I was born exactly one year after Bruce Lee's death. During labor, my mother
told me that Dad heard Bruce Lee had died. It really frightened her. News of his death a year earlier wasn't headline news in Toronto,
so a large portion of his overseas fans had no idea he had died. To make a long story short--as early as eight years old, I believed I was Bruce's
reincarnation. Later, in my teens, that belief grew into a haunting--my silly imagination led me to believe my life would end at age 32... Just as his.
My work face. Serious. No fun. Intense.
Safe to say on my 33rd birthday, the curse I believed it to be--was lifted!
I was already an artist working in the video game industry as a 3D modeler, animator and concept artist for 10 years. Three years go by and then the hunger to search out
the mystery of Bruce Lee's death really began to consume me! It could only be a summoning I believe, still. It would lead me to write and
illustrate my first satirical short manga | comic book on the day of Bruce Lee's death and the aftermath called Bruce Lee in Preserved Dragon.
I launched a Facebook fan page of the same name and soon, the page began to grow. Fast. It became the 2nd largest Bruce Lee
fanbase on Facebook after the official Bruce Lee page.
However, after years of getting countless comments from Bruce Lee fans addressing and thanking me as Shannon Lee, (Bruce
Lee's daughter) even with my name clear on the cover page and profile pic, I decided to drop Bruce Lee from the page name and simply called it Preserved Dragons.
That way I can shine the spotlight on other legends whom I have immense respect and reverence for. By the way, my request to Facebook only took two years. Thank you Mark!
The occasional smile. Taking a break from work.
During this time, I would get to know many amazing, knowledgeable Bruce Lee fans and that kickstarted a drive in me to show them something new and artistic.
I decided to take on the challenge of making a Bruce Lee statue. I've never sculpted seriously before with the only exposure to clay being an art class in high school and
a ceramics class in college which I ended up dropping out. Well, to wrap this up, that statue took me eight months to complete. In doing so, I had sculpted him
at least eight times. Kept revising and redoing it which ultimately helped me attain all the sculpting experience I needed so badly. Since then, I've honed my
technique which I call: Method Art. It's similar to what an actor does to get into a role. Except I channel the soul of the character and let the emotion
of a particular moment in the film envelope me. In the videos section, do check out My first statue and the
long eight month process it took to bring Tong Loong / Tang Lung to life. The rest is, as they say is history (not his story--it's MY story! smh ).
Work is done. Meet Mr. Smiles.
I'm on my ninth statue now, but at the moment before finishing #9, I am making 12 one-of-a-kind Bruce Lee statues for those hardcore fans that have requested for them over the years.
This is my ultimate test in persistence and longevity as an artist, I feel. I am nearing the two year mark and hope to complete them by the end of 2016. You'll see them in the PD Shop
most definitely! Lastly, check out Insights: The Mechanics of Me on the three motivational figures that endlessly drive & inspire me. Well, that is all I have for now. Till next time
-- Marten Go
