Contact Details E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Address: 91 Parenga Road RD 2 Otaki 5582 New Zealand Phone: +64 6 364 3911 Mobile: +64 27 664 3911

The landscape surrounding Bee Doughty-Pratt’s home, which is perched high on the banks of the Otaki River, an hour north of Wellington, would inspire any artist and provides a marvellous setting for a studio. Bee paints here full-time producing vibrant works in demand from galleries and buyers throughout the country. “Mostly I paint abstract landscapes in oils and inks - on large canvases usually at least 1 metre square and often much larger. I work on several canvases at once, coming back to each one repeatedly to continue the layers over a period of weeks until it is complete.”

“Water in some form or other features in virtually every canvas I paint . . . river water, lake water, sea water – all abstract water. This has to have something to do with life’s inevitable ebb and flow – sometimes overwhelmingly powerful, sometimes infinitely peaceful. I am also all about colour. I love colour and try to use it to capture the feelings or emotions behind these landscapes - the essence of the landscapes, real or imagined, rather than the actual detail.”

Although Bee has had a lifelong interest in art, the route to becoming a full time artist has been a long one.  From college art classes in the Manawatu to selling her early paintings in Wellington city, this interest was set aside in favour of a career in the computer industry.  “Finally selling my business allowed me to refocus on painting. My studio is a re-vamped garden shed with plenty of light, a lot of white wall-space and at least three easels in residence at any one time. When the roller door is up, it has magnificent river views right down the Otaki Forks river gorge. It is freezing in winter but this doesn’t stop me. Every day painting is a pleasure – I even like cleaning my brushes.”

Bee's exhibits regularly and her work is displayed for sale on this website and in a number of galleries throughout New Zealand. Check out the Exhibition News page for dates and venues of up and coming exhibitions and events. Bee also accepts commssions for larger works.