The artist in nature : Thomas Kinkade & the plein air tradition

Thomas Kinkade is the most popular and widely collected artist of our time.

Beloved for his light-filled quaint country cottages, majestic mountain vistas and nostalgic depiction of the American small town, Kinkade is also a master of plein air painting - painting outdoors in natural light.

Rooted in traditional, 19th-century American and European landscape painting, plein air is dependent upon the whims of the nartural world.

Brushstrokes are more visible and possess the fluid, painterly quality that is a hallmark of the plein air style - a quality often associated with French Impressionism. "The Artist in Nature: Thomas Kinkade and the Plein Air Tradition" is the first book to showcase this celebrated artist's spectacular plein air works.

First, readers will discover the fascinating history of the plein air tradition, followed by an insightful biographical essay that explores Kinkade's personal, artistic and spiritual developments as they relate to his approach to painting in nature. Next, an entire section focuses on the challenges involved when painting seascapes, mountains, deserts, buildings and foreign locations - along with his step-by-step demonstrations for painting a Cotswold cottage scene and an exotic location in Greece.

Finally, art lovers will be treated to a full-colour gallery of Kinkade's finest plein air paintings, all accompanied by personal insights from the artist.