Loy Chye Chuan (b. 1940) is an accomplished watercolorist whose works are often exhibited in both local and international shows. Loy met Lim Cheng Hoe, a well-known early generation watercolour painter, in 1959 and was very inspired by his work. Ever since then, Loy joined Lim Cheng Hoe and other watercolor enthusiasts like Gog Sing Hooi, Ong Chye Cho and Sim Kwang Teck, every Sunday to do plein air painting. In 1969, Loy joined the Singapore Watercolour Society as one of its founding members. “The Construction of Chinese Chamber of Commerce” is one of Loy Chye Chuan’s very early works painted in 1963. Painted during one of his regular outdoor painting sessions, the work is a testament to Loy’s deep affinity with the local environment. The colour variations of ultramarine blue, burnt sienna and greys suggest the behaviour of the warm afternoon light as it interacts with the towering wooden beams and concrete walls. The work reveals the artist’s mastery of the plein air painting in watercolour medium. In a very short period of time he managed to capture the physical accuracy of the painting objects with the implication of his personal emotional touch. This artwork also serves as an historical memoire about the construction of one of Singapore’s leading cultural and economic organization-the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, for which Loy was observant to document the Chinese architectural forms and the Samsui women who built it.
