Fraudster of Light pees on Pooh

The main reason Thomas Kinkade's successful is the people who buy his stuff have never been exposed to the artists he's ripping off - so they have that hit of opening discovery that's unique to the virginal art encounter.
Ahh, beauty.
Compared to the flash and tease of commercial imagery, and the little bit of "modern" art the average folk encounter, Kinkade seems gentle and sweet.
But he's a thief and an aesthetic charlatan.
The American Impressionists alone, not to mention their French predecessors, left us a body of work that's parallel in every regard and superior to anything of Kinkade's, as well as diverse enough to provide for everyone who turns to his dreck for something of beauty to keep at home.