SINGAPORE - Ernestine Chua remembers being surrounded by art when she was growing up.
After all, she is the granddaughter of Cultural Medallion recipient Chua Mia Tee, 89, and his late wife Lee Boon Ngan.
"The constant presence of art being created by my grandparents was a solid anchor in my appreciation of the craft," says the 22-year-old.
She is now prepared to make her own way in the art world. On June 18 this year, she graduated top of her cohort with honours at University of the Arts London, with a Bachelor of Arts in illustration and visual media.
It is a "confident close to this chapter of my life", she says in an e-mail interview from London.
She hails from an artistic family. Her grandfather is one of the titans of the Singapore art scene, known for his iconic works such as National Language Class (1959) and Singapore River (1983). Her grandmother, who died in 2017, was also a notable artist, known for her oil paintings of flowers.
Her grandmother's brothers were the late oil painter Lee Boon Wang and Singapore Press Holdings chairman and former Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts Lee Boon Yang.
"Because I had such closeness to active artists in my life, I was exposed to the lifestyle, serenity, therapeutic nature, tenacity, passion and perseverance that came from chasing this erratic career path," says Chua, who grew up in Hong Kong.
"I started creating art the moment I could observe and retain information," she adds.
She describes her art style as flexible. At present, she works primarily with digital media and wet media like acrylic and gouache paints.
She is drawn to works of allegory, surrealism, distortion and narrative documentation.
Her current work, she says, "sits rich in colours and a graphic illustrative narrative".
She does show her grandparents her work, albeit "with some attached embarrassment stemming from a lack of confidence at times".
"But it's always lovely to see their responses," she adds.
She plans to stay in London for the time being. "I'm not quite ready to leave the vibrant art scene I have found here without giving it a thorough exploration, though I will return to Asia as often as I can to reconnect."
