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.Painted in oil, a medium Lim first started using in the 1950s, this work depicts one of his favourite subjects – bumboats on the Singapore River. As Lim’s artworks are largely representational, this semi-abstract work is an attempt at experimentation into other art styles.
