“Multitasker” might be a word that best describes Lee Hee-jae, a former fashion model and television personality who recently turned into an artist.

The 59-year-old is one of Korea’s first-generation models who strode down catwalks in fashion shows by top-notch Korean designers from the 1970s to the 1990s.

Following her modeling career, she became a beauty and fashion expert, successfully running her own charm school, lecturing at universities and publishing books related to such fields as well.

When it comes to talking about Lee, one cannot leave out the “Lee Hee-jae diet,” a seven-day diet program she introduced in one of her books. It was a sensation in the 1990s and is still quite popular among young women even today.

Yet not many know that Lee is also an artist who will have her first solo exhibition next month. She has actually been painting for some time, participating in multiple group exhibitions. She won a couple of awards in some of the exhibitions.

“I’m really amazed right now -- feels like this is too good to be true. I’ve been painting for fun and was surprised when I was offered to hold a solo exhibition,” she told The Korea Herald on Monday.

For the show titled “Lui & Lei,” Lee mainly created collages of male and female horses, which she respectively named Lui and Lei, using bright warm colors.

Lee chose horses because she found them beautiful and felt close to them because she used to ride horses as a hobby in her 20s, she said.

Other inspirations were Marc Chagall’s and Niki de Saint Phalle’s use of vivid colors. The latter artist, in particular, was kind of a role model for her, according to Lee.

“I saw a de Saint Phalle exhibition in Japan a few years ago. Not only her works but also the artist having been a fashion model like myself made me feel very relatable to her,” she said.

Lee’s exhibition is lively and comfortable to enjoy -- it does not comprise of those abstract paintings that take a long time for viewers to find out the painter’s intentions behind them.

“I wanted this exhibition to be approachable for everyone, especially those who are reluctant to go to galleries thinking that art is difficult to appreciate. I just want the audience to feel that the works are beautiful once they see them without thinking too much,” she said.

In the collection of works, Lee used everyday objects -- from magazines and plastic bags to tofu packages -- in an unprecedented way to create unique works.

Lee indulges herself in the creative process rather effortlessly. She said it doesn’t take much time to get inspiration from objects. Once inspired, she instantly figures out with what to draw as soon as she sits on a stool.

Never in the past did Lee expect she would become a professional artist.

Lee said she started painting around 10 years ago, when her health became bad from juggling many careers.

“I worked and talked so much (at my charm school and in lectures) that at one point I lost my voice. I became ill, so I thought I should do something that would allow me to find peace on my own without having to talk -- that was painting,” Lee said.

She added that she also wanted to decorate her home with her own works instead of purchasing well-known artists’ works, which tend to be very pricey.

And doing so was not hard since Lee had been equipped with basic drawing techniques and a good sense for colors from having studied fashion design in college.

Although she began painting as a hobby, Lee now devotes a lot of her time and energy to it.

“I just do everything so eagerly -- that’s my personality. I started painting as way of taking a rest and expressing on the canvas what’s inside me, but soon found myself doing it until my arms hurt,” Lee said, laughing.

Some pieces from the exhibition, meanwhile, will be made into garments, like scarves and t-shirts, for the summer collection of HANEZA, a couture brand by renowned designer Han Hye-ja, who is Lee’s long-time friend.

Han, who always adores Lee’s works, proposed the project earlier this year, saying that she wants to share their talents with many other people.

In fact, Lee -- who was still tall and lean like in her best days -- was wearing an orange and green shirt made from the collection for the interview. It looked quite different from the original art work.

“I was pleasantly surprised to see this shirt. I never thought my works would look this good when made into clothes,” she said.

Lee and Han will also donate to charity part of the proceeds from an auction for Lee’s works on the opening day of the exhibition as well as Han’s revenue from the sales of the clothes she designed.

Lee’s exhibition will be held July 2-17 at the Salon de H exhibition hall 3 in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul.

For details, call Art Company H at (02) 546-0853.