A autopsy is planned to take place today for Thomas Kinkade, the famed "Painter of Light" who died unexpectedly on Friday at age 54.
Kinkade died at his home in an affluent Bay Area neighborhood. The cause of death was said by his family to be "natural causes," and officials have not commented further on the case other than to say that the Santa Clara County coroner will perform the autopsy, reports the Los Angeles Times.
"He lived life to the fullest," Ken Raasch, his former business partner who co-founded Kinkade's company more than 20 years ago, told the Times. "He was a very eclectic character, an amazing artist who was not a stereotypical man in any sense. He created his own mold, I'd say, and I think we were all blessed because of that."
But Kinkade's life was not without its troubles. The artist was arrested in 2010 for DUI near Carmel in 2010, and fraud charges by two Virginia gallery owners led to a 2006 order that Kinkade's company pay $860,000 in damages.
