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 was driven by nostalgia and his desire to paint his favourite haunts and streets before they were changed forever by urbanization. Looking at his paintings, it is as if time has stood still for the realistic depictions of roadside eateries invariably evoke memories of early Singapore.
