Writing
Characters in A Painting to Die For
Bill Fredrick: A struggling Toronto portrait painter
Bill is complicated. He’s an anti-family, family man, cynical yet idealistic – a relatable everyman who struggles to pay the rent and do the right thing. An art college graduate, he scrapes by as a portrait painter, living on a beer budget while harbouring champagne dreams, a frustrated connoisseur, drawn to fine art like a moth to a flame.
As A Painting to Die For begins, Bill is in crisis mode after the sudden death of his father leaves him caring for an aging mother with Alzheimer’s. When his uncle, a wealthy expat real estate developer, shows up at the funeral, he offers to cover the cost of a care home for Bill’s mom, provided Bill acts as a go-between with the uncle’s estranged daughter, now the owner of a posh, Mayfair gallery. But will Bill soon live to regret his decision?
Anne Fredrick: A gallery owner with a dark secret
Anne is Bill’s cousin, the idealistic daughter of Uncle Glen. Often compared to a Pre-Raphaelite painting for her flowing red curls, striking cheekbones and haunting eyes, Anne is also a shrewd art expert and gallery owner in posh Mayfair. Idealistic, she is appalled by the commercialization of art in the 21st century, but her idealism is tested by her current financial problems after a ruinous divorce. Compounding her difficulties, Margaret and Aiden, her unscrupulous silent partners, are pushing her in unethical directions. Will she give up her principles or face ruin?
Uncle Glen: Man on the take
Bill’s uncle (Anne’s father) is an unscrupulous real estate developer who amassed a fortune through sharp business practices and Mafia ties. He collects art simply to balance his portfolio and takes a transactional approach to all his dealings, including with his daughter and nephew. Now facing a serious health crisis, he must act quickly before his empire comes crashing down on him.
Margaret Taylor: Psychopathy becomes her
Margaret is the consummate socialite, beautiful and refined, raised in privilege and luxury. Despite her advantages, her Viscount father gambled away the family fortune in the casinos of Monte Carlo. As family heirlooms were carted away and the family estate shuttered and sold off to developers, Margaret vowed to reclaim her position in the social hierarchy, no matter the cost. Now running a crooked art consortium, using Anne’s Mayfair Gallery as cover, she also dabbles in art fraud and money laundering, after marrying an unlikely suitor, a brass Australian playboy/photographer, the heir to a coal fortune.
Aiden Taylor: A heart darker than a coal mine
Aiden is the classic bad boy. An alcoholic womaniser, he loves fast cars and the high life, thanks to a generous allowance from his Australian, coal baron father. He lives in the moment, but that moment is fading, as age catches up and his father’s largesse is about to end, putting his grifter instincts into high gear.
