Lawyer by day, military artist by night

Photograph or painting? At this year’s Military Hobby Fest, we met 1SG (NS) Samuel Ling Ying Hong, a self-taught aviation oil painter who spends up to 50 hours on each realistic artwork. 

Lawyer by day, painter by night. And 100 per cent military nerd.

That’s 1st Sergeant (1SG) (NS) Samuel Ling Ying Hong, a full-time lawyer with a passion for aviation oil painting.  

His skills didn’t magically develop overnight. The 37-year-old joined the Art Elective Programme (AEP) in secondary school, and did Higher Art as a subject for his O- and A-Levels.

“While my paintings were hopeless back then, I did a lot of pencil and ink illustration and got decent at it. Before I studied law, I was also a professional 3D animator for about two years – a skill I picked up in AEP and sharpened during an apprenticeship.”   

So how exactly did he become an oil painter? His surprising answer: through watching YouTube tutorials.

“I picked up digital painting before law school by watching tutorials on YouTube and practicing on my own. Shortly before the pandemic, in mid-2019, I transitioned to oil painting, again by watching YouTube tutorials.” 

Turning his military passion into art

For as long as he can remember, 1SG (NS) Ling has always been fascinated by military and aviation hardware.

“Many young boys go through a military phase while growing up. I think I just never outgrew it,” he admitted with a laugh.

For his National Service (NS), he served as a Sea Soldier at Changi Defence Squadron, undertaking security operations in the defence of Singapore’s naval bases.

“My (twin) brother was a commando, so he had all the fun instead of me!” 1SG (NS) Ling joked.

“During my time in NS, it was a real highlight for me to witness foreign warships at the base. I was given a chance to see other countries’ military hardware, and even got to board aircraft carriers and see them up close, which many civilians don’t get a chance to do.”  

Referencing famous aviation artists like Michael Rondot, Robert Grant Smith and William S Philips, 1SG (NS) Ling shared that he had always dreamed of painting like them.

But getting these paintings to their final product isn’t as simple as just putting a brush to a canvas. 

Picture perfect

Prior to starting a project, 1SG (NS) Ling first spends around five to 15 hours on Photoshop to get the composition down for his reference.

A huge portion of his time goes into ensuring that his paintings are factually accurate – from using Google Earth to place a camera at the spot he wants to paint, to researching historical maps of Singapore.

If you squint, you’ll also notice his attention to Singapore’s landmarks. One of his paintings was set in the 1980s when certain buildings today did not exist, which 1SG (NS) Ling made sure to carefully exclude.

After planning the concept, it takes another 30 to 50 hours to do the actual painting.

Since 1SG (NS) Ling works a day job, he’s only able to work on his passion in the wee hours of the night, painting between midnight to 4am on weekdays and half a day on weekends. 

Gaining recognition for his art

In September, 1SG (NS) Ling participated in Singapore’s first-ever Military Hobby Fest, held at Toa Payoh SAFRA. Before showcasing his painting at this event, he had only posted photos of his artworks on Facebook.

“For the first time, my paintings were being seen by the broader public at large, and the response has really been just incredible,” 1SG (NS) Ling said proudly. 

What’s next for 1SG (NS) Ling? Currently, he’s working on painting a pair of Apaches.

As his brother has friends who are Republic of Singapore Air Force pilots, 1SG (NS) Ling uses the opportunity to ensure that his paintings are accurate by running through his concept with them.

“The Military Hobby Fest was really interesting because I never knew that there were so many people (like me) who were interested in the military. I met a lot of people, gained new connections, and now I’m branching out to painting a wider variety of vehicles from the different Services too!”  

Game on: We put 1SG (NS) Ling’s skills to the test – can he draw the RSAF’s F-16 Black Knight in 20s and 2min? Find out here: