Writer’s Fortnight – Danny Raven Tan
Danny Raven Tan was truly a passionate speaker about who he is and what he does. Art was with him from the start, believing that it was “in his blood”. He has been through the most difficult challenges throughout his life, yet is still able to look forward and do something about it.
His early life was him graduating from NUS, in business marketing estate. Something he hated doing and was not keen on pursuing. He was jumping from company to company and briefly entering the world of fashion. Life was not what he was dreaming of, and then when he got pancreatic cancer, he was at his peak of wanting to give up. He told us that he had to go through months of chemotherapy and all sorts of medication until he said ‘enough’. He was able to survive cancer and move on in his life. He said to himself, “if not now, when?” This was something that pushed him into painting because the painting was something he loved to do.
Danny was able to go through all sorts of hardships throughout his life and still stay true to himself. He expresses his quirky character and does what he loves to do. Because art is personal to me, I was able to really listen and understand what he meant by “there are no rules in art”. Danny was able to go ahead and show his individualism through expression.
