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.Having spent his childhood in a ‘kampong’ (village in Malay), Lim is drawn towards the idyllic life in rural villages. A place which provided him with rich material for his art is Bali, and he hs returned many times to depict the lifestyle, culture and unspoilt beauty of the land.
