From grief, a legacy of love | Grandfather’s bond with cherished grandchild celebrated through art
Grieving comes in many different forms and ways.
For one Bokeelia man who works in Cape Coral, the loss of a grandchild resulted in an untapped talent come to fruition.
Larry Miller, who has served as the loss prevention officer at The Westin Cape Coral Resort at Marina Village for the last five years, found he had an artistic talent never before explored.
Now, his paintings hang in the lobby, as well as other areas of the resort, and are more than works of art; they are expressions of love, healing, and remembrance. After the heartbreaking loss of his grandson, Tobias, who passed away at just 9 months old due to a rare congenital disorder, Miller turned to painting as a form of comfort, strength, and celebration.
Miller said one day he was sitting on his porch, and a Bob Ross television show came across his screen. Four years later, his art work is an homage to Tobias.
“Bob Ross comes on the TV, and within five minutes, I ordered paint,” Miller said. “I had no idea what I was really doing at the time or even why I was doing it. So I started painting in the Bob Ross method, and finally painted something, maybe about six months into it, that I decided to sign, and I’d never signed a painting.”
Miller was unsure about how he would sign the painting. He didn’t know if he would write Larry, or Miller, or “LM.”
Then it came to him. “Like a lightning bolt, ‘Tobias,'” he said. “It’s almost like he said, ‘How about me?’ So I signed every painting ‘Tobias.’ And somehow, at that moment, I knew why I had started painting.
“I felt inspired. And now we have Tobias art, and it’s like he’s with me every stroke of the way.” While most artists start young, Miller was late to the dance, as he’s now about to turn 65. He said he never had an itch to scratch when it came to art. But age is just a number, especially with passion and a driving force.
Miller has passion, and work ethic, in spades. He wakes up every morning, even on his off-days, at 2:30 a.m., heads to his garage, and paints. He said it’s spending time with Tobias.
“I have a lot of ground to make up,” he said. “I still work a full 40-hour-per-week job. So I’ve put in a lot of work to get to the place where I’m at. I’ve had a lot of encouragement. The Westin has been phenomenal. I had no audience. I had no gallery. My Weston family became that audience and became that gallery. They were so gracious to allow me to bring paintings in — some that weren’t up to my standard now as I look back on it. But they stuck with me and they watched me grow as an artist so much that they commissioned me to do a work that’s now hanging in the lobby. It’s been a pretty wild ride to be honest with you.”
Tobias was born in August of 2020, and was quickly diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy, which Miller said sees the muscles around the center of the body unable to develop and start to deteriorate.
“There are four categories, with one being the worst, and that’s what Tobias had,” he said. “I can’t even imagine the pain that he was in — the anguish to breathe, to swallow, you know, all the things that we take for granted, that was such a labor for him. And you never saw it in his expressions. He didn’t whine and cry, you know, like normal children.
“It’s just inspiring to me to see somebody 9 months old that’s had such an impact on some old guy. So that’s primarily my purpose, is to just encourage people.”
While there is no cure, there is a treatment that in the best case scenarios see children live into their teens, but with that comes an unimaginable quality of life and millions in healthcare costs.
Tobias passed away in May of 2021.
With his artwork, Miller said going from someone who had no interest in art, to an artist with paintings hanging and an online gallery is what makes this special.
“It’s out of the blue. Out of nowhere,” he said. “As I’m grieving for the loss of my grandson, this comes along, and it just so seamlessly worked to where it incorporated him into it. And that’s where I really kind of knew that it was all about him.
“When you suffer such a tragedy, there’s a couple different ways you can go out of that. And fortunately, I think he afforded me the opportunity to do something in a positive fashion rather than, you know, taking a negative approach to dealing with it.”
Miller is a Florida native, born and raised in Miami. He said he paints what he feels. Having grown up on the beach and around the Everglades, those landscapes and themes are what come out in his artwork.
“I really enjoy painting seascapes,” he said. “Also the birds of Florida, the marshes, all of those things. I put my own twist on it when it comes to color slant and personalize it.”
Miller said he crafts about two to three paintings per week, and often brings his acrylic creations into work. His largest painting, which he calls “Goliath,” is a 3-foot-by-8-foot shoreline piece that now hangs in The Westin lobby.
“At Westin, we believe service begins with taking care of one another,” said General Manager of The Westin Cape Coral Resort at Marina Village, Bobby Nokley. “Larry’s courage in sharing his story and his art is a powerful example of how family and service go hand in hand. His passion, heart, and authenticity truly embody the spirit of Westin.”
Miller has created a website tobiasarts.com, where his works are shown and Tobias is prominent.
Miller said Tobias’s mother and his oldest daughter, Tonya, is a talented artist.
“So I’m hoping that Tobias Art will continue, and I can hand that to her when I can’t paint any longer,” Miller said. ” I hope one day to be able to give this to her and say, “Listen, this was your son, carry on this legacy, and now you have the opportunity to create your art.'”
Tonya did give birth to another son, who Miller described as “a beautiful, vibrant young boy that just turned 4 years old.”
Guests are invited to experience Miller’s paintings in the resort lobby, located at 5951 Silver King Blvd.
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