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 idyllic rural village scenes. With deft brushwork and well-controlled ink washes, he has painted many works of Balinese villages on his painting trips to the tropical island.
