Chua Ek Kay
Plum Blossoms
梅溪水平桥
Ink on rice paper
153x42cm
1991
Price on request
乌山睡初醒
月明乱峰西
有客泛孤艇
除却数卷书
尽载梅花影
This painting by Chua Ek Kay pays homage to renowned Chinese ink artist Wu Changshuo 吴昌硕 who was famous for his traditional depictions of plum blossoms. The poem reflected in this painting could be found in a handful of paintings by Wu.
Chua Ek Kay developed a passion for poetry writing and classical poems during his secondary school days in Catholic High School. One of his teachers was Ma Zhong Siang, a key member of the Poetry Society in Singapore. Ma had high regard for Chua Ek Kay’s calligraphy writing and encouraged him to utilise his talent in writing classical poems.
Chua Ek Kay started learning from his master Fan Chang Tien in 1975, Fan taught him the fundamentals of ink painting through the depictions of the “Four Gentlemen” (Plum Blossom, Bamboo, chrysanthemum and orchid). Apart from the form of the subject, the symbolism of these subjects was of greater significance to Chua Ek Kay and Fan Chang Tien. For Instance, the plum blossom was a symbol of a person’s perseverance