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Popular painter Thomas Kinkade passes away

Popular painter Thomas Kinkade passes away

ONE of America’s most popular painters, Thomas Kinkade, has passed away suddenly at the age of 54.

Mr. Kinkade, who called himself the Painter of Light, had established a highly successful business which reportedly had a yearly turnover in the region of $100m. 

Many of his works (see below) featured light-filled, tranquil scenes of country gardens and churches and some drew inspiration from passages of the Bible.

He described himself as “a warrior of light”, taking inspiration from the medieval practice of using light to symbolise the Devine.

The paintings and spin-off products proved extremely popular with the public although the art establishment proved harder to win over.

Mr. Kinkade stressed that his strong Christian beliefs were a great source of inspiration for his painting, although he was known to have been a complex character in his private life. 

Natural causes were blamed for his sudden death at his home in the San Francisco Bay area.

To see Mr. Kinkade discuss one of his paintings, click here.

To view a slideshow featuring some of Mr. Kinkade’s paintings, click here.

 

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