<p><strong><em>&lsquo;He held the detached tooth in front of his face. It was white and cracked, with roots dangling beneath, festering in gore&hellip; then he placed the tooth back into his mouth and rolled it around, before swallowing it whole.&rsquo;</em></strong></p><p>The Painter awakes naked and injured. Where are his clothes, what is his name, and, more importantly, why is the chair talking to him?</p><p>So begins The Painter&rsquo;s disquieting journey into the heart of darkness at the centre of the contemporary art world.</p><p>After suffering a traumatic epiphany, The Painter turns his back on his former existence and becomes a living artwork. His life is his canvas, his materials bodily matters and fluids. His creations are the remnants of all he tastes, touches and feels.</p><p>But how will those who feed off his talent feel about this change?</p><p>As the corpses mount up, their tableaux ever more macabre, the finger begins to point inexorably in The Painter&rsquo;s direction. Pitted against amoral art collectors, corrupt critics and homicidal gangsters, his sole ally is a beautiful young gallerist, who has her own demons to wrestle.</p><p><strong><em>The Painter</em> is Raymond Chandler meets Francis Bacon in purgatory.</strong></p>