Thomas Kinkade was born in Sacramento, California in 1958. He spent one summer on a sketching tour with a college friend and afterwards produced the instructional book, The Artist's Guide to Sketching. The book's success landed the two artists at Ralph Bakshi Studios to create background art for the animation feature, Fire and Ice. After the film, Kinkade began earning a living as a painter and is now one of America's most collected living artists. He has also written numerous books including Lightposts for Living and the Cape Light series.