Title: Make a Wish
Size: 15"w x 30"h x 0.5"d (sides are painted black)
Medium: Mixed media (acrylic, oil, calligraphy paper) on canvas
Edition: Original
Date: 2008
Technique: Finger painted (brush used for collaging paper only)
Story: How far will you go to make your dreams come true?
It is a Japanese tradition to tie strips of colored paper with poetry expressing wishes or an appreciation for beauty onto trees. Perhaps the wind lifts the papers to begin work on the wish, or writing them down begins the work to be done to make them reality.
This determined Prunus tree (to which cherries and plums belong), a symbol itself of strength in harsh conditions, survives at the peak of an almost inscalable mountain. The blossoms bloom for no one in particular, but for those determined to make the climb and make their wish, their beautiful sight is a reward for being heartily alive.
An image created through the wonderful alchemy of my mother's calligraphy practice papers, brilliant acrylics, and rich oil paints, this 15" x 30" painting needs no frame (the 0.5" sides are painted black), and is a modest size even as it captures the biggest of aspirations. Revel in the flashing gold, cobalt blue, and yellow ochre that echo your taste in a contemporary, East-and-West art style.
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Copyright: All rights reserved. No part of this artwork may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the artist.
I was born in L.A. in 1972, the child of immigrants come to the west to mine the opportunities of The Golden State. At the age of three, we moved to a small city surrounded by the eponymous orange groves of Orange County and gained the company of my younger brother.I was an artistic juggernaut as a child, drawing ceaselessly and always receiving art materials from relatives. In elementary school, I had the good fortune of working with an art educator who encouraged everyone to fill the negative space and dont worry about mistakes, just keep drawing!This teacher was a wonderful influence, and I still hear her voice as I make art thats bigger than whatever canvas is at hand. Youll rarely find any image I create contained by the surface boundaries. What we can imagine is limitless, and its off the canvas that the real connection is made between the viewer and artist.On my canvases, youll find a fusion of inner and outer realities, the evidence of prayer and communion with the greater whole of which we are all a part.Presently, I reside on the West Coast of the North American continent, at the edge of the seas and on the verge of a garden.Ivan Chan Studio: Invite Beauty
