My Story
Born and raised in Kenya, my journey has been colourful.
Life altering brain surgery forced me to abandon university and after a year of recovery, I began my working life as an entrepreneur. After the launch of The Venerable Bead in 2002, my small retail shop in Nairobi, with a devoted local following, I fell head first into what was to become a long and successful career in wildlife tourism.
It wasn’t until a redundancy in 2019 that I decided to revisit a more creative path and turn my hand to painting. With no formal training, just curiosity and grit - what began as a personal exploration quickly gained momentum through commissioned pet portraits. Since then, my company The Drawing Donkey has evolved into a playful space for art, product design, and a continuation of life’s adventures.
My parents were great adventures, and much of my childhood was spent exploring remote wild places around East Africa. Those idyllic, happy early impressions continue to inspire and shape my work. As land use shifts and pressure on wild spaces grow, I honour the resilience of pastoralist livestock, celebrate the beauty of wildlife and reflect on the evolving balance between pastoralism, commercial agriculture and conservation.
How I Create
I work on canvas and paper, mixing several mediums experimenting with subtle texture, often with a splash of rubbing alcohol and spray paint. My work has been exhibited in Kenya at One Off Contemporary Art Gallery in Nairobi, The Affordable Art Show at The Nairobi National Museum, and in the UK as a finalist for Explorers Against Extinction, Sketch for Survival. I am a regular presence at local craft fairs, and my original artworks have been sold to collectors in Kenya, South Africa, United Kingdom, Australia and Canada.
My online shop, The Donkey Duka offers an evolving line of products featuring affordable adaptations of my original works. Each piece is designed by me, finessed by my brilliant designer and are proudly produced in Kenya.
The name The Drawing Donkey is a nod to the humble bench easel where my artistic journey began. I create from my round-house studio in Northern Kenya, sharing life with my many dogs, a few chickens, and – true to brand – a handful of donkeys.
