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SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- An autopsy has found that artist Thomas Kinkade's death was caused by an accidental overdose of alcohol and prescription tranquilizers. NBC Bay Area News reported Monday (( http://bit.ly/Jsgrvg) ) that the Santa Clara County medical examiner concluded that the self-described "Painter of Light" stopped breathing at his Northern California home on April 6 from a combination of alcohol and Valium.

Artist Thomas Kinkade, known as "The Painter of Light" left more of a dark scene after he passed away earlier this month at the age of 54. Famous for his mass-produced, idyllic images of baseball fields, cottages along rivers and scenes from Disney films, Kinkade was more troubled in his personal life than his paintings suggested. Reports of heavy drinking (Kinkade's brother said he had recently relapsed) and a volatile relationship with his girlfriend came out after the famous painter's untimely death. Kinkade had been living with his girlfriend, Indian-born Amy Pinto Walsh, after he and his first wife, Nanette,...

Autopsy for painter Thomas Kinkade Monday, April 09, 2012 By Martin Barillas The famed ‘painter of light’ Thomas Kinkade once said that his fervent wish was to make people happy. And judging by the numbers of his painters and copies circulating around the world, he indeed made many thousands of people happy with his work. Kinkade passed away on April 6 in Los Gatos, a suburb in the San Francisco Bay area. He claimed to be the nation's most collected living artist, earning him a reported $100 million a year in sales. It is reported that his work is found...

(CBS/AP) One of the most successful artists of all time, prolific painter Thomas Kinkade - the self-described "Painter of Light" - died Friday at the age of 54. A spokesperson for the Kinkade family said the artist died at home in Los Gatos, Calif., apparently of natural causes. Kinkade's paintings were anything but controversial, depicting scenes of a light-filled America with a heavy emphasis on home, hearth and church. His sentimental scenes of country gardens and pastoral landscapes in dewy morning light were beloved by many but criticized by the art establishment. The painter once said that he had something...

California artist Thomas Kinkade, whose brushwork paintings of idyllic landscapes, cottages and churches were big sellers for dealers across the country, 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's sentimental paintings, with their scenes of cottages, country gardens and churches in dewy morning light, were beloved by middlebrow America but reviled by the art establishment. The paintings generally depict tranquil scenes with lush landscaping and streams running nearby. Many contain images from Bible passages. Kinkade, a...

Thomas Kinkade, the "Painter of Light" and one of most popular artists in America, died suddenly Friday at his Los Gatos home. He was 54. His family said in a statement that his death appeared to be from natural causes. "Thom provided a wonderful life for his family,'' his wife, Nanette, said in a statement. "We are shocked and saddened by his death.'' His paintings are hanging in an estimated 1 of every 20 homes in the United States. Fans cite the warm, familiar feeling of his mass-produced works of art, while it has become fashionable for art critics to...

California law enforcement officials say well-known Christian painter and artist Thomas Kinkade spent a night in jail last week after being arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence. California Highway Patrol officials said Monday that Kinkade was pulled over outside Carmel and arrested by a CHP officer just after 10 p.m. Friday Kinkade "displayed signs of impairment to the officer," California Highway Patrol spokesman Robert Lehman reported. The 52-year-old painter and father of four was released Saturday morning after posting bail. Requests for a statement from the Thomas Kinkade Co. were not immediately responded to, though The Associated Press...

The painter of light has entered a dark period. Thomas Kinkade, the self-proclaimed (and trademarked) Painter of Light™, is beset with legal troubles. Several years ago, art gallery owners successfully sued his Kinkade’s Media Arts Group for millions after it was revealed that he and company officials used invoked God and their “higher calling” to hide the financial risks of the investments. The settlement put such a strain on his company that earlier this month, he filed for bankruptcy protection from his hundreds of other creditors. Adding to his woes, the artist was arrested on a DUI charge outside his...

The painter of light is having a dark period. Thomas Kinkade, the Placerville native who became one of the world's wealthiest artists with his sentimental landscapes and Christian motifs, has had a string of legal troubles. His company owes millions of dollars to art gallery owners who successfully pressed fraud claims. Earlier this month the firm filed for bankruptcy protection from those gallery owners and hundreds of other creditors. And on Friday, the 52-year-old Kinkade, who calls himself "the painter of light," was arrested on a DUI charge outside Carmel, where he owns a home.

It is easy to see why the enchanting paintings of Thomas Kinkade have captivated millions of admirers worldwide. On his canvases, alluring scenes — of idyllic cottages and cabins, romantic Victorian mansions and lighthouses, and chapels in sylvan groves — come alive, offering windows into worlds of serenity and splendor. Because his paintings glow with the light of candles, lamps, and fireplaces, as well as the sun and moon, Kinkade is known as “The Painter of Light.”  For Thomas Kinkade, however, suffusing his canvas with light is more than just an artistic technique to invite people into his beautiful, idealized...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The FBI is investigating "Painter of Light" Thomas Kinkade and company executives over allegations that they fraudulently induced investors to open galleries, then ruined them financially. Relying on information from former Kinkade dealers contacted by federal agents, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday that the FBI is focusing on issues raised in civil litigation by at least six former Thomas Kinkade Signature Gallery owners. At least 10 former dealers in Michigan, Virginia and other states have alleged in arbitration claims that Kinkade - a California native beloved by some but reviled by the art establishment -...

The FBI is investigating allegations that self-styled "Painter of Light" Thomas Kinkade and some of his top executives fraudulently induced investors to open galleries and then ruined them financially, former dealers contacted by federal agents said. Investigators are focusing on issues raised in civil litigation by at least six former Thomas Kinkade Signature Gallery owners, people who have been contacted by the FBI said. ADVERTISEMENTThe ex-owners allege in arbitration claims that, among other things, the artist known for his dreamily luminous landscapes and street scenes used his Christian faith to persuade them to invest in the independently owned stores, which...

Entrepreneur artist who hangs in one in 20 US homes accused of fraud and drunken antics "There's over 40 walls in the average American home," a business manager for the artist Thomas Kinkade once said, "and Thom says our job is to figure out how to populate every single wall in every single home and every single business throughout the world with his paintings." Kinkade's luridly idyllic landscapes, full of quaint cottages and glowing firelight, already hang in an estimated one in 20 US homes. "In the often hurried, unsympathetic and complex world we live in, the images Thomas Kinkade...

An arbitration panel on Thursday awarded $860,000 to two former Thomas Kinkade Signature Gallery owners who accused the self-proclaimed "Painter of Light" and his company, Media Arts Group Inc., of fraudulently inducing them to invest in the business — and then ruining them financially. While not singling out Kinkade in its finding of fraud, the panel ruled that the Morgan Hill, Calif.-based company and one of its executives, Richard F. Barnett, "failed to disclose material information" that would have dissuaded Karen Hazlewood and Jeffrey Spinello from investing $122,000 to open the first of their two Virginia galleries in 1999.

Christian-themed artist Thomas Kinkade is accused of ruthless tactics and seamy personal conduct. He disputes the allegations. Thomas Kinkade is famous for his luminous landscapes and street scenes, those dreamy, deliberately inspirational images he says have brought "God's light" into people's lives, even as they have made him one of America's most collected artists. A devout Christian who calls himself the "Painter of Light," Kinkade trades heavily on his beliefs and says God has guided his brush — and his life — for the last 20 years. "When I got saved, God became my art agent," he said in a...