From Pancreatic Cancer survivor to professional Painter; Danny Raven Tan’s story
(https://www.saatchiart.com/art/Painting-BELIEF-2017/844968/3362735/view)
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Everyone faces challenges throughout their lives, big or small. Everyone has a story to tell, filled with life changing events and impossible choices. Everyone has these, yet we don’t know everyone’s story. Facing challenges is incredibly hard, and making it through is an even greater challenge. Singaporean painter Danny Raven Tan has both faced his challenges, and has come out the other side, telling his story filled with passion, hopelessness, courage and resilience.

 

A Singaporean artist/painter, his gallery by the name; ‘Tiffin Gallery’ set up in his own HDB flat, one of the biggest eye-catching aspects of his gallery. Recently met with huge success and recognition, Danny’s paintings are recognized and sold to people around the globe; it’s no lie he’s found success in his passion. Danny tours possible buyers throughout his house, displaying each painting carefully, the paintings scattered everywhere; from the living room to the bedrooms, and even the bathrooms.

 

Danny began his life in art and painting only recently, leaving his old job and education in NUS, studying building estate management, describing this period in his life as a ‘Raining season’. Although he had found a job that somewhat satisfied him in the economic side of things, he always felt as if he had a bigger purpose and didn’t feel passionate about his current job. All he knew was he wanted to work in an area that paid enough, but the main thing was, the job had to fulfill his passions and sought after drive.

 

In the past, Danny never thought he would find his drive and passion again through art, but being forced into fighting cancer and getting set back so far, helped Danny search for new passions, and re-found his will and drive, this time in painting.

 

Facing Pancreatic Cancer, merely 7 years ago, in the year 2010, Danny Raven Tan’s life was far from perfect. Puzzled in his career, and now facing one of the greatest challenges of his life, Danny Raven Tan felt like he hit rock bottom. His life was slowly falling apart, and he had lost the drive he once possessed. Not wanting to cause trouble and problems, Danny didn’t tell anyone about his cancer, including his parents. The surgeries and rehab caused him to get depression, and it slowly started chewing away at his life. Danny felt that the hardest part about getting cancer, was not the surgeries, pain or the struggle of even getting out of bed, but the mental battle he was forced to face. It was almost like fighting yourself in an almost never-ending battle. He was met with constant headaches, muscle pain, and often threw up as the side effects of his rehab and depression.

 

Due to the surgery, he had to remove cancer in his pancreas, a scar had been left on his lower stomach. To Danny, the scar was a constant reminder of how broken he felt, and how lost he had become. In his steps to overcome his depression and to regain his courage and passion, Danny Raven Tan began by setting up a photo-shoot, to display his scar as the ‘mantle’ of the photos. The scar resembled an ‘L’ shape, and he used this to inspire the shoot, making the word ‘Life’, using the scar as the L. (include photo from his photoshoot) This helped Danny rebuild his confidence, not only about his body but about himself, slowly building up once again what was cancer had broken. 

 

Being Christian for nearly his entire life, Danny says he owes a lot of his success and triumphs to god. Danny felt like God has 

 

guided him his entire life, through all his troubles and triumphs, especially whilst he was battling pancreatic cancer. After beating cancer, Danny said it

was God’s doing, stating; ‘God only sent his best soldiers to fight the war’. To Danny, Religion has not only been an influence and drive, but has also inspired many of Danny’s pieces, for example, the piece to the left.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(https://www.saatchiart.com/art/Painting-THE-GODS-ARE-CRYING-JESUS-2016/844968/2779232/view)