Being visually impaired has not stopped Chng Seok Tin from turning out new paintings. The Singapore arts legend is an ambassador for the blind around the world.

At the age of 53, Chng Seok Tin has grown to become widely regarded as one of Singapore's pre-eminent artists. She is the Republic's master print-maker who has her work exhibited all over the world. She has grappled with the conflict between her western art training and her Asian cultural heritage. Her work manifests this deeply felt conflict in viewpoint, which moves between empathy and satire. The simultaneous juxtaposition of the East and West in the work takes place seemingly without effort in her themes; for example, Chinese characters and symbols seem to blend with western techniques in relative harmony. Nonetheless there are recognizable subjects in the work of Seok Tin such as nature, and the human figure is frequently a motif.
She is a good example of an artist with great potentials who battles against great odds to reach where she is now through sheer application and the determination to make good. She belongs to a small band of Chinese-educated artists who despite an initial lack of knowledge of English or French, have dared to sacrifice comfortable jobs for the uncertainty of an art career in England or France.

Seok Tin can only see the vague outline of someone standing in her direct line of vision. For a visual artist, losing one's sight is probably the worst tragedy. Before turning to art, Seok Tin taught Chinese as a second language for 10 years at Tanjong Katong Girls School. In 1975, after a diploma in Western Painting at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, she went to England to further her studies and obtained a First Class Honors in Fine Arts from Hull College of Art in Yorkshire in 1979.
Her source of inspiration is simply nature. She is often surrounded by landscape of hull that is featured in many of her prints. She studied water in ponds and rivers and what she sees is translated in visual terms of a very personal nature. She works from photographs and sketches at times and as she puts it herself, she approaches her work in a spiritual and conceptual way.

Seok Tin's contribution and determination have been praised by many around the world and among them is Professor Tommy Koh. He said, "In the blind community, Ms Chng Seok Tin is well-known for her courage in facing up to her blindness. She became blind only about 10 years ago when she was already an adult. She is a source of inspiration to the younger generation, who learn much from her. Being the only professional artist with visual impairment in Singapore, she has shown that the world of colors can be felt by the blind despite their lack of vision. She never hesitates to assist any blind person and will, usually, have a solution to his or her problem. Though she has limited financial resources, she is very generous. She always encourages others to have a positive mind to dream dreams. Chng Seok Tin is a talented artist and an extraordinary person. I am very proud to be her friend."

As an artist, her forte is printmaking, she dabbled in all forms and held 16 solo shows. Printmaking involves making multiple copies of a motif using something similar to a fancy rubber stamp. Printmakers use tools like woodcuts and silk screens to make patterns. Seok Tin is an innovative printmaker and there is hardly any of her kind left in Singapore.

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