About Andy Thomas, who painted the "tacky" Trump print

[Algernon Moncrieff]

Andy Thomas is a commercial artist based in Carthage, MO. He likes doing western art, pop culture art, and political figures of both parties playing pool, poker, or just sitting around drinking. His work is available online and at art stores everywhere.

https://andythomas.com/

[WhiskeyGrinder]

1. Honestly Thomas' stuff is corny but harmless. Jon McNaughton, on the other hand, is something

else entirely. I love his stuff, it's so awful.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

4. Is McNaughton the one who did the silly painting of the Constitution in shreds?

I always know what topics to stay off of when I see that in an office.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. It's kitsch, but there's a market for that.

Just look at how well Thomas Kinkade's crap sells. The problem with the painting with Trump in it is that Trump has hung the damn thing in the White House because he's the center of it. George Takei says he actually commissioned it. As art goes it's in the same category as those paintings of dogs playing poker, which are at least funny instead of nauseating, or paintings of Elvis on black velvet or those paintings of sad children with abnormally large eyes.

That gives me an idea. Is there anyone out there who can do a painting on black velvet of a sad, huge-eyed Trump wearing a fat Elvis spangled jumpsuit?

[Algernon Moncrieff]

15. I'm not doubting that Takei said that, but that's not my understanding

When W Bush was president, Thomas did the paintings of the Republican and Democratic presidents playing poker.

In '09, after Obama was elected, he painted "Change" which was kind of in his "Pirate Party" theme - the audience in this fantasy Obama speech includes famous Americans who helped make the moment possible. ("Pirate Party" was an earlier work in which all of the "Pirates" are pop culture -- mostly music figures -- who passed away). I can't remember if he gave a copy to Obama as a gift, but he then went on later in the Obama years to create paintings of Republican and Democratic presidents playing pool.

So when Trump was elected, he created the paintings of the Republican and Democratic presidents in their "club." I do know (from Thomas' Facebook page) that he gave one to Trump as a gift. Honestly, if Hillary has won, I'm 99% sure he'd have painted her and given her a copy.

I think it's the next rung (maybe two rungs) up from dogs playing poker, although I think that was the whimsical inspiration for Presidents playing poker. I think of Thomas as being in the same tier of painters as Dave Barnhouse, Terry Redlin, & Guy Harvey. He's ultra commercial, but has a following doing a lot of Americana (mostly Western Art). Although he paints Presidents, he doesn't go out of his way to be political. He's not like they guy who painted Obama next to the torn shreds of the Constitution as the founding fathers are all yelling (I think that's McNauton - mentioned by another poster above, but don't quote me).

[Kurt V.]

3. K&R

[Blaukraut]

5. But only Trump was dumb enough to hang his painting in the WH n/t

[Brother Buzz]

6. I really like this one - Oh, but to be a fly on the wall (if there was a wall)

[Algernon Moncrieff]

11. I'm hoping this is the afterlife

With unlimited beer....

[Brother Buzz]

13. And lots of sleeping dogs

"If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went." - Will Rogers

[ProudLib72]

7. If you ain't painting on velvet, you ain't got nuthin

[JI7]

8. but Obama would never hang that in the white house

[Algernon Moncrieff]

10. I wasn't crazy about the official portrait

Seated in the leaves wasn't working for me.

[JI7]

12. that was for the smithsonian, not white house

and still better than trump hanging that thing.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

14. OK, if you say so....

[dembotoz]

9. artist has to eat...it pays the bills