For a period of six years, Thomas Kinkade painted under the brush name of Robert Girrard. This anonymity allowed him the freedom to experiment in style and subject matter, to explore with palette, brush strokes, and broken color. The experimentation with color and technique he did in these pieces and the techniques utilized in the Impressionist style he employed as Robert Girrard went on to influence the style that has become world-renowned through his work as The Painter of Light™.
His energetic brushstrokes, pops of color against a soft backdrop, and slice-of-life themes all convey a sense of spontaneity and deep familiarity with the subject of each painting.
Taking a page from the notebooks of French Impressionistic painters like Claude Monet, Paul Cézanne, Edgar Degas, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Robert Girrard manages to take everyday landscapes, cityscapes, seascapes, and tranquil cottages and turn them into paintings full of movement and emotion.