Ong Kim Seng was born in Singapore and has been a full time artist since 1985. He has held group and solo exhibitions at home and in the United States, China, the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, Belgium, Federal Republic of Germany, France, Middle East, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the ASEAN countries,

Kim Seng has won five awards from the American Watercolour Society:

• the Paul B. Remmy Memorial Award in 1983

• the Lucy B. Moore Award in 1988

• the Clara Stroud Memorial Award in 1989

• the Barse Miller Memorial Award in 1992

• The Winsor Newton Award in 2000

He became an active member of the American Watercolor Society in 1990 and was also the first Asian outside the United States to be awarded the A.W.S. membership.

In 1991, Ong Kim Seng was awarded the Cultural Medallion for Visual Arts by the Mlinistry of Information and the Arts, Singapore. He became a Dolphin Fellow in 2000.

He has been President of the Singapore Watercolour Society since 1991 and his Society is affiliated to the World Watercolor Society. He is also a Life Fellow of the National University of Singapore Centre of the Arts; Art Advisor to the National Arts Council, Member of the Arts Committee for the Singapore Broadcasting Authority, and Member of the Selection Committee for the Nokia Art Competition Asia 1999/2000.

His collectors include Queen Elizabeth II ; Premier Zhu Rongji, People's Republic of China; Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations; H.E. Takahiro Yokomichi, Governor of Hokkaido; Rupert Murdoch, publisher and media magnate; H.E. Javier Parez de Cuellar, former Secretary-General of the United Nations; The Istana, Office and State Residence of Singapore's President; Agung Rai Museum, Bali; Neka Museum, Bali; National Art Museum, Singapore; Singapore Maritime Museum; Foreign Missions and Embassies of the Republic of Singapore.

An ardent trekker, Kim Seng has visited the Tianshan region of Sinkiang in China, the Nepal Himalaya and the Tibetan Plateau many times to paint and to trek.

In 1993 his work "Bhaktaphur" was sold by Sotheby's in Hong Kong, being the first Singapore watercolour painting to be auctioned. In March 1994 again his work, "Bali", was auctioned by Christie's in Singapore. Since then, his works have been auctioned annually in Singapore and in the region.

Ong Kim Seng's works have been selected for inclusion in The Best of Watercolours (Mass.: Rockport Publishers); Creative Watercolours (Mass.: Rockport Publishers); Splash 4 and Splash 5(Cincinnati, Ohio: North Light Publishers); Watercolor Art (Beijing: Peoples' Art Publication),. Artist Magazine (Sydney, Australia); Artist (Taiwan) and the Watercolour Artist's Paper Directory, North Light Publishers.