CH’NG KIAH KIEAN is a Penang-born urban sketcher and painter whose work is rooted in close observation, expressive lines and a deep appreciation for place. Over the decades, his practice has taken him from school art rooms and community sketch circles to international symposiums and teaching platforms around the world; yet, his artistic compass remains grounded in Penang.
EARLY LESSONS AND INSPIRATIONS
Ch’ng first encountered art in the most ordinary of places. As a child, he attended neighbourhood art classes taught by Tan Chiang Kiong and Tan Lye Hoe at differ-ent stages of his upbringing. In those early years, Ch’ng often found himself drawing popular cartoon characters such as Ne Zha. The classes balanced structure with freedom; each student had an easel, and they were encouraged to explore and express themselves.
Watercolour shaped much of his early training, but it was the ideas behind the les-sons that mattered most. He learned that colours were rarely straightforward—a road, for instance, was not simply grey or black, but a surface made up of reflected tones: light, shadow, dust and age. White, mean-while, was achieved by leaving areas of the page untouched. This approach, grounded in observation rather than imitation, would continue to guide his work into adulthood, later expanding alongside his growing interest in Chinese ink painting.
