Bird and Wildlife Art by Bee Denham

Bee Denham is a British artist who relocated with her family to Western Australia in the early 2010s, starting an exciting adventure in a new country. One of the very first things she did on her first visit to the country was buy guide books to help her learn about Australian birds and wildlife. That small gesture marked the beginning of a deeper connection—with the landscape, with wildlife, and with her own creative path.

From a young age, she was drawn to nature, art and books. She was an avid picture book reader, enchanted by the illustrated worlds of Beatrix Potter, Gilbert Delahaye and Ernest Shepherd, and would spend hours poring over tiny Collins Gem and Observer’s bird books, feeling a great sense of achievement when she could identify the birds in her garden and out on nature walks.

After a long career in graphic design and setting ads for newspaper and advertising agencies, she later worked in marketing at her local community art centre, where the creative energy and generous knowledge-sharing of fellow artists encouraged her to return to painting.

In 2023, she was honoured to be named a finalist in the Collie Art Prize with a whimsical painting inspired by a chance sighting of a local motorbike rider and his goggle-wearing dog safely tucked inside a milk crate on the back seat. The unexpected charm of that moment sparked her imagination and became the heart of the piece.