Review: Artistic Integrity at Any Price!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 25, 2013
'Forbidden Paints on a Wicked Canvas' is Nathan Squiers's story of Elizabeth, a talented but misunderstood artist tormented by visions of a world she doesn't understand but is compelled to portray. It pulled me in and held my attention until its wicked conclusion.First of all, I loved how this is written as though it were a real account, perhaps a detailed police report, readdressed in a fictional format. Its brand of delusion is just crazy enough that it still contains a vein of truth, a vein that continues down through the many layers of narrative until it resonates on very personal levels.It begins, as the story does, with dreams. I felt at ease with Squiers's depiction of the power of what we witness while we sleep. He thoroughly understands how real these visions are, and their very warranted sway over our waking lives. He reminded me that some of the truest people I have ever met were the ones encountered in the realm of slumber--yet that these shadowy figures were often unpredictable and untrustworthy.Many scenarios struck a personal cord, especially those concerning social interactions and the general populace's misunderstanding of art's true value and meaning. I could tell that there was an element of personal experience expressed in these passages, and appreciated that the author had no issue in being transparent about his frustration.Although Squiers hints at the dark forces at work behind this tale, the sudden onset of violence is powerful. This aspect of the story concerns itself with the gruesome side of art, depicted in stark contrast with its more conventional beauty, to chilling effect.This brings me to the one issue I had with the plot, which I'll attempt to address without spoiling any of it: namely, that a decaying body, especially one lying undisturbed for multiple days, would definitely command the olfactory influence to attract much more attention than it seemed to in this instance. Some of the other details concerning the handling of said corpse's various pieces fell into the same category of independence from the time-space continuum. It's a minor plot hole, but one that tickled my mind as I carried on reading.Oftentimes, the creative mind struggles with feelings of detachment that easily lead to contemplating one's own sanity. The line that divides the expectations of the physical world from one's desires to somehow express private fantasies is no more than smoke to such a mind. Squiers acknowledges that its upkeep can be a full-time concern that has the potential to stifle an artist's best work. Elizabeth completely disregards this line and fuses her two realities with a reckless abandon that would spawn envy in any artistic psyche. Her actions left me asking the question: at what point do artistic vision and conventional morality clash?I'm eager to read Squiers's answer to this question, and will definitely be checking out the series to which this tale acts as an echoing opening volley.