Wong Jong Nong’s favourite themes were the fishing villages, disused tin-mines, hilly regions, coastal areas and riverine scenes. The places were always Pulau Ketam, Port Kelang, Selangor, Puchong, Seremban, Terengganu, Kelantan, Malacca and Perak (Cameron Highlands). Since graduating from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) in Singapore in 1964, he had been painting fulltime, especially in oil. Executed with deft and swift brushworks, the work contains scenic features including a temple, boats, and flag poles, which capture the momentum of the port.
Born in Singapore, Wong spent his early childhood in Hainan, China. After his studies in NAFA, he opted to become a Malaysian and based himself in Kuala Lumpur, when Singapore split from Malaysia. He had only two solos, in Kuala Lumpur – at the LC Yat Antique and Gallery (1994) and the Yan Fine Art Gallery (2008). When he was diagnosed with colon cancer, a fund-raising exhibition was held at Han’s Art Gallery at Amcorp Mall in Kuala Lumpur in April 2009, but as his cancer was already in the third stage, he succumbed to the disease in 2010.