Lee was the first student from Taipei Teachers College ever to put on an exhibition of his paintings while still in school. Lee's graduation coincided with the 1958 artillery duels on the offshore islands, so he was unable to return to Kinmen to teach. Thus he remained in Taipei, which allowed him to develop and to accomplish so much in the painting world.
李錫奇也因為擅長肖像畫，被校長舉薦保送台北師範學院，在學校時便開了第一個北師學生畫展，畢業後剛好碰上八二三砲戰，無法回金門教書，從此留在台北發展，而有今日的畫壇成就。