The Estuary

In Lim’s later years, his painting style grew increasingly abstract. From his diaries, we know that Lim read widely on art and subscribed to British art magazines such as Artist and International Studio. During the 1960s, abstract painting was at its peak in British art, and this influenced Lim’s art here in Singapore as well.

Notice the difference in how Lim painted the upper and lower halves of this painting. The lower half, which depicts the boats, huts and trees, is rendered simply but precisely. In contrast, the clouds in the sky are dark and striking, appearing pink, blue and yellow in different areas. These washes of colour merge and create a dramatic effect, suggesting an oncoming storm. Lim’s foray into abstraction gave his later works a greater focus on mood and atmosphere. However, he did not move entirely away from the naturalistic style of his earlier work, as seen in the forms of the boats, huts and trees in this painting, which are represented in a more realistic manner.

In order to create the dramatic washes that appear in the sky of this painting, Lim used the wet-on-wet technique. He wrote in his diary, “I believe wetting the paper, practically soak[ing] it, on its reverse side before painting, would help immensely to stay the drying process of the washes to allow for subtle tones and gradations.”