Town Square 1986

Thomas Kinkade's 'Town Square' is awash with light, a kind of utopian glow, laid down with delicate brushwork to create this incredibly detailed scene. You can almost imagine Kinkade meticulously layering those strokes, trying to catch that perfect luminescence. I feel a deep empathy for painters of light. It's like you are always chasing something elusive, intangible. Look at the way the light catches the wet street, reflecting the warm hues of the sky. It’s theatrical, hyperreal even. I wonder what it must have been like for Kinkade, wrestling with these ideals of beauty and harmony. What kind of conversations was he having with the history of art? He’s part of this long chain of artists, like Turner and the Hudson River School painters, grappling with light and landscape, pushing the boundaries of what paint can do. We all borrow, steal, and riff off each other. It is this ongoing dance that makes art so alive.