Near-sighted people can be prone to detached retinas. Sometimes the problem is inherited or linked to diabetes, but Mr. Page does not have that disease. His damaged right eye had been the stronger before. That's the scary part. His depth perception has changed.
Objects appear closer or farther away than they really are.
A few weeks ago, he tried again for the first time, on an afternoon when no one else was home. He had to feel the canvas with his hand, guide the brush toward it. He added color to a few unfinished paintings. Then he put it all away. He wasn't ready for his wife or children to know what he was doing.