A Christmas Visitor [Mass Market Paperback]

Thomas Kinkade is America's most collected living artist, a painter-communicator whose tranquil, light infused paintings bring hope and joy to millions each year. Each painting Thomas Kinkade creates is a quiet messenger in the home, affirming the basic values of family and home, faith in God, and the luminous beauty of nature.

It was while growing up in the small town of Placeville, California that these simple, life-affirming values were instilled in him. It was also during this time that Thomas began to explore the world around him. He once spent a summer on a sketching tour with a college friend, producing the best selling instructional book, "The Artist's Guide to Sketching." The success of the book landed the two young artists at Ralph Bakshi Studios to create background art for the animation feature, "Fire and Ice," where Kinkade was able to explore light and imaginative worlds with abandon.

After the film, Kinkade earned a living as a painter, selling his originals in galleries throughout California. In 1982, he married his childhood sweetheart, Nanette and two years later they began to publish his art.

FAMILY AND FAITH

Kinkade is a devout Christian and credits the Lord for both the ability and the inspiration to create his paintings. His goal as an artist is to touch people of all faiths, to bring peace and joy into their lives through the images he creates. The letters he receives every day testify to the fact that he is achieving this goal.

A devoted husband and doting father to their daughters, Kinkade hides the letter "N" in his paintings to pay tribute to his wife, Nanette, and the girls find their names and images in many of his paintings.

Warner Books has recently published Thomas Kinkade's book Lightposts for Living which shares Thom's inspiring words as well as his art. The result is a glorious volume, exquisitely designed to please the eye and the spirit. Each chapter acts like an old-fashioned lightpost illuminating the choices that enrich our lives.

AWARDS AND ACCOLADES

Kinkade has received numerous awards for his works. He has been named by the National Association of Limited Edition Dealers (NALED) as Graphic Artist of the Year for the fifth year in a row. He has also been named NALED's Artist of the Year and his works have been named Graphic Art Print of the Year for eight years in a row.

Kinkade has also won the Collectors Edition Award of Excellence and was a charter inductee, along with his idol, Norman Rockwell, to the Bradford International Hall of Fame for plate artists. In 1989, he was the Official Artist for the National Parks Collector's Print and has donated his art for the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Christmas program, as well as, granting the VFW the right to use his images on their Christmas cards. Kinkade was also inducted into the US Art Hall of Fame in 1999.

Katherine Spencer was a fiction editor before turning to a full-time career as a writer. The author of over twenty books for both children and adults, she lives with her husband and daughter in a small village on the Long Island Sound, very much like Cape Light.