Betty Busby - Artist and lover of wildlife

Artist and lover of wildlife

Kia ora!

My name's Betty and I run Bumble-Bees Art and Crafts (and Auntie Betty Illustration), where I create and sell wildlife art from my home in Christchurch.

Sharing my love for art is as important to me as creating it. I teach drawing, watercolour painting and embroidery classes to people of all ages, including those with learning disabilities. Whether you're a seasoned artist or just starting out, I'd love to help you explore your creativity. I teach the 'Beginner's Watercolour' and 'Advanced Watercolour' courses with Papanui ACE in Christchurch; but I am building my first online course now too.

If you are interested in taking the online course and contributing to its content and style, please let me know here.

I pour my heart into painting endangered and lesser-known animals and plants from New Zealand and around the world, using watercolours, coloured pencils and embroidery to bring their beauty to life.

My artwork is also available to purchase online at Doodlewear, Redbubble, Zazzle and Society6.

I share my work-in-progress and stories on Instagram and Facebook, so be sure to follow me and join the community!

Betty's Inspiration

Nature is beautiful, especially rare creatures and unusual plants.

When I was young, I dreamed of owning a fearsome-looking pet Komodo dragon! I was crazy about reptiles and thought that dragons had smiley faces. Besides, I could picture the faces of the tough kids at school when they saw the pet I had in tow!

I grew up in Southern Africa. Surrounded by nature, I learnt to love it and wanted to draw and paint it. Moving to New Zealand was another source of inspiration thanks to its special and beautiful native animals.

Gerald Durrell's books inspired me to raise awareness about endangered species around the world.

My goal is to paint as many of these incredible creatures as I can.

I'm grateful for the talented photographers around the world who let me create my paintings based on their photos.

Lilac-breasted roller bird - watercolour painting

Children's Quirky Creatures Illustrations

'Children's illustration has given me the opportunity to broaden my artwork horizons, by creating quirky, humorous and action-filled illustrations of animals, birds and insects.'

Quirky Creatures Illustrations