Thomas Kinkade

“My brother and I always had jobs and worked from a young age.”

“You have to expect spiritual warfare whenever you stand up for righteousness or call attention to basic values. It's just a matter of light battling the darkness. But the light wins every time. You can't throw enough darkness on light to put it out.”

“This world is very dark, but in Heaven there is no darkness.”

“Each of us is a small part of God's plan. I'm a small part. I create paintings that are being used by God.”

“People who put my paintings on their walls are putting their values on their walls: faith, family, home, a simpler way of living, the beauty of nature, quiet, tranquillity, peace, joy, hope. They beckon you into this world that provides an alternative to your nightly news broadcast.”

“When I got saved, God became my art agent.”

“I've never been at odds with the world of contemporary artists. If there is any animosity, it's one-sided.”

“Art is forever.”

“I try to embrace people with love, unconditional love, like Christ did.”

“The worlds I paint leave a lot to engage the imagination by hinting at what lies beyond the four edges of the painting. I think getting beyond the four edges of an opportunity or challenge is one of the basic skills you need in business.”

“A piece of art is a compact form of the universe.”

“Rather than set aside daily time for prayer, I pray constantly and spontaneously about everything I encounter on a daily basis. When someone shares something with me, I'll often simply say, 'let's pray about this right now.'”

“I'm working on a snow scene right now, and it's summer. It's hot, and I will get chilly. I'll have to turn on the heat. My wife walks in, and it's 95 degrees in the studio. I know it's nutty, but it's a projection you have where you step into the painting.”

“People are reminded that it's not all ugliness in the world.”

“With whatever talent and resources I have, I'm trying to bring light to penetrate the darkness many people feel.”

“My paintings always feature trails that dissolve into mysterious areas, patches of light that lead the eye around corners, pathways, open gates, etc.”

“The disintegration of the culture starts with the artist. I'm on a crusade to turn the tide in the arts, to restore dignity to the arts and, by extension, to the culture.”

“I view art as an inspirational tool.”

“I was always the kid who could draw. I had this talent, and it was the one thing that gave me some kind of dignity in the midst of my personal environment.”

“I share something in common with Norman Rockwell and, for that matter, with Walt Disney, in that I really like to make people happy.”