Brother says painter Thomas Kinkade battled alcoholism

THE REPORTER
By Julia Prodis Sulek

Decades of mean-spirited personal attacks against Thomas Kinkade for the bucolic images of storybook cottages he painted, as well as a heartbreaking split from his wife and four daughters two years ago, had taken a toll on the famous "Painter of Light," his brother said Thursday. He turned to the bottle, battling alcoholism over the past four or five years, Patrick Kinkade said of his brother in an exclusive interview with this newspaper. Even though he had sobered up and had been "in his studio painting religiously" over the past few months, he said, Thomas Kinkade had a relapse just before his death last Friday at his hillside home in Monte Sereno. [link]