As a primary school student, Loke Joo Teck was the despair of his teachers.

"My principal said that my academics had no standard," he quipped in Mandarin. "'Your English is bad, your Maths is bad. What can you do?'"

Loke replied that he liked art. "Since you like art, go to art school," his principal said.

That was decades ago.

Today, at 91, he's holding his very first solo art exhibition.

 Inspired by scenery

Loke doesn't like to be called an artist. Instead, he jokes that he's an "everyman artist".

At the art exhibition at Precious Active Ageing Centre, there's a panel dedicated to his schooldays' artworks: three paintings, dating back to the 1950s.

The rest, however, are much newer. After graduating from Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) in 1953, Loke joined his family's business in renovation work and carpentry.

He'd spend the next few decades there, hard at work.

It was only years later that he began drawing again. Loke recalls that it was in the 1990s, in Chinatown; he'd been passing by a temple when he saw an artist at work.

"I remembered I used to study art. I could draw, too," he says. He was in his 60s at the time.

He takes me through his different artworks, compiled over a lifetime. They're based in a variety of mediums and styles: moody oil, crisp acrylic, delicate watercolour. Landscapes and portraits, sketches and abstract art.

I ask about his inspiration, the meaning behind his works.

"I don't know, I'm not good at studying," he laughs. He just paints whatever he feels like painting; it's why he calls himself an everyman artist, not a real one.

But I think that it sounds exactly like what a real artist does.

A character

When I drop by the exhibition, Uncle Loke wears a gold earring and a blue painter's beret. His daughter, Karen, sports a matching red beret.

Creativity runs in the family, Karen explains. But her dad has more spark than most.

Pulling out his wallet, Loke shows me a photo of himself in what appears to be a vintage motorcycle with a sidecar.

"It's his hobby," Karen says. During the pandemic, he'd used his SingapoRediscovers vouchers for a scooter tour of Singapore, fell in love, and promptly bought himself a two-wheeler of his own.

He had a motorcycle licence, and told his daughter he wanted to renew it so he could ride again.

"He's so old already....[so] I tried to discourage him. I said, it's very dangerous you know?" Karen recalls dryly.

"Then he came back one day with the licence. He'd got it renewed."

Uncle Loke is an avid traveller, too. Not with Chan-Brothers-style tour packages or luxury hotels; Uncle Loke hikes his way, often solo, through everything from rural backroads to awe-inspiring waterfalls.

"When I went [to this place], it was really difficult. No roads, no highway, nothing at all," he says, pointing to a landscape of a waterfall.

Of another trip, this time to Xinjiang, he recalls that it was "quite dangerous" because of the high altitude.

"Of all my travels, I still like China best," he says.

Bringing an exhibition to life

The exhibition is one of Uncle Loke's bucket list items.

From the paintings on display to the gallery's layout, his fingerprints are on everything. "The name of the exhibition is titled by him. The cover of the book is chosen by him," Karen says.

The book, especially, was something that he insisted on. "In my life, I've done over 100, 200 paintings," he tells me in Chinese.

"I've lived a long life. Many of my paintings, I've already sold or given away... I've forgotten many of them.

"So I want to preserve what I have left, for my memories. As a record."

That's why the exhibition — and especially the book — are so important to him.

Bringing the whole project to life, Karen estimates, has cost upwards of S$10,000. All for an exhibition where the goal isn't even to sell his paintings, merely to display them.

More than that, it's a labour of love involving his family, friends, and community from the ageing centre.

His granddaughter, Amanda, helped with the book's layout and publicity; his sons contributed to the funds.

Volunteers helped take photos, put together a video montage, translate Uncle Loke's descriptions to create individual photo captions.

In August, Uncle Loke has another exhibition coming up. This time, he'll be putting his artworks up for sale.

"So we can put up price tags," he quips. It's another dream.

The paintings have been with him through the decades. When I ask him to explain each piece, there's always a memory attached: of a person he once met, or a place he once went to.

Even with the book as a keepsake, I ask if he'll find it hard to part with his artworks.

"I'm a bit reluctant, it's difficult to let go of them," he admits.

"But if people like it — if people appreciate it — then it's ok."

Event details

90 plus 1: A Lifetime Dream

Address: Precious Active Ageing Centre, Punggol Emerald, 264A Punggol Way, #01-306

Opening hours: 10am - 5pm

Dates: Until Jun. 28

Top image by Ilyda Chua