This could be in the side nooks of Penang, and though Ong Kim Seng painted it in 1990 together with a small band of Singapore artist friends, the run-down abode reveals the early Straits Eclectic Style combining Chinese with European and Indian influences with its overhanging pitch roof of terracotta tiles. The buildings look stacked close together with no frontage or five-foot way normal for shophouse. The louvre shutters have come off the hinges in some, while ceramic air-vents afford some air in an otherwise bulky brick edifice. There is a corrugated zinc shelter at the lane entrance. Kim Seng looked more interested in observing how the light fell on different areas, with the right shade of colours. Ong Kim Seng, self-taught and a dedicated watercolour artist, is the first Asian outside the United States to be made a member of the American Watercolor Society, winning a grand total of six different awards and which culminated in him being award the covetous Dolphin Fellow in 2000. In Singapore, he was honoured with the Cultural Medallion (1990) and Arts Supporter Award (2001), and has been art adviser to the National Arts Council since 1998. He was organizing chairman of the Asian Watercolours ’97, and his works are in the collection of Queen Elizabeth II, former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan, and former prime ministers of Japan, India and Thailand, among others.