Tew Nai Tong transports the viewer to the pastoral countryside through his colourful palette and emphasis on forms. Surrounded with green vegetation, Joyful Life depicts a shepherd tending to his cattle across the expansive terrain on a golden sunlit day. The expressive brushwork and layering of paint in bright colours bring out the joyous and freeing atmosphere of the countryside. Tew Nai Tong furthered his art studies at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris (1967-1968). On his return, he taught at several academies namely the Malaysian Institute of Art (1969-1980), Central Academy of Art (1982-1985), and the Saito Academy of Art (1986-1988), before turning fulltime in 1992. His first exhibition was at the British Council in Kuala Lumpur in 1964. His career culminated in a survey exhibition called Odyssey at the National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, in 2007. In 2009, he won the Asia Art Award in Seoul, South Korea. Among his awards are 2nd Prize in the Chartered Bank Mural Design Competition 1964; Shell Watercolour Award 1981; Best Award, Esso 1982; and the Dunlop Watercolour Award 1983. He was the adviser to the Contemporary Malaysian Watercolourist Association.