Turtle Wayne Comes Out of His Shell

Like many artists, Wayne Chan just wants to make a living off of his creativity. But he never thought that not thinking might be his calling.

After publishing several comic strips, creating signs for a grocery store chain and working as a creative director for an online marketing firm, the 32-year-old Union City artist and designer is getting back to basics: mindless doodling.

"Everyone can doodle, I just kept doing it for 20 years," said Chan, who only began taking his random drawings seriously two months ago when an art curator came across his work.

But Chan's art is a little more advanced than the typical sketches and scribbles made in binders during boring lectures.

When he puts ink to canvas, he doesn't think twice about what's coming out or the end result. This makes for raw, intricate freestyle drawings that contain elements of anything and everything floating inside his mind. In the same piece, you might find cartoonish characters, skulls, tribal patterns, robots and the Grim Reaper all crammed together in a colorful collage of subconscious thought.

"It's like turning on a faucet full blast, you don't have any control of how it comes out," Chan said.

Chan is one of several Union City artists showcasing their work at the &THEM Collective's "Stories x The Step" exhibit at San Francisco's Hotel Des Arts, a hotel and art gallery that features rooms painted by nationally renowned artists such as David Choe, Kelly Tunstall and Obey Clothing founder Shephard Fairey.

The opening reception for the exhibit will be held tonight from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. The exhibit, which runs through mid-March, features 11 Bay Area artists including Union City's Jessica Gill, Dominic Grum, Gunwoo Pak and Bryant Sina.

This is Chan's first art exhibit. "I don't know how people are going to respond," he said.

Kevin Correa, a Union City resident and member of &THEM, the group of curators who organized the Hotel Des Arts exhibit, was attracted to Chan's work because it was "like Where's Waldo on acid," he said.

"When you look at his work, you notice something you didn't see last time because it's so intricate," said Correa, a resident artist and theater director at Bindlestiff Studio in San Francisco. "The way he intertwines his characters to create that background is crazy—it's brilliant—because the background is the focal point."

Hidden somewhere in the background of Chan's work is his signature character, a turtle drawn in four simple strokes.

Originally launched as a children's clothing brand, Turtle Wayne is now Chan's personal brand and identity. His clothing line, which officially launched in September, is available exclusively through his online store and at , a boutique in the Old Alvarado district.

Though his art may at times appear to be drastically different from his clothing, both facets of Chan's identity share his easy living philosophy: "Go, flow, soul, grow."

Each stroke of his turtle logo represents a piece of the mantra, with the rhyme helping it stick with kids.

"It sounds Cat in the Hat-ish, but that's the point," Chan said.

Just over a year ago, Chan left his marketing job because it didn't satisfy him artistically. Now he's a self-employed entrepreneur and artist in transition, hoping something sticks.

Whether his art proves lucrative or turns out to be a creative pursuit with no financial grounding is yet to be seen. One thing he is certain about is that he won't stop doodling.

"I just want to draw as long as I can," Chan said.

"Stories x The Step" runs from Dec. 16 to mid-March at Hotel Des Arts in San Francisco.