THE RED KANJI SERIES
Impasto Virtues by SanSymeon
Where digital precision meets the movement of the hand.
Each character in this collection is rendered through SanSymeon’s distinctive impasto digital fusion, where pigment and light meet in textured layers of red on ivory canvas. The series explores four enduring virtues — 愛 (Love), 福 (Blessing), 和 (Harmony), and 勇 (Courage) — each stroke carved with intention, each surface alive with the quiet strength of tradition reimagined.
愛 (Ai) – Love
Love rendered as motion in stillness — layered reds alive with warmth and depth. This piece embodies the endurance of compassion in all seasons.
福 (Fuku) – Blessing
Grace meets texture — fortune and faith unfolding like lacquered light across a calm surface.
和 (Wa) – Harmony
Balance between strength and gentleness, order and freedom — the art of peace in layered red.
勇 (Yū) – Courage
Courage as clarity — each impasto stroke cut with resolve, embodying strength born from silence.
THE WARM SPECTRUM SERIES
Light and Friendship
Where emotion becomes color and connection becomes form.
Each piece in this series moves beyond red into the warm glow of orange, gold, and indigo — a journey from passion to peace. The Warm Spectrum Collection reflects connection: the relationships, dreams, and inner light that give meaning to courage and love.
友 (Yū) – Friendship
Friendship as quiet endurance — luminous ochre strokes radiate warmth, trust, and constancy.
楽 (Raku) – Joy
Joy expressed through motion and rhythm — the freedom of laughter layered in glowing impasto.
愛 (Ai) – Love (Dark Red)
Deep crimson love, textured and grounded — where passion meets quiet reflection.
勇 (Yū) – Courage (Dark Red)
A darker courage — weathered yet luminous, speaking of resolve through trial.
心 (Kokoro) – Heart
The heart revealed — not as symbol, but as center. A reminder that every emotion begins in stillness.
夢 (Yume) – Dream
Dreams, softly painted in twilight hues, bridging the seen and unseen.
THE BLUE TRANQUILITY SERIES
Peace, Stillness, and Flow
Moments of quiet rendered in layered blues and violets.
The Blue Tranquility Series continues SanSymeon’s impasto journey through color — where texture meets breath. Each work is a meditation in motion, inspired by the timeless calm of water and air.
安 (An) – Peace
Gradients of indigo and sky flow like water — a stillness that listens and restores.
静 (Sei) – Stillness
Violet undertones mingle with blue — quiet strength painted in light and patience.
涼 (Ryō) – Cool
A morning breeze on water — refreshing calm captured in translucent impasto.
海 (Umi) – Sea
Waves of impasto blue, deep and alive — the sea as return, not distance.
THE GOLD & VIOLET RADIANCE SERIES
Light, Joy, and Transcendence
Where illumination meets laughter — the spirit turned to light.
This collection completes the SanSymeon trilogy, exploring the transcendent nature of light itself. Moving beyond red and blue into gold and violet, these works speak of renewal, insight, and quiet joy.
光 (Hikari) – Light
Glowing gold impasto — illumination breaking through shadow, tender and radiant.
笑 (Warai) – Laughter
Lavender and amber merge — joy as release, the body remembering its lightness.
美 (Utsukushii) – Beauty
Soft gold and rose hues meet in quiet radiance — beauty not as ornament, but as essence. The brush moves gently here, revealing grace in imperfection, stillness in form, and the light that lingers within all things.
About the Artist
Symeon (Stephen J. Nelson) works at the intersection of language, texture, and light. Through his Impasto Kanji™ technique, he transforms classical Japanese characters into living surfaces — meditations on faith, balance, and courage. His work bridges digital and traditional forms, seeking not perfection, but presence — the moment where art becomes still enough to listen.