Graceful lotuses, plum trees and bamboo stems abound in Fall In Love With Art, an exhibition of about 100 paintings at Wisma Atria which is on until Oct 28.

Each work is priced from $500 to $20,000 and proceeds from the sales go to The Straits Times (ST) School Pocket Money Fund.

The exhibition is organised by non-profit arts organisation Life Art Society and features works by 54 artists. Eighteen of them are ST subscribers who in June took part in Chinese brush painting classes at Singapore Press Holdings' News Centre.

The classes, taught by master painter Tan Khim Ser, were organised by ST as part of the ST+ news with benefits programme for subscribers. Tan, 75, is a noted artist and art educator who started the Life Art Society 45 years ago. He has taught thousands of amateur and aspiring artists, including former National Arts Council chief executive Lee Suan Hiang and former senior minister S. Jayakumar.

More than 100 art enthusiasts attended the workshops at the News Centre, learning to paint fish, flowers and plants in Chinese inks.

Scientist-turned-housewife Nim-mi Suresh and speech and drama educator Kala Sundaram, both 56, were among those who signed up for the classes and had their lotus paintings chosen for display. "It's a heady feeling to see your work amidst those from people who have been in the arts for a long time, " said Mrs Sundaram yesterday at the launch of the show.

Their art teacher Milan Sule, 62, is now also taking classes with Tan as she was intrigued by his style of using different painting techniques - Chinese calligraphy, Chinese brush painting, oil and watercolour - to paint what he calls "crystal lotuses".

She has two paintings of lotuses on display at the exhibition, which is sponsored by Wisma Atria and Katong Flower Shop.

The Life Art Society aims to raise $100,000 for the ST School Pocket Money Fund through the exhibition, and, at the end of yesterday's opening, had already sold 15 paintings worth $72,600.

Also up for sale are 20 of Tan's works, including the "crystal lotuses", named for their semi-transparent appearance, at $20,000 per painting.

Said Tan: "We come together to do this to promote art in Singapore and to help people."

Ms Tan Bee Heong, general manager of the ST School Pocket Money Fund, said: "We are very thankful to Life Art Society for generously donating their paintings, and to Wisma Atria for sponsoring the venue so that expenses can be kept low in raising funds for children from low-income families."

The ST School Pocket Money Fund provides pocket money to children from low-income families to help them through school. It supports more than 10,000 children and youth a year. Since the project started in 2000, the fund has disbursed more than $60 million and helped over 160,000 young people.