Retailers and gallery owners say action by popular 'Painter of Light' artist will protect the company from 'frivolous lawsuits'

Christian retailers and gallery owners say they do not expect any negative impact from the company of "Painter of Light" Thomas Kinkade's recent filing for bankruptcy protection.

Dennis Lovvorn, co-owner of New Covenant Christian Bookstore in Shelbyville, Tenn., told Christian Retailing that he has carried Kinkade's art for 15 years.

"I have over 100 paintings," said Lovvorn, a Kinkade dealer for nine years. "I keep it stocked because it's a good line for us. I don't have any intention of discontinuing it. I'm very happy with them. It's been a bright spot in a dismal economy."

The Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection petition was filed this summer, allowing the Kinkade production arm, Pacific Metro,  to reorganize and put an automatic stay on the collection of all judgments, including one for $3 million owed to Karen Hazlewood and Jeff Spinello, the Los Angeles Timesreported. 

Hazlewood and Spinello are former gallery owners who have tried for four years to collect on a judgment they won against Kinkade. They sued the artist in 2003, claiming Kinkade duped them into investing their life's savings in a doomed enterprise.

Lovvorn, who traveled to California in September with his wife, Andrea, to attend the biennial Thomas Kinkade Dealer Conference, said the suit filed against Kinkade was "ridiculous."

"Kinkade can't be faulted for somebody's poor business practice," he said. "I'm accountable for what I buy from a vendor. From what I know, the former gallery owners were disgruntled. They thought they would ride Kinkade's coattails, and he would make them wealthy."

Jim Odom, who owns seven Thomas Kinkade Galleries in Huntsville, Ala., as well as Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg and Chatanooga, Tenn., told Christian Retailing that the bankruptcy protection "doesn't change anything."

"They're still shipping product," he said. "They are paying their vendors 100% to the dollar. … I can't imagine anybody discontinuing carrying Thomas Kinkade products because of the filing."

Odom, who, like Lovvorn , received a call from a Thomas Kinkade executive after the company filed bankruptcy protection, said the bankruptcy protection was mentioned during the Kinkade conference.

"They went over it in some detail," said Odom, who has owned his galleries since 1997. "To me, the bankruptcy protection is a non-event because they're protecting themselves from what I call frivolous lawsuits. … Our sales are even from last year. I can't detect any measurable difference in sales because of the filing."

Lovvorn said his customers are familiar with the suit against Kinkade and the bankruptcy protection.