Yip Yew Chong

Welcome to ‘I Paint my World - Hong Kong’ ! Painted over 4 long but therapeutic days, the painting depicts a condensed and imaginary impression of Kowloon looking towards Hong Kong island. Nathan Road (Jordan area) and Temple Street are in the foreground. Tsim Sha Tsui, Victoria Harbour and the gleaming Hong Kong island skyline are in the horizon. Many of us grew up following Hong Kong TV, movie and music. It is also a popular destination for holiday and business. My first trip there was in 1993, en route to mainland China. Over the decades, I visited Hong Kong frequently for business trips - implementing finance systems, attending courses, and from 2016, painting. I made use of all these trips to do sightseeing, eating and hiking. This post summarises my art expressions of this beautiful journey with Hong Kong. Join me on a stroll through ‘my’ Hong Kong, and enjoy her energetic vibe! #hongkong #acrylicpainting #yipyewchong

Welcome to Varanasi, India! Last year end, I finally made a trip to this fabled place I had dreamt of visiting since young. The bonus was, it was a family trip with my loved ones. We walked the ghats (stepped river bank of the Ganges), explored the labyrinth of alleyways and bustling markets, watched the Aarti ceremonies, and took boat rides on the Ganges River at both sunrise and sunset. We all fell in love with magical Varanasi! This painting captured my memories of the trip. It is a unique aerial view painting, condensed and imaginary, with focus on recreating the vibe. I hope you enjoy exploring Varanasi here! #varanasi #india #ganga #gangariver #banaras

Welcome to Hanoi, Vietnam ! This is probably my “busiest” painting ever, busy with so many details that one can feel lost. That’s precisely how I had felt during all my trips there. I particularly wanted to capture my memories of the chaotic and smoggy vibes of the old quarters - the bustling street life, deafening motorbikes, long narrow houses and entangled overhead wires. Admist the chaos is the 19th century Ngoc Son Temple, sitting calmly on an island surrounded by the serenity of Hoàn Kiếm Lake. Other memorable landmarks that are visible in the painting: - Shark Jaw building at Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square (just demolished in 2025) - Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre (spot the water puppet show!) - Hồ Chí Minh Mausoleum - Chợ Đồng Xuân Market - Ga Hà Nội (Hanoi Train Station) - Hanoi Flag Tower - The Imperial Citadel of Thang Long For this South East Asia segment, I’m now left with Thailand, Brunei, Philippines and Singapore. But I’ll be interrupted with a painting trip. See you in Africa in two weeks time! #hanoi #vietnam #yipyewchong #acrylicpainting

I’m so happy, because I finally have my own show! Welcome to “Adventures of Grumpy Cat”, opening 16 June, till 30 Aug 2026 at The Fullerton Hotel Singapore! YC first painted me in 2022. Over the years, he painted me many times and placed me in various places, including MRT stations and overseas. He painted me often grumpy but at rare times, smiling. And since he has never given me a name, everyone just calls me “grumpy cat”. Anyway, I am happy at all times! This is YC’s 4th solo show, but it’s the most different. He says it’s “goofy” (like my personality?) and hopes everyone will join me and have fun. Thanks to Fullerton Hotel for the partnership in hosting me. We all hope to see you there! #art #singaporeart #yipyewchong #singapore #fullertonhotelsg

Tokyo 東京e yokoso! This is the 16th painting of the series “I Paint my World”. I’ve painted a night scene of Shinjuku （新宿）, one of my favourite places in Tokyo, because of its electrifying giant billboards. It’s an impressionable sight in Japan. I really enjoyed painting the scene. The process of luminating the city signboard by signboard was very satisfying! Many people are curious about my creative process. The process starts with deciding on which area to feature, which is based primarily on my personal experience and impression of what best represents the place’s vibe. Next, I’ll study my old photos, online photos, aerial maps (google map, google earth) and then compose the imaginary scene. All the details, such as signboard names, lights, colours, cars and people are added impromptu as I paint along. Lastly, I’ll weave my more pivotal personal experiences into a story to complement the painting, to make it genuine and relatable. Thus, you’ll see my favourite Uniqlo and Sushiro! Please enjoy bright lights big Tokyo, and some of my personal stories. Spot the famous cat billboard near the Shinjuku East Station. Next place, I’ll bring you to Mongolia! #japan #tokyo #shinjuku #yipyewchong #ipaintmyworld

Happy Labour Day! Ironically, 1. “After AI” is painted entirely by human hand. 2. “Before AI” - the background is AI generated.

