Back from Swatow, China (9th-30th June 2012)

Visited Swatow with Mr.Chen Hui assisting him in carrying his heavy easel. Good and fruitful expedition. Captured many rural scenes.

To Malacca For A Week: April 3rd to 10th April 2012

Travelled to Malacca by road.

In Hong Kong 14th - 23 September 2011

Painting trip to Hong Kong with Mr. Chen Hui. Back with several street scenes & two overview of HK waterfront. Weather conditions was humid.

Back from Shanghai (17th to 30th May, 2011)

Painting expedition to Shanghai, Suzhuo country-side, with Mr. Chen Hui. It was homestay in a plantation specialising in producing organic "PI-PA" (枇杷). Captured six paintings. Weather conditions were wet and dry with temperature going up to 36C.

To Miao-Li of Taiwan

15th-28th Feb 2011

By courtesy of Miao-Li City County with a large group of Singaporean artists. Cultural Exchange program.

To Wu-han & Kuala Lumpur

8th -14th October 2010

By the courtesy of Mr. Chen Hui & Mr. Tan Yok Khoon.

Sight seeing & visiting the Wu-han Museum. Shortly after returning from Wu-han, visited Kuala Lumpur for 3 days to attend an exhibition.

Visited Swatow 23rd June to 13th July 2010

Second visits in a year to Swatow. Came back with very interesting scenes. The mood and colours were hearty. Brighter than usual due to the very hot weather of 36C.

Back to Swatou 23-3-2010 to 6-4-2010

Visiting hometown by courtesy of Mr. Ho Kung Shang. Meeting Mr Nai Lui Leng, Mr. Goh Beng Kuan and move on from there. Came back with some very rustic scenes.

Visited Burma February 2010

Painted Burmese scenes. Communications with the outside world was completely cut off by the Administration once on Burmese soil. Came back with some wonderful work. Went with Mr. Goh Beng Kuan and partner.

Indomitable Spirit of Tan Choh Tee by Usha M Nathan

Found this article :

I had the opportunity to meet this humble and highly acclaimed artist at a group show amongst his peers more than six months ago. During our discussion of his artworks, I discovered the vivid sensory experiences that stirred the creation of each of his paintings. And I could see how the creations depicted particular perceptions of colour and form formed by sensory intervention– rich, humane, individual.
Tan Choh Tee has created prolifically during his artistic practice that spans close to four decades. Practising as a full-time artist since 1976, he has done study tours in various parts of the world, including the famed Dun-Huang caves. He was awarded the Cultural Medallion in 2006. Tan Choh Tee’s works range from many varied landscapes from across the world and include still life studies that have the same meticulous engagement as the former. These include the familiar scenes of the Singapore River, Chinatown, and span his extensive travels to places such as Bali, Nepal, Paris, and his birthplace Swatou. Each creation offers vistas for visual experience; often touching on the certain elusive quality that fellow artist Choy Weng Yang calls the “spirit of his (the artist’s) environment.”
The artist paints plein air, often reflecting on the atmosphere and his distinct experience of the place. Colour is key to his compositions, which reflect a captivation with atmospheric light. The brushwork is agile and resonates with the mood of the place. The juxtaposition of forms reveals the creative synergies of Chinese ink, Western oil techniques and artistic innovation that the artist brings to his practice. Each composition hence emerges with a singularity, clarity of vision, and recreates for the viewer the allure of the locale with all of its nostalgia. The overall abundance of the artist’s oeuvre stands as a testament to his commitment to art, and it is easy to see why he is a revered artist not only in Singapore but elsewhere, too.

Written by Usha M. Nathan
Published by Singapore Art Gallery Guide Jun/July 2008

Visit to Chendu 20 Dec - 26 Dec 2009

Visit by courtesy of Mr. Tan Xiang Tong and Madam Frances Chan.

Visited Taiwan & Hongkong 3rd - 14th November 2009

Mr. Tan visited Taiwan by invitation of Mr. Ho Kuang Shang for the grand opening of Mr. Ho's Artist Brother's Art Exhibition for 6 days. Both of them visited Hongkong together by courtesy of Mr. Xu Li Peng.

