Painter of Light' Thomas Kinkade Dies in Calif.

[Hansc]

"Artist Thomas Kinkade, whose brushwork paintings of idyllic landscapes, cottages and churches have been big sellers for dealers across the United States, died Friday, a family spokesman said.

Kinkade, 54, died at his home in Los Gatos in the San Francisco Bay Area of what appeared to be natural causes, David Satterfield said.

Kinkade called himself the "Painter of Light," and his sentimental paintings, with their scenes of country gardens and churches in dewy morning light, were beloved by many but reviled by the art establishment.

He claimed to be the nation's most collected living artist, and his paintings and spin-off products were said to fetch some $100 million a year in sales, and to be in 10 million homes in the United States.

Those light-infused renderings are often prominently displayed in . . ."

ABC News

Sad, he died young. I meet Kinkade on two separate occasions, he seemed like a very nice man. Good that he was saved.

[historyb]

Grant him eternal peace O Lord.

I liked his painting

[The Barbarian]

Like Norman Rockwell, whom he admired, Kinkade painted happy, uplifting pictures, and was highly successful at it. We don't get enough of that, these days, when art is often no longer about the beautiful.

May God bless him and keep him.