“Huangshan 黄山” - the 15th painting of “I Paint my World” series! I was a little bored after painting cities consecutively. So for a change, I painted Huangshan, a natural scenery. Huangshan is the first of several scenes from China I will paint. There’s a famous saying about Huangshan (Yellow Mountain) : “五岳归来不看山，黄山归来不看岳”. It implies that Huangshan is so spectacularly beautiful that it surpasses all other mountains. Having seen it, one does not need to see the other Great Mountains. Indeed, the combination of majestic rocky peaks, playful pine trees, and the sea of clouds, make Huangshan heavenly. In 2015, I had the privilege to visit Huangshan with my daughter. It was part of a backpacking trip across Vietnam and China. We also visited Hongcun 宏村, a quaint UNESCO heritage village near the foot of Huangshan. I hope you like the style of this painting. I modelled its composition after traditional Chinese landscape painting. But style wise, I painted it in my usual semi-realistic contemporary style. I added my imagination of the mist and sea of clouds, although I didn’t see them on the two days I was there. The sky was too clear! Next week, see you in Japan! #huangshan #yellowmountain #hongcun #china #yipyewchong

Sawasdee Krup 🙏🏼! Welcome to Bangkok, Thailand! - my 13th painting of the series “I Paint my World”. Bangkok needs no introduction, being a popular tourist destination for shopping, food and business. Having visited Bangkok over the years for vacations, stopovers and finance work meetings, I saw how its skyline gets taller! If you scan through the painting, you can spot all of the tallest 4 buildings in Bangkok. A lot of thought went into composing this painting so as to capture as many iconic landmarks as possible. I thought featuring the Wat Arun against the Chao Phraya river is a must as the scene is probably the most common tourist’s impression. At one glance, you know this is Bangkok. Your own memories will then flood into the painting and fill the details. I hope you find this format interesting and refreshing. It is fictional yet reality based, panoramic yet detailed, impressionistic yet realistic. A real drone photograph would have so many real details that crowd out the focus, and AI at the moment doesn’t have a human hand to paint it so passionately and humanly. Anyway, let loose like this old Thai song sings (Sabai Sabai) and enjoy Bangkok! #bangkok #ipaintmyworld #thailand #acrylicpainting #yipyewchong

Selamat Datang ke “I Paint my World - George Town, Penang” ! This is the 12th painting in the series, completed exactly 1 year after I started this journey. Penang holds a special place in my heart. The thriving mural scene there - especially the works of @ernestzacharevic - was what inspired me to get into mural painting. I’m really grateful for the inspiration, and for the aspiration that continues to grow my art. This piece took over a week to finish, mainly because of all the research and details involved. I spent quite a bit of time figuring out how to condense and fit in as many iconic landmarks as possible, while still giving each one enough space to be identifiable and stand out. Take a slow stroll through the historic streets, walk along the jetties, hop on a trishaw, and enjoy the street food. Can you spot my mural, “Folklore by the Sea,” from 2018? Continuing the journey, my next stops are Bangkok, then Manila. See you along the way! #penang #pulaupinang

Wishing all my Muslim friends Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri ! Artworks: 1. “Hari Raya Puasa”, 2026 46cm x 61cm Acrylic-on-canvas 2. “Geylang Serai Bazaar Raya”, 2020 122cm x 91cm Acrylic-on-canvas 3. “Hari Raya Tea Party at the Tanjong Pagar KTM Railway Club”, 2020 , Digital Painting

Please leave a meow after the tone. Have a relaxing weekend.

In Memory of my two friends who shared with me the ‘Art of Life’.