Born in 1939, Tong Chin Sye is a renowned Singaporean multimedia artist and part-time lecturer in Western Art at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore. He won first prize in the PSA Art Competition in 1987 and has participated in many exhibitions both locally and abroad. He was invited to represent Singapore at the Flemish Watercolor Days held at Zaventen, Europe in 1998.
A frequent traveler, Tong, with an open mind, continues to be inspired by architectural and cultural subject matters. Each new subject matter, be it a figures or an architectural structure, is well translated into his new spectrum of colors. All images captured by him never fail to present new excitement to viewers and art lovers.
His watercolors and oil paintings naturally blend in the beauty of Chinese calligraphy. Viewers are easily moved by the flow of lines and the dynamics of mark making. His strength in sketching and drawing allows him to compose and work directly through sketch reference made during his trips. This truly expands his scopes in composing and designing picture surface, differentiating him from many painters who work directly from photographic references. His choice of colors is a balanced mixture of personality and visual memory.
Tong works on all media including chinese painting, calligraphy, watercolor, oil and acrylic. With his variety of styles, Tong is the most sought after art instructor in Singapore. His students range from beginner painters to artists. He has conducted numerous talks and workshops including a watercolor appreciation lecture and demonstration at the Singapore Art Museum.
Sketch is the heart of Tong's artworks. He travels from continents to continents. With his master scripting skills, he summarizes visual images momentarily and vividly transcending them into high art. Through his artworks, viewers could relate the images while admiring his masterly execution and brushworks.
Tong, the traveler
Tong is an incredible artist with upmost adventure spirits. He made trips to China, Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines and the Indonesian Island including Sulawesi, Sumatra, Medan Lake Tahoe. The trip to the Indian subcontinent stretched over a period of three months, including the ancient cities in the south, Darjeeling, Varanasi and up north to Kathmandu and Nepal. The trips also included Europe, the cradle of western civilization and birth place of western art. On these trips, he made various visits to museums and painted amply on location. Having assimilated and incorporated these ideas, he visited Egypt, Greece, Turkey to seek new inspiration. These places provided the themes of many works in a later series.
Watercolor on Paper In 1999, he visited Vienna, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary and Venice, and made paintings within cathedrals. Over 10 years ago, he also traveled to the Latin American including Peru, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and Chile. These places fulfilled a sense of adventure and still provide further thematic material for future projects. He visited Haiphong and Hanoi in Vietnam, the Holang Bay in Cambodia, Kampong Cham and the Angkor Wat. Related works from these excursions have been compiled into a series. In Nov 2000, he made a one month trip to Myanmar, Yangon, Bagan, Pvin-oo-Iwin, Mandalay and Taunggyi.
