Martin Bell
I was born in Wellington, New Zealand in 1960. Throughout my life I have been interested in nature and I grew up with animals and birds
around me. As a child I had an assortment of pets including; bantams, ducks, guinea pigs and mice. I spent my early teenage year’s
volunteering on a local pig farm after school which led to my first job in 1977 as a labourer at a commercial chicken hatchery. Between 1980
and 1992 I worked for the New Zealand Department of Conservation specialising in captive management of many of New Zealand’s most endangered
birds and reptiles. From 1992 until 1999 I worked at the Auckland Zoo before moving to Queenstown with my family for a lifestyle change.
There I initially worked at the Kiwi and Birdlife Park before becoming a tour coach driver in 2007. My tour work today takes me to some of
the most beautiful places in New Zealand such as world famous Milford Sound and the Fiordland National Park, home to many of the birds I like
to paint.
From a very young age, I was interested in drawing but it wasn’t until I reached the age of 24 that I started to paint birds and landscapes.
My very first painting was of a takahe, which I did when I had spare time between hand feeding takahe chicks as part of a conservation
programme. I still have this small oil painting for sentimental reasons. Having had close contact with many of New Zealand’s birds and
reptiles has provided me with a unique opportunity to capture their personalities in my paintings. Today I paint using oils and acrylic.
Painting has always been secondary to other work but I expect this to change as I get older and my need to make a regular income becomes less
important. In the future I would like to contribute to conservation programmes through my art.
See my website for availability of my work and prices.www.martinbellart.com.
Email Martin Bell
