Alexander Kosnichev

Alexander Kosnichev is a Russian painter who is trying to become Russia's answer to Thomas Kinkade, selling hand-painted copies of his own works from his web site. Be that as it may, I think his paintings are terrific. Maybe selling the copies is tacky, but he has to make a living, and certainly nobody with such a conventional style could become a star in the world of art bienalles and glamour galleries. Above, Winter Sun (1998).

I find it amusing that he bills himself as a "Realist/Impressionist," which would be sort of like playing disco/heavy metal. Above, Rostov Kremlin.

Autumn in Pies Town.

Evening on the Seine.

Bell Ringers.

Tanya.

Two paintings both called Yauzsky Boulevard; I suppose you order spring or winter depending on the color scheme in your dining room. Which is not a crack on Kosnichev; as I said, he has to make a living. It's the world of art that is crazy, crowded by so many people trying to be artists that only the most flamboyant can thrive, and quiet talents like Kosnichev are shoved aside. I think he has ten times more talent than Damien Hirst. (At art, anyway; Hirst obviously has terrific talents in the fields of marketing, promotion, attention seeking, making people's heads spin, and annoying aging philistines like me.)

For the religious market, Sunday.

Spring in Moscow.

On the Banks of the Volga.