Thomas Kinkade dies at the age of 54.

[chrono1081]

(CNN) -- Thomas Kinkade, one of the most popular artists in America, has died at his California home, his family said.
He was 54.
Family and friends recalled the artist as a generous man, who inspired others and will missed.
"He had a rare ability to exude a sense of warmth, a transcendent light," said Robert Goodwin, who wrote the book "Points of Light: A Celebration of the American Spirit of Giving," with Kinkade.
"He had a great commitment to inspire others -- one who was nurtured in his early life by family and friends and church to really be an example of selfless acts of service," he said Saturday.
Kinkade's death at his Los Gatos home appeared to be from natural causes, according to the family.
"Thom provided a wonderful life for his family,'' his wife, Nanette, said in a statement late Friday night. "We are shocked and saddened by his death.''
Art from the self-described "painter of light," adorns many living rooms in America. It emphasizes simple pleasures and warm, positive images of idyllic cottages, lighthouses and colorful gardens.
"My mission as an artist is to capture those special moments in life adorned with beauty and light," Kinkade said in a message on his website. "I work to create images that project a serene simplicity that can be appreciated and enjoyed by everyone. That's what I mean by sharing the light."
Kinkade painted more than 1,000 pieces on various topics, including cabins, nature scenes, seascapes and classic Americana.
In 2006, the artist recalled one of his earliest lessons during an interview with CNN's Larry King.
"When I was a young boy, my mother told me, 'Your talents are God's gifts to you, and what you do with those talents are your gift to God,'" he said.

Link: http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/07/us/kinkade-dead/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

I can't believe some of the hateful, disgusting, nasty comments on the CNN threads. People seriously disgust me.

 

[Sideonecincy]

Damn...54 is young.

Dude made some beautiful art.

 

[philipma1957]

Yeah my wife and I would enjoy looking at his art in our local mall he had a shop. This is why cnn had a lot of bad comments they were jealous of his talent and his commercial success.

Sad that he is gone.

 

[palmerc]

Tragic

Thomas Kinkade's work is the more recent equivalent of gondolas in Venice or velvet horse paintings. His genius will not be missed.

 

[Shrink]

The premature death of almost anyone is tragic, and age 54 is certainly premature.

I hope we can all agree that one's taste in art is a personal matter of individual aesthetics. Mr. Kincaid's work, as art, is debatable. That he has brought enjoyment to many is not. Whether his work, as the work of Keane"s Big Eyed Children, represents good painting is a topic for another thread.

Disagreeable flaming of one another over Mr. Kincaid"s genius, or lack thereof, is, IMO, inappropriate here.

I suggest that we let those who wish to mourn his death do so with respect, and leave the judgements about his work for another time.

As one who did not think his work was artistically valuable, I'm still wishing that those who enjoyed his work be allowed to express their feelings of loss without enduring insults to their aesthetic judgements, personal taste, or intelligence.

 

[iJohnHenry]

Disagreeable flaming of one another over Mr. Kincaid"s genius, or lack thereof, is, IMO, inappropriate here.

This appears to be our young friends first post, out of 38 in total, in the Mac Community.

I don't think we need grant him much gravitas just yet.

 

[Shrink]

This appears to be our young friends first post, out of 38 in total, in the Mac Community.

I don't think we need grant him much gravitas just yet.

I wasn't really granting anything to the OP (number of posts notwithstanding), except the right to post an obit without being crapped upon regarding the subject of his/her post.

As an aside...judging the quality of a post by the poster's post count is, IMO, not fair. The post stands or falls on it's own merits, not the poster's post count. My personal opinion is the the "class system" here (based on post count) is that it is elitist and illogical. Some posts by newbies are excellent posts (and some are really dopey), and some posts by members with many, many posts are not exactly great literature (and this is NOT a comment about the posts of the member quoted here - I always read, and generally enjoy, iJohnHenry's posts).

I don't agree with OP's opinion of Mr. Kincaid's work, I was just asking for tolerance and decency in an obit thread.

 

[Melrose]

I have been a fan of his art since he first started getting popular. I have one of his first collections books, which I got as a gift.

I think he marketed his art poorly, but the art itself is quite appealing (I prefer Kinkade's friend James Gurney's art more, however). I'm not the type of go after collectible plates or paintings with religious quotes on them, but I guess some are, and he was a very religious person.

RIP, Thomas.

As an aside...judging the quality of a post by the poster's post count is, IMO, not fair. The post stands or falls on it's own merits, not the poster's post count. My personal opinion is the the "class system" here (based on post count) is that it is elitist and illogical. Some posts by newbies are excellent posts (and some are really dopey), and some posts by members with many, many posts are not exactly great literature (and this is NOT a comment about the posts of the remember quoted here - I always read, and generally enjoy, iJohnHenry's posts).

Word. Post count just provides a general sense of familiarity, generally. All the posts in the world do not equal experience or wisdom.

 

[ucfgrad93]

The premature death of almost anyone is tragic, and age 54 is certainly premature.

I hope we can all agree that one's taste in art is a personal matter of individual aesthetics. Mr. Kincaid's work, as art, is debatable. That he has brought enjoyment to many is not. Whether his work, as the work of Keane"s Big Eyed Children, represents good painting is a topic for another thread.

Disagreeable flaming of one another over Mr. Kincaid"s genius, or lack thereof, is, IMO, inappropriate here.

I suggest that we let those who wish to mourn his death do so with respect, and leave the judgements about his work for another time.

As one who did not think his work was artistically valuable, I'm still wishing that those who enjoyed his work be allowed to express their feelings of loss without enduring insults to their aesthetic judgements, personal taste, or intelligence.

Well said, and I agree completely.