Born in 1923, Lim Tze Peng is largely a self-taught artist. In his oeuvre, ink paintings and calligraphic works feature prominently, although there is a small number of oils, watercolours and drawings. He created a unique style of ink painting using rich brush and tonal details, and this approach is often regarded as a manifestation of the Nanyang Style in the ink medium. Lim, a school principal until his retirement in the early 1980s, was awarded the Cultural Medallion by the Singapore government in 2003.Life by the sea, along with boats and trees, is a recurring subject in Lim’s art. In this picturesque depiction of two ladies chatting happily on a ‘kelong’ (a fish farm built out in the sea), a sense of spontaneity is created by fluid and expressive brushstrokes.
