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Magical light creates stunning visions in Alexander Wainwright's landscape paintings. His most recent painting, The Hay Wagon, is a marvelous, moonlit scene, with an old-fashioned hay wagon dominating the foreground, with a beautiful, unearthly glow. Yet, at the pinnacle of his career, he is about to lose his muse.
Not everyone appreciates his work. Rinaldo, a conceptual artist, mocks Alexander's bourgeois love of beauty, believing Alexander's success proves that the universe is chaotic and absurd. Determined to undermine, humiliate and ultimately destroy his rival, he defaces Alex's painting.
Alexander brushes off the attack, but soon he has a frightening vision of misshapen, human-like creatures. These trolls start appearing in his art, and he is beset by questions. Who are these ugly beings? Has he lost both his light and his art?
The creatures lead Alexander to journey from London to Venice and from Toronto to New York as he seeks to understand their meaning. He meets many people, each with a story to tell. Meanwhile, Rinaldo waits in New York City, intent on settling a score in The Drawing Lesson.
readermanDJ
Posted June 29, 2011
If you ever wondered about how the artistic mind works,read this book. It will give you an insight into artistic jealousy,personal actions with life long consequences,forgiveness and much more. Alexander is a compelling mendicant whose journeys,physical and metapyhsical will leave you wanting to read lots more about him.I can't wait for the publication of Mary's second book in this new trilogy. The scenes and characters are completely different from her Osgoode Trilogy yet equally intriguing. Mary even has a book trailer from Hollywood on her new site,The Drawing Lesson. Alexander seems tailor made for Donald Sutherland!
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Posted September 5, 2010
Title: The Drawing Lesson: The First in the Trilogy of Remembrance
Author: Mary E. Martin
ISBN: 9781450229364
Publisher: Rising Star
Visual images, light sources, perspective and understanding of the subject are just some important factors or components of a great artist's work. As you view a painting or piece of sculpture you come away with your own interpretation of the piece being presented. When viewing the painting The Hay Wagon those present saw something unique and different in it that even the artist had missed. Alexander Wainwright painted a picture with God in it and a special light that was cast on each side that many saw; yet he did not. Many writers and artists are guided by the strength and spirit of others. His own muse guided him, when his sight was waning and the source of his true ability to see and paint might soon be gone. This brings me to my review of an outstanding novel by Mary E. Martin, "The Drawing Lesson."
At a pre-award party, Alexander Wainwright presents his latest work only to be shot down by his arch nemesis and main source of competition, Rinaldo. Ingrained in his mind that art is beautiful and his landscapes possess a special light or quality that few can see, it is upsetting and frightening to his dealer and our narrator that his vision and perspective changed and his thoughts turn to painting something grotesque, ugly and deformed: Trolls. Alex Wainwright painted over one of his landscapes by placing 23 figures in it that appeared longing to be free, loved and understood. Not only was his vision become dim, but also the light that shined in his paintings even duller presenting both a good and evil forms of human life. Can beauty be found in the ugliness of trolls? Can one man's muse or inspiration take a left hand turn and go in an entirely different direction? Was he so influenced by the thoughts of Rinaldo that he no longer could see his own true light and vision? Trolls are his new inspiration and vision of art has drastically changed as Alex travels to Venice with many others who have experienced life's changes too.
The art comes from within and the light shines hoping to create a message of its own to the viewer. As Alex meets Daphne, The Cummings, Peter's parents, and many others they have one thing in common: finding a way to forgive the past and create a better vision and life in the future. Alex needs to find his way to Peter. Daphne to forgive herself for her lover's suicide and Peter who is trying to understand the harshness of a parent and understand how to deal with it in his writing and his life. Forgiveness is not always something we can allow ourselves to do.
There are many people who go through life blaming others for their failures and misfortunes as Peter's father did. Peter felt unloved and shunned by his father and put aside by Alexander when he felt he needed him the most to complete his novel. When both worlds reunite and their voices are truly heard, yet not understood, Peter lashes out at Alexander for not being there for him and Alexander apologizes but is not forgiven. Peter was Alexander's muse. Trolls are ugly creatures and according to some they are humans as they appear to God. Peter relates that Alexander's landscapes are our vision of the divine and the trolls are God's vision of us. Both the artist and the author connect in different ways and as Peter was Alexander's muse he felt inspired to paint his landscapes having a special light that helped
Book Title: The Drawing Lesson
Author: Mary E. Martin
ISBN: 1450229360
Publisher: iUniverse
Reviewer: Vonnie Faroqui for WITS
The Drawing Lesson, by author Mary E. Martin stands among the best of literary fiction. She brings
wisdom, grace, and beauty to the page as skillfully as the best painter to the canvas.
Alexander Wainwright has won Britain's celebrated Turner Prize with a landscape painting of The Hay
Wagon. He should be thrilled but the taunting criticism of contemporary and rival artist Rinaldo has
thrown him into a soul searching spiral of self doubt.
His beautiful landscapes, once so full of light and presence, begin to fill with creeping, shadowy figures.
These troll-like creatures deny understanding and confuse Alex's artistic vision. His muse seems to have
left him. A journey to rediscover his passion unfolds as Alex attempts to understand the creatures in his
paintings.
The journey carries Alex into contact with a range of interesting characters who all struggle with
personal inner demons. Alex touches each of their lives with his spirit and allows each in return to touch
his own. The action of the story rises as the consequences of past choices return to entangle Alex in self
doubt and recrimination, with the story reaching a climax as Rinaldo sets plans in motion to destroy Alex
in a scene of public humiliation.
In the end Alex Wainwright transcends himself and his body of work by illuminating the human form
with his divine vision, transfiguring on canvas both his inner and outer demons into beings of luminous
spirit.
The Drawing Lesson is a deeply insightful book about life, choices, forgiveness, madness, self doubt, and
creative inspiration. Martin has an understanding of humanity, its inner turmoil, needs, and the creative
urge that is both honest and compassionate. This is a compelling and moving story to be savored on the
palate like fine wine.
Anonymous
Posted January 13, 2011
No text was provided for this review.
Overview
Magical light creates stunning visions in Alexander Wainwright's landscape paintings. His most recent painting, The Hay Wagon, is a marvelous, moonlit scene, with an old-fashioned hay wagon dominating the foreground, with a beautiful, unearthly glow. Yet, at the pinnacle of his career, he is about to lose his muse.
Not everyone appreciates his work. Rinaldo, a conceptual artist, mocks Alexander's bourgeois love of beauty, believing Alexander's...