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.Lim who prefers to paint on the spot to soak in the atmosphere of a place has captured in his paintings beyond just what the eye sees; his paintings often evoke sentiments of nostalgia in his viewers. This painting of a kitchen helper preparing roast ducks in a back alley, underneath a canopy hung from a sturdy tree, harks back to a simpler time.
