An artistic resource

Khalid Mahmood has been drawing since he was a child growing up in Dubai, Kevin Hackett reports. He shares his art regularly on social media. "I keep my Instagram feed active by trying to do one a day and in the past couple of years I can see improvements,” he said

Khalid Mahmood, a human resources worker and artist with 60,000 Instagram followers. Lee Hoagland / The National

Khalid Mahmood is Dubai born and bred and he works in human resources for a company in the city. He’s the fifth of five siblings, lives with his father in Mirdif and that’s about all he cares anyone knows. But, as with so many Emiratis, he has an extraordinary talent that speaks for itself. He draws.

For Khalid's 60,000 Instagram followers (@khaloodies), his art is a daily highlight and the work on display is quite breathtaking.

“I’ve been drawing since I could hold a pen,” he says. I keep my Instagram feed active by trying to do one a day and in the past couple of years I can see improvements.”

He studied finance at the American University in Sharjah and worked in that sector after graduating. “It didn’t take long for me to realise it wasn’t for me. I’m much happier in HR,” he admits. Can he see, though, a future career in art?

“In the future, who knows? I do get asked to do commissions all the time but that’s not something I’m interested in at the moment. My day job is important to me and I don’t want anything to distract from that. But yes, one day I might put together a show at a gallery and see where that leads.”

He’s somehow managed to find time to launch his own clothing brand, too. “It’s called Hudoob,” he says. “We do T-shirts and that sort of thing and had a booth at Comic Con last week – the response was excellent and I’m about to launch the website for it so people can buy stuff online.” There’s an Instagram account for that, too (@hudoob_ae).

But his artwork also got some serious attention. “I put up drawings in the booth and people asked to buy them. At first I resisted but on the last day sold them all. I never sell the originals. Perhaps I should but I feel odd about letting go of the things I’ve created, so for now it’s only copies.”