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An elderly man was spotted painting umbrellas in Tiong Bahru.

A video of him casually doodling on an umbrella while surrounded by four other hand-painted umbrellas was put up on TikTok on May 7.

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However, the man is no stranger to many people in Singapore.

The 73-year-old man, Akira Takahash, is regularly spotted in public painting and singing using a makeshift karaoke system.

A retired art director, he took to painting umbrellas on the streets of Singapore since 2021 as a hobby to pass the time, while belting Bee Gees tunes.

He previously told Our Grandfather Story that he avoids painting people, explaining: "The person being drawn would scold me because the painting would look like someone else."

As a dog lover, Akira paints dogs and gives part of his earnings to a local dog shelter.

He also paints other animals and flowers, or whatever takes his fancy.

As to how he does it, he cannot explain though.

He said previously: "When I paint, my hands just keep moving, as if someone else is helping me paint. The pictures just come out. I can't explain it."

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