Thomas Kinkade, artist, author and public speaker, is the man behind some of the most easily recognizable and world-renowned paintings created in the past half-century. More than that, though, Kinkade is widely known as the first “mass-marketer” of painted works, selling his art to millions of Americans and worldwide buyers alike.
In this article, we’ll be taking a look at who Thomas Kinkade is and how he’s been able to make such a mark on the artistic world. We’ll also show how some of his most popular works have been transformed into a unique collection of Thomas Kinkade puzzles.
Thomas Kinkade’s Biography
Growing up in Placerville, California—the future setting for many of his paintings—provided a young Kinkade with the inspiration to pursue a career as a painter.
After graduating high school, he found himself at the University of California, Berkeley, where he studied art. Furthering his artistic education, he attended the famous Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.
Kinkade’s career took off in 1980 after a summer road trip with a college friend across America. Finishing the trip in New York, Kinkade and his friend created an instructional sketching book – a book that would later become a bestseller.
From this point, he continued to develop his artistic style, allowing him to produce highly unique paintings to an audience that was eager to buy.
Artistic Style
Kinkade’s paintings are most known for their warm glow and pastel colors. Featuring picturesque American landscapes and settings, if you’ve lived in the United States for an extended period of time, you’re probably familiar with many of his works.
Popular paintings include scenes of cabins, rivers, lighthouses, mountains, and well-known American landscapes. Additionally, Kinkade is well known for leaving hidden images and messages within his paintings. For this reason, Thomas Kinkade puzzles can serve two purposes – standard puzzle assembly and discovering messages hidden within the puzzle as you complete it.
Due to his unique and “warm” artistic style, Kinkade has won a multitude of awards. These include the National Association of Limited Edition Dealers’ Artist of the Year and Graphic Artist of the Year, and winning the Lithograph of the Year award on nine separate occasions.
Thomas Kinkade Puzzles
Thomas Kinkade takes a mass-marketing approach to selling his paintings. As the “Painter of Light,” Kinkade has stated specifically that his paintings are created to appeal to a massive audience. As a result of this and his marketing techniques, his paintings have sold more copies than virtually any other well-known painter alive today.
For this reason, as you look at these puzzles, you’ll likely see many you’re familiar with. In fact, Kinkade’s publishing house has boasted his paintings are featured in one out of every twenty American homes.
Kinkade’s paintings are vibrant, warm and instantly recognizable. It’s no wonder puzzles based on his paintings are some of our best selling items.
We offer a variety of Thomas Kinkade puzzles, ranging from three-in-one collections to 750-piece puzzles. Prices range from $9.99 to $19.99. Here are a few of his more popular puzzles: