I have spent the last 23 years navigating the ever-changing waters of emerging markets, and have been lucky enough to spend the past 14 years with Africa pioneer Blakeney. The adventure at Blakeney, particularly the people I have met, has taken me to new and exciting places in the investment world, and my time there has been a joy and a privilege.
But even as I’ve focused on my professional life and development, I have maintained a passionate interest in art. I have spent many an hour and weekend in the art galleries and exhibitions of London and Paris. Drawing and watercolours have been an integral part of my travels, and a way of getting under the skin of a city or a landscape. Client trips to New York invariably entailed carving out some time in MOMA or the Frick Collection. And the breadth of visual experiences in the Arab, Persian and African cultures while at Blakeney has been a revelation.
In recent years, I’ve moved beyond my own largely self-taught drawing and watercolour pursuits, to follow art courses exploring various mediums, techniques and styles of drawing, painting and sculpture at Central Saint Martins and Heatherley’s School of Fine Art. As I’ve worked on my practical skills, I find myself increasingly drawn to portraiture and the myriad ways in which people choose to see and be seen. But regardless of subject, I feel that a successful exhibition or inspiring work of art allows us to lose ourself in the artist’s vision and transcend our own cares by absorbing ourselves in it – time itself seems to stand still, in a way often denied to us in this age of technology and information.
In searching for that quiet space in my own work, I’ve realised that it’s time to embark on a new voyage. I’m starting with a year of intensive study at the Courtauld Institute, to develop an academic understanding to enrich my own practical work and guide my quest for the elusive still centre I seek to create for others.