Back from Hanoi

2nd August to 10th August 2009

Back from Hanoi with several small paintings. Unable to do more as conditions was not conducive for painting on locations. The city was cluttered with motorcycles and it made navigation difficult. The high pollutant level was one of the obstacles. The weather conditions was dry and humid.

To Kedah

Mr. Tan visited Kedah by road for a week. Left on the 27th November 2008 and returned with 2 paintings. Weather conditions was wet.

Back from Shanghai Art Fair 2008

Mr. Tan left Singapore on the 9th September for the Shanghai Art Fair 2008. Returned on the 29th September with a number of new work done on locations in Jing-Xi.

Organising "Indomitable Spirit" by Lady Puayai

Found this candid write-up about "Indomitable Spirit" and Mr. Tan Choh Tee by Lady Puayai on her blog - "Dun ask me why" posted Sat. June 28, 2008

[No, not talking abt me :) This is the title for the coming exhibition that I am organising for local artist Tan Choh Tee.

I respect Mr Tan alot. He is very passionate about his art. A man of few words, he speaks through his paintings. It took us a long time to plan for his exhibition, at first it was only for Beijing, and for 2007, but subsequently, we included Singapore as the next leg to this exhibition and schedule them for 2008. We have to go through a lot of red tape set by the National Arts Council, as Mr Tan was the 2006 cultural medallion recipient, thus these 2 exhibitions that we are organising now is with the support of the National Arts Council. The Beijing leg was quite successful, as due to my father-in-law's contact, alot of renowned artists from Beijing attended the opening of the exhibition, including the Vice-president of the Oil Painting association Wen Lipeng, renowned artists Ma Changli, Jiang Caiping, Pan Shixun, who is also Mr Tan Choh Tee's tutor when Mr Tan's did his studies at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, just to name a few. It's good to be able to help Mr Tan with gaining exposure to the China and to be able to do my part to promote a local artist in a foreign land.

Tomorrow is the opening of the Singapore leg.]

Note:-Lady Puayai'S Father-in-law, Mr. Yu- Shi is the gentleman who promotes Mr. Tan Choh Tee's work in Beijing.

"Indomitable Spirit" in Beijing May 2008, Singapore June 2008

Projects by Cultural Medallion Grant Recipients - Tan Choh Tee (2006 Cultural Medallion for Visual Arts)

The Singapore National Arts Council graciously sponsored two exhibitions through the Cultural Medallion Grant

Tan’s solo oil painting exhibitions of 30 pieces in Beijing and Singapore could only be described as a visual feast double bill. Adopting bolder and broader brush strokes in his scenery paintings, Tan briefly but unquestionably infused in Beijing a flavour of Singapore and Malaysia, as timelessly captured in his oil painted scenes. In addition, Tan retraced his 18-day painting trip in China with his local fans here when he showcased his newly minted five artworks encapsulating the essence of his travel experience. The cross-border dimension of his works sat well with overseas audiences and bolstered his international visibility. Reference:-http://www.nac.gov.sg/Data/news/365/(CD)%20PR_CM%20Grant%20

To Beijing May 2008

Choh Tee has left for Beijing on 3rd May 2008 and be back 30th May 2008

Art Book

Finally, the book is ready for distribution. It first went to Mr. Tan Cheng Gay who is an ardent collector of Choh Tee's work and had supported Choh Tee throughtout his career as an artist.

Many thanks to Jerene Tan who is a veteran in the book industry for her professional opinion; Candice Ling who took up the challenge edit at the eleventh hour; Tan Ee Sze for her sharp and superb editorial skill, Prof. Chan Kwok Bun of Hong Kong Baptish University who graciously consented to pen the "Forward"

Many thanks to Mr. Chua Tian Poh, Mr. John Ting, Mr. Yeo Kee Ping and Mr. Tan Cheng Gay for the loan of their treasured collections and all who had one way or another contributed to the success of the publication.

To Hai-kou for a break

Jan 8 - Jan 17 2008
Went away for a break under the invitation of Mr. K.K Tan to witness the ground breaking ceremony of his new development in Hai-kou. No news and no feedback.