Art, Painter | featured news

Artist Thomas Kinkade's girlfriend says two handwritten wills entitle her to his home and $10 million, but his estranged wife has a different take. Thomas Kinkade, Painter of Light™, spent his last two years legally separated from his wife of nearly three decades and struggling with alcoholism.

There's a new twist in the aftermath of the death of Thomas Kinkade, the artist called the "Painter of Light."

A family member says painter Thomas Kinkade battled alcoholism over the past several years and had a relapse just before his death at his home in Santa Clara County. Kinkade's brother, Patrick, tells the San Jose Mercury News (http://bit.ly/IxRfr0) that decades of attacks on Kinkade's work and a split with his wife two years ago had taken a toll on the famous "Painter of Light."

Thomas Kinkade’s paintings of bucolic landscapes and light-filled cottages have been scooped up by collectors nationwide ever since the artist’s death at 54 on Friday.

The New York native, whose staining technique was essential to the development of Color Field painting, was one of the most admired artists of her generation.