Inspired by street life

TAN Choon Ghee, known for capturing the elusive moments of Penang street life in pearly watercolours, has died. His demise last Tuesday – 28 days shy of his 81st birthday – came barely two weeks of the passing of another Penang art elder, Tan Lye Hoe (1938-2010).

In his plein-air paintings of ordinary people at work and leisure, Choon Ghee (as he was called) imbibes the mood and ambience of once-upon-a-time places with languid strokes and an awkward rhythm, and in ceaseless motions.