"The Dragon, The Tiger, and The Crow" Bruce Lee celebrity portrait by Chris Tutty

The Dragon, The Tiger, and The Crow

Chris Tutty’s The Dragon, The Tiger, and The Crow is a powerful 40" x 60" painting that intertwines the legacies of Bruce Lee and his son, Brandon Lee, while reflecting on the profound impact of their lives, careers, and the tragedies that marked their untimely deaths. This poignant artwork explores not just their family’s legacy, but the dark forces that shaped their fates, with an emotional depth that resonates with fans, filmmakers, and artists alike.

At the center of the composition, Bruce Lee is depicted with scratches across his chest, symbolizing the personal and professional struggles he faced during his meteoric rise to fame. Behind him, a dragon weaves around a family crest, representing the strength, resilience, and mastery that defined Bruce Lee’s approach to martial arts and his cultural influence.

Bruce Lee’s Versace belt ties his iconic black belt in martial arts to his Hollywood image, symbolizing the duality of his identity. While the black belt reflects years of dedication and discipline, the Versace belt embodies the glamour and image-driven world of Hollywood. This juxtaposition underscores the pressures Bruce faced in reconciling his martial arts authenticity with the demands of fame.

Both Bruce and Brandon Lee are buried in Seattle—Bruce at Lake View Cemetery and Brandon at the nearby Seattle Cemetery. The notion of the "Lee family curse" gained prominence following their sudden deaths—Bruce in 1973 from cerebral edema and Brandon in 1993, a victim of an accidental shooting on the set of The Crow.

On March 31, 1993, during the filming of The Crow, Brandon Lee was tragically shot by actor Michael Massee, who fired a prop gun at Brandon during a rehearsal. A series of mishaps led to a live round being discharged from the gun, causing a fatal injury to Brandon. The tragedy shook Hollywood to its core and forever changed the way film sets would handle firearms. Michael Massee, the actor who fired the shot, was devastated by the incident and struggled with guilt for the rest of his life. He later shared that the emotional toll of the event haunted him deeply.

Despite the accident being entirely unintentional, Massee's life was forever marked by the incident. He continued acting, but the emotional weight of what happened was something he couldn't escape. Tragically, Michael Massee passed away in 2016, still carrying the burden of the incident. His death, coupled with the long-lasting impact of Brandon Lee’s death, left a profound mark on the film industry.

The incident also set the stage for a decades-long period without a similar tragedy involving a firearm on set—until the tragic event on the set of Rust in 2021. Actor Alec Baldwin was involved in the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins while filming a scene using a prop gun, once again shining a spotlight on the dangers of firearms on movie sets. The Rust incident reignited conversations about safety protocols, highlighting how such accidents—despite years of awareness—can still occur.

In The Dragon, The Tiger, and The Crow, the hidden tiger symbolizes the dark side of ambition—the dangers of fame, the weight of family expectations, and the pressure to live up to an image. The painting’s vivid colors and dynamic imagery reflect the high stakes involved in both Bruce and Brandon Lee’s lives. The tragedy that claimed Brandon's life, coupled with the lasting emotional burden on Michael Massee, underscores the fragile nature of life on a film set and the painful legacy of loss.

This piece is a tribute to the Lee family’s martial arts legacy, their impact on global cinema, and the profound human cost of fame, ambition, and the world of Hollywood. It reminds us of the fragility of life, both on and off the screen, and the powerful connection between past and present tragedies that continue to shape the industry.

ORIGINAL WORKS (SOLD)

Each Original painting is unique and a one of a kind creation. A great amount of time and detail goes into each piece of art from hand painted brush strokes in acrylic and oil medium, to the unique art of airbrushing done with only the best of paints, Createx Auto -Air Colors and House of Kolors Automotive Paint. Aspects of geological layering almost like sedimentary rock are imparted with mixed mediums such as metallics, gold and silver flaking, the introduction of coppers and iron magnesium’s in fine powder as well as glass resins, pearls and industrial candy coats as seen on high end automobiles. Certain master pieces also use elements of sculpture with molding paste, crackling and organic material to highlight low and high points in the picture creating a dimensional embossed image which leaps off the canvas.

 ARTIST PROOFS

With the addition of all these materials and techniques in the Original, you may ask, what does an Artist Proof look like and how does it differ from the Original painting? Due to this unique style of artwork, normal prints are no even an option. An Artist Proof is painted in the same manner as an Original and all of the above techniques mentioned in the Original are imparted in the Artist Proofs with one exception. Artist proofs are derived from the original image. The original is professionally photographed by Rob Ryan of Render DC prior to its completion. The artist proof file is digitally remastered with a spectrometer and color balanced to lead to the next step. It is then printed and stretched on canvas providing a mapping for the new proof. This is called a archial pigment print. The stretched canvas is then re-airbrushed in order to retain the true vibrant colors of the original. Molding paste, pearls, metal flakes, candies, and neon paints are incorporated, and then sealed with glass resins. The Artist Proof equals the Original. The Proof is of the same quality but has expressive variations. Essentially it is a new painting based on the Original. The price point of the Artist Proof can be marketed with substantial savings, thus provides the consumer access to a truly unique piece of art.

11 inch by 14 inch Metal  Prints Limited Numbered Edition

Create a unique addition to any home or office with a sleek metal panel infused with your favorite image. All Metal Prints feature a glossy coating and rounded edges for a clean, beautiful display. Every piece comes with a sturdy fixture for wall-mounting.

8 inch by 10 inch Dye-Sublimation prints Limited Numbered Edition

Fine art photo printing on metal or what is known as metal prints is a relatively new industry. So what are metal prints? Simply put, metal prints are images printed on aluminum. But it is vastly more complicated than that. The secret is how the printing is done. Most photo prints are simply ink jet printers on a piece of canvas or other paper material. The print material fades, cannot be cleaned easily, and of course must be framed.

Fine art metal printing uses a technique called dye sublimation. Dye sublimation means that inks are turned into a vapor or gas, before they turn into a liquid.

Dye sublimation is a digital print technology that allows the reproduction of full color images on a variety of surfaces. Dye sublimation on hard surface is possible because the surfaces have been coated using an innovative manufacturing process that provides high-definition, durable photo panels that preserve images for generations. Instead of printing images directly on a surface, which may scratch easily, the image is infused into the coating to provide permanent protection and durability.

 8 inch by 10 inch Art Resin Block Prints Limited Numbered Edition

Art resin blocks are a unique and personal way to showcase art. Each art block is a professional digitally remastered photo of the original art which is mounted to a pine wood 8 inch by 10 inch canvas block and then coated with a lifetime ultraviolet protective called Artresin which appears as a type of sold glass and enhances the work of art. Only two hundred and fifty prints of each Image are created.

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