Thomas Kinkade: Paintings of Radiant Light

Whether he is painting tranquil, small-town America, thatched cottages, flower-drenched gardens or bustling cities, Northern California painter Kinkade suffuses his canvases with a subtly ethereal light. This mysterious light is the unifying force in appealing pictures that reaffirm hope, beauty and a sense of life's possibilities. In an informal autobiographical essay accompanying 120 color plates, Kinkade discusses his boyhood, his happy marriage and his Christian faith, and states that his goal as an artist is to create glimpses of a peaceful world ""full of the beauty of God's creation."" Yet, people of any or no faith will be intrigued and touched by his gently healing paintings, at once secular and transcendent. In her short closing essay, California art critic Reed places Kinkade's meticulously crafted paintings in the pleinairist tradition of direct observation of nature. (Feb.)