All Intensive Purposes

Christian painter of kitsch Thomas Kinkade periodically wins attention for his unorthdox business practices. His ouevre stretches beyond canvas: "His images adorn air fresheners, night lights, teddy bears, toys, tote bags, pillows, umbrellas and La-Z-Boy loungers, which one retailer's ad describes as 'something not merely to be acquired, but collected — like fine art itself.'"

But enough about the businessman -- what about Kinkade the artiste?

And then there is Kinkade's proclivity for "ritual territory marking," as he called it, which allegedly manifested itself in the late 1990s outside the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim.

"This one's for you, Walt," the artist quipped late one night as he urinated on a Winnie the Pooh figure, said Terry Sheppard, a former vice president for Kinkade's company, in an interview.

Kinkade gave the Times a non-denial denial of this incident, but does allow that he might have relieved himself in hotel elevator in Las Vegas. "'There may have been some ritual territory marking going on, but I don't recall it,' he said."

And then there's his enthusiasm for Siegfried and Roy:

Dandois, who left the company to become chief executive of a group of galleries owned by Kinkade's brother, Patrick, recounted that about six years ago the artist was so intoxicated during a performance by Siegfried & Roy in Las Vegas that people seated nearby moved away from him.

"I think it was Roy or Siegfried or whatever had a codpiece in his leotards," Dandois testified. "And so when the show started, Thom just started yelling, 'Codpiece, codpiece,' and had to be quieted by his mother and Nanette."

Did he use the codpiece thing as inspiration? I missed that La-Z-Boy.