Thomas Kinkade is widely regarded as the foremost living painter of light. His complex technique bears great kinship to a little known group of nineteenth century American painters known as the Luminists. As Kinkade puts it, "Like the Luminists I strive for three visual aspects in my work: soft edges, a warm palette and an overall sense of light." Kinkade's mastery of these three seemingly simple aspects gives his paintings the warm glow and idyllic softness for which he is known. This special "Kinkade Glow" might help explain his enormous popularity as an internationally published artist. Thomas Kinkade was born in 1958 and grew up in the foothills of the Sierra mountains. From the age of four his calling as an artist was evident, and by 16 he was an accomplished painter in oil under the apprenticeship of well-known California painter Glenn Wessels. After studies at the University of California, Berkeley, and Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, at age 22 he personally created over 600 background paintings for the animated feature film Fire and Ice. While at work on Fire and Ice, Kinkade and fellow artist James Gurney adventured across America aboard boxcars, recording their experiences in sketches. Kinkade and Gurney subsequently authored a best-selling art instructional book based on their adventures entitled, The Artist's Guide to Sketching. In 1983 Thomas Kinkade left the film industry to pursue his vision as a painter of light-filled landscapes. Since then, his career has been documented in such well-known magazines as Architectural Digest, American Artist, Lively Arts and Leisure, Worldwide Challenge, U.S. Art, Southwest Art and Weekend. He is a regular guest on radio talk shows and has also made a guest appearance on ABC's popular network show Home, starring Gary Collins.