The Dentist and the Canvas

Dr. Ting-Wey Yen is more than a renowned dentist with a local practice and unique background; he’s also a celebrated artist whose paintings hang on the walls of his Beach Heights Dentistry office at 319 Redondo Ave.

Born in Taiwan, Yen relocated to Africa at age two when his father – who served as a dentist in the Taiwanese army – was sent to Libya. The family settled in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where Yen grew up and attended elementary, middle and high schools.

He graduated from high school at age 13 and came to the U.S. in 1977 to start college at the tender age of 14.

Yen sketched characters from Marvel Comics books with pen and pencil for fun as a young boy. But after returning home to visit one summer at 14 or 15, he studied oil painting under the guidance of a prominent Japanese oil painter living in Ethiopia. Yen dabbled in the craft but put his college education first.

After earning his B.A. degree from UC Santa Barbara, he entered Northwestern University Dental School in Chicago at 18 and graduated with honors at age 22.

As a young dentist, Yen continued his postgraduate work another four years to become a prosthodontist and is recognized as being the youngest person to become board certified in the field.

He also became board certified in maxillofacial prosthodontics, a sub-specialty of prosthodontics, which involves creating artificial devices such as eyes, noses and ears for people with head or face disfigurements resulting from cancer, injuries or birth defects.

With a busy career, Yen didn’t paint anything for about 20 years. Then in 1999 he bought an easel and canvas with hopes of resuming the creative hobby. But it didn’t happen right away.

Then he came across a patient who taught art at Goldenwest College and took his class.

Yen said he firmly believes, “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.”

He’s been painting ever since.

Today his artwork decorates his place of business, consisting mostly of oil paintings.

“I wanted my office to feel more like a gallery than a dental office,” said Yen, 55. “That was my intent of bringing all the paintings; to create a calm and soothing gallery-feel to my office.”

He’s painted about 200 pictures over the years.

A 1999 leopard done in an impressionist style became Yen’s logo, or company branding.

Every year he creates 12 paintings for use in a desk calendar, which he gives to patients as gifts. The leopard appears on the first page of every year’s calendar.

For the most part, Yen paints from photographs. Some pics he took himself while on family trips around the world; others were sent in by patients or collected elsewhere.

Techniques Yen employs include en plein-air, wet-on-wet and others. Some of the art is tight, meaning it has a very real, life-like appearance. Others are loose impressionist style, or with a blurry depiction conveying a feeling.

His art portrays figures, landscapes, still life, animals and his repertoire also includes sketches and drawings.

The time it takes to complete a painting ranges from a few hours to several years, he said. For example, a painting of Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps was started in 2004 during the Summer Olympics in Athens but finished in 2016, the year Phelps retired from swimming after the games in Rio.

Yen said he’s attached to his paintings but will occasionally auction off pieces to raise money for the Children’s Dental Health Clinic at Miller Children’s Hospital.

Every room in the office has its own theme. Where his desk is located, a painting of a lavender field in Provence, France, is displayed on the wall.

“I’ve always been attracted to visual art,” he said.

Marilyn Monroe appears in one room. Taylor Swift plays the piano at the American Music Awards in another room.

Canadian jazz pianist Diana Krall presents her legs and feet.

Track athlete Allyson Felix and others appear in a sports-themed room.

Personal friends and family are showcased in other portraits, such as in the “African classmate,” 1977. He painted a fellow student while she painted something in class taught by the Japanese oil painter.

And Yen’s wife and son stand on the Great Wall of China.

Yen does not appear in any of his paintings, but he did do a self-portrait at age 17, which he did not complete.

This year’s calendar includes a landscape where mountains, trees and clouds reflect off of Lake Maligne, Canada.

A ballerina stands on her toes in a more dramatic piece of art in February.

A tranquil image of Shoreline Village appears in March.

For May, a realistic juicy, ruby-red grapefruit wrapped in plastic wrap is provided.

Wonder Woman holds a sword and shield in August.

Yen’s son plays the piano with the instructor looking on in October, the son’s month of birth.

Lights from the Avalon Casino reflect off the waters in the “Catalina at Dusk” painting.

And a Flamenco dancer in traditional dress raises her arm and swings to the music in January 2019.

Mari Hooper, a friend, patient and community organizer, described Yen as “a man who cannot decide if he is an artist who happens to be a dentist or a dentist who happens to be an artist.”

She considers him “a real gentleman, artist, painter and extraordinary artist in dentistry and much more.”

Regarding Yen’s dental skill and painting talent, he said, “I try to create a masterpiece both inside the mouth and outside the mouth.”

kirt@beachcomber.news