling in the beauty of the forms He created. We pass through the beauty of this world without stopping to take notice of God’s hand of creation.
His masterwork is the earth itself and the diversity of plant life, animal life, the diversity of natural experiences including sunrises, sunsets, misty mornings, etc., all testify to the abundance of His creativity. I think as artists, we just attest to God’s creative hand by attempting to imitate Him in our own creativity.
My work radiates light. The light that I try to paint is not just the visual light of perception, but also the light of God’s radiant love. The sense that when you look in the windows, there are people at peace inside that dwelling. There’s a sense of all consuming comfort and tranquility that people need now more than ever.
You are noted for having John 3:16 in all your paintings. How did that come about?
That is just a testimony to my faith in Christ. The core of the Gospel is John 3:16 because we realize that God loved the whole world, not just the bits and pieces of it that we think are desirable or worthy of His love, but God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. That’s a pretty powerful love.
I put that scripture on my paintings as a testimony to my love for God and also to God’s love for me. The hope is that people will be curious about that scripture verse and will seek to understand it on their own. If someone opens the Bible and looks it up, then it’s been worth putting on my paintings.
How old were you when you started doing sketching and later painting?
Well, I was in art as a baby. I definitely had a God given talent from an early age, but it was truly an opportunity to watch God’s hand at work. When I was 14 years old, an old artist moved into the neighborhood and became my mentor. Looking back, that was one of the greatest miracles of my life.
In fact, that story, the story of how Glen Wessels moved to the neighbourhood and adopted me as his protégé, friend and studio assistant, was told in a major Hollywood movie entitled Thomas Kinkade’s Christmas Cottage. [Editor: This featured in a recent Inspire online competition]
And this movie tells the story of this miracle in my life – the time that God brought an ageing artist who needed a young friend and helper into my community, and gave me a chance to work with him.
What else would you like to share with our readers?
My mom always said that God gives us talents for a reason – that when God gives you a talent that’s His gift to you, but that how you use your talent is your gift to God. I believe each of us in our own way, have talents and that the obligations of our talents are to let the light of God shine.
Humans don’t glow in the physical sense, but we glow with God’s love as reflected in the way in which we treat one another. Jesus said you’ll know my children by their love for one another. This is truly a core scripture for me. I try in every way to exude love. When I meet with strangers at an event, or when I’m standing on the stage or when I’m in my daily dealings with people, I try to operate on the principle of love. I think love is the brightest light of all.
- To listen to Anthony Harper's interview with Thomas Kinkade online, click on the 'download my interview' link at www.imcnews.org
- More information is available at www.thomaskinkade.com and www.thechristmascottagemovie.com
Rev Anthony Harper, Ph.D, publisher
InterMountain Christian News, Boise, Idaho
Sunday November 16, At The Centre on The Grove, Boise, Idaho
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