In 1975, the 28-year-old Chua became a student of Chinese brush painting and seal-carving of Singaporean master ink painter, Fan Chang Tien.

At the age of 38 he embarked on his artistic journey, supplementing his income as a lecturer with the Extramural Studies Department of the National University of Singapore.

Valued at S$302,000, these 30 works depict scenes of old shop houses, narrow alleyways, historic sites and other memories portraying Singapore's heritage, in his signature brush styles – a legacy of 20 years of artistic practice.

[5] Lee Boon Yang, the Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts, said of the artist: "Ek Kay has developed a unique style of his own.

"[6] When Chua was under the tutelage of Fan Chang Tien, he not only learnt the four elements of the "Shanghai School" – calligraphy, classical poetry, painting and seal-carving from his master.

Singapore artists then realized they did not really relate to these conventional art themes and they should adopt familiar subjects that they could distill through their emotion and artistry.

While Chua's creations are infused with Western artistic spontaneity, he felt that tradition continued to play an important role in breaking new ground and generating inspirations in art.

Mdm Yeo also unveiled two untitled paintings at the service, and announced her donation of Chua's "representative collection" to the Singapore Art Museum.

[9] Singapore Some information in the above table was obtained from Chua Ek Kay (Singaporean, 1947): Selected exhibitions, ArtNet: The Art World Online, retrieved 16 February 2008.