Born in 1937, Singaporean artist Ho Kah Leong is known for his en plein air paintings and Chinese calligraphy. Trained at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) for one and a half years in the mid-1950s, Ho explored with various mediums such as outdoor sketching, woodblock printing, photography and painting. Graduating with a Bachelor of Science Nanyang University in 1963, Ho continues to hone his skills and participates actively in the local art scene even when he was a teacher and politician. Serving as a NAFA’s principal from 1997 to 2003, Ho is passionate in working outdoor and painting on-site to capture the essence and life of a scene, which he believes can evoke one’s emotion.

Singapore Port is one of the busiest in the maritime industry, regionally and globally. This is coupled with a robust of maritime services such as shipyards, shipbuilders and docks for the repair of ships.

These two pieces of work, Pandan Shipyard and West Coast Sea that Ho renders documents the maritime industry of Singapore situated at the West Coast of Singapore. A departure of light and shadow tones seen in his earlier works, Ho employs a slightly vibrant colours palette over the representational values of the subjects. This results in an invigorating interpretation and textured touch that exemplifies Ho’s evolving painting style.