BRIAN S. CHAN: WRITER. ARTIST. MARTIAL ARTIST. ‘NUFF SAID!
Written by Lauretta Coumarbatch
Brian S. Chan wowed us in his March 13th art exhibit held at Epiphany Space. The dream-like tranquility of many of Brian’s pieces – like his untitled charcoal and ink piece – plus the whimsical and childlike innocence of the intricately drawn children’s clubhouse piece titled “Wonder,” to the 3D ode to steam punk pieces with fully functioning lights, gears and clocks, all prove that Brian is an imaginative and gifted visual artist.
I wanted to hang many of this artwork on my walls right away or even to wear them printed on a T shirt. The piece with the ornately branched tree on a red background with real sprockets and gears as roots especially reminds me of some of the graphic T-shirts that are a must-have for millennials.
Even Brian’s abstract pieces were vibrant and thought-provoking, each piece telling a unique story. The fact that Brian pays great attention to detail is evident in the whorls of bark on the trees in one piece or the towering pillars of stone in “Surrounded By Majesty,” or the metallic silver and black bamboo done in acrylic – the leaves of which I thought were stenciled in, but Brian revealed they were actually meticulously hand drawn.
Then Brian moved outside to Epiphany Space’s patio and read 15 riveting pages from his book, “Not Easily Broken”. Just hearing those pages being read made me want to read more. If you are a fan of the action-packed mystery and international intrigue genre you will love this book!
After the reading, Brian gave a presentation. Along with anecdotes of his life and his Christian faith, Brian went on to explain to us how he became a writer and how the book’s characters were developed, which led to more questions from many wannabe novelists in the audience, like myself.
Just like Ray, the main character in “Not Easily Broken,” Brian is a martial artist, so a practical Wing Chun demo was a must. Add a musclebound guy (one of Brian’s students ) way larger than Brian and BAM! We saw the quickness and skill of Brian’s body strikes on that big poor guy. One quickly realized that, if done with intent, Wing Chun could maim or kill and I became a bit wary of Brian. However, Brian’s softly spoken instructions and his peaceful manner quickly quelled those thoughts and I was able to sit back and enjoy Brian’s display of his martial artistry.
The Wing Chun demos continued later in the day with the lithe but skillful Jessika Van, who can be seen in the TV reboot of Rush Hour airing this Spring.
Much respect to Mr. Brian S. Chan on all levels. I am a fan! I’m inspired by his balance and mastery of his many arts and I say, “Keep it coming on all fronts. “Not Easily Broken” is on sale at Amazon, as is his first novel, “The Purple Curtain” – a novel about beauty and the theology of the Christian faith.
You can read more from Brian at his blog, BrianSeeChan.com.
And Brian’s art is on sale via his Facebook page.
Look for more Epiphany Space sponsored visual art events/exhibits in the future.