On one level, it’s easy to note that media coverage of the unexpected death of faith-based superstar artist Thomas “Painter of Light” Kinkade has moved past the early headlines and into an all-to-familiar second stage that is very popular with the mainstream press. I am referring to the fallen evangelical superstar with secrets stage.

It was clear, this weekend, that the major West Coast newspapers didn’t expect the controversial (yes, I used that word deliberately) artist Thomas Kinkade to die at 54 years of age. Thus, the newsrooms did not have pre-written obituaries about the self-proclaimed “painter of light” ready to update and publish.