Yong Look Lam explores traditional work culture around fishing boats and stilt-house villages apart from the architectural heritage of pre-War buildings. His watercolour strokes and colours have vastly improved in the past decade, and it was not surprising when he was adjudged 2nd runner-up in the prestigious Malaysia UOB Painting of the Year in 2011 besides 2nd Prize in the Malaysian Landscape art competition organised jointly by the National Art Gallery and Public Finance in 1984. He was also one of the three major winners of the Malaysian Watercolour Society (MWS) Awards in 1987. He was a founding member of the MWS and the president of the Negeri Sembilan Art Society. He received a double Diploma from the Kuala Lumpur College of Art, of Painting in 1982 and Watercolours in 1983.