Ivan Chan Asian Zen desert blue nomad dune painting art

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Purveyor of Symbols

Size/36" x 36" x 0.5" (12" x 36" each)  Medium/Mixed media on canvas  Date/2008

Original Finger Painting by Ivan Chan

Story/There are places we have to go and places we come from to bring into the world what we're meant to bring. These places can be difficult and appear barren, but they are only unknown and as yet, unexplored. Other places are familiar and lush, a sanctuary from which we return whole again.

We do not always find these places; oftentimes, they find us: a dream about a lost loved one, a sense of union during lovemaking, the racing of your heart when you've found someone across a crowded room. No matter the place--or person or event--we confront or are confronted by, our responsibility is to live through these experiences and to find our way back out of what author Neil Gaiman calls "the soft places in the Dreaming," and back into our everyday lives.

A mysterious nomad garbed in blue walks the desert, an image inspired by a friend's recent trip to Dubai and my own personal visions. Underneath a faintly purple sky and followed by the gaze of a brilliant full moon, this wandering figure knows exactly where he is going, where he has been, and what he brings with him--symbols: the currency of imagination and memory. 

At a combined size of 36" x 36", this is my largest painting offered online to date, and presents a mystical vista set between the familiar and the strange. Created with my mother's practice calligraphy papers and my unique finger painting style in acrylic, each canvas in this triptych (three-part painting) is 12" x 36". The elegant, 0.5" sides are painted black, making this breathtaking image ready to hang without a frame, and ready to travel with you wherever you need to go in life.

Authenticity/All work is guaranteed authentic. Signature (Chinese and English) and stamp on the back.

Policies/Payment, shipping & handling, and return information can be found below. Please contact Ivan Chan Studio with any questions.

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.