Michael Vargas is living the life of a celebrity architect when his world collapses. He walks away from the glamorous career of the star architect and begins a quest that will take him twenty-three years back in time. The challenge his mentor presented at the time is beckoning Michael back to the South—his home, a place he loved and hated. The road back is a road forward, filled with trials … with trials and pain, but the journey eventually leads to an artistic epiphany that Michael discovers in the people and places of the Deep South. And he finds inspiration from a woman who allows him to paint her if he agrees to one mysterious condition. Michael learns that some subjects are worth painting while others are worth pursuing even up against the greatest personal odds of success.
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The Painter by author Tom Lowe is a delight for the beautifully written descriptive imagery of places in the ‘Deep South’. So many of the areas which are described in this book brought many happy memories of my visits to those same places. The emotions of this story shot right to the core of my heart. The understanding of human emotions is so descriptive.
Michael Vargas is seventeen when he paints a beautiful historical mural of the Charleston Harbor set during the time of the original thirteen colonies. He is a bit apprehensive when he realizes he has an audience of one, the one man who will help direct his focus in life. Painter Derek Mack offers Michael an opportunity for art instruction at his home.
Years later as Michael is a well-known architect riding the wave of success, he experiences a horrible tragedy. His beloved wife and daughter die in a plane crash just after take-off from La Guardia. Michael is crushed. He suddenly realizes that time is too precious to spend chasing the prestige and fame of designing the most elaborate structures and buildings around the world.
Michael leaves his current life behind and goes on a journey of self-discovery through the south. He begins by going back to his hometown of Charleston and then looking up his old mentor. He is dismayed to find that Derek is living his remaining years with Alzheimer’s Disease. Although Derek is still lucid, they both know it is a matter of time before his memories and abilities are erased from his brain. Derek gives Michael a mission to find his creative self through his painting as he looks for meaningful places to paint daily life among the marshes, gulf, small towns, and the countryside. This begins a year of living out of an old van and with his painting supplies. What he sees as he travels helps to heal the grieving void in his heart. Although he knows the grief for his family will never go away, at least he is learning how to live a new chapter of his life with purpose.
I won’t point post spoilers, but the people Michael meets changes his life. The descriptions of how Alzheimer’s Disease is so true to the life of those who suffer from this evil devastating condition. The grief family members experience as they care for and watch a loved one decline is well written.
The story is not extremely sad, because it shows there is hope to be found if a person actively seeks for peace and a new perspective of their life after a family tragedy. The history of various places is very interesting. I wanted so much to see the paintings which are described in this book! I would LOVE to see the grist mill scenes and especially the painting in the garden.
I could not help but cry as I read the book because the day I read The Painter was the second anniversary of my mom’s passing from Alzheimer’s. My mom painted landscapes and portraits with oils. The book was a salve to my broken heart. It was as if the author was writing from having known my mom.
I love this book and a Kindle copy is not enough for me, I will be ordering The Painter in print form.