Artist Biography – Jian (Jenny) Lee

Born and raised in China, Jian devoted much of her life to caring for others. She worked for 22 years in nursing and hospital management in China, and for five years in Kuwait, before moving to Auckland in 1998. There she continued as a registered nurse for another two decades, specialising in interventional cardiovascular nursing—a field where precision could mean the difference between life and death.

Yet art had always been her first love. In 2018, after settling on Waiheke Island, Jian made a life-changing decision: she set aside her surgical attire and exchanged her instruments for paintbrushes. What might seem like a career shift was in fact a transformation—she began to heal not with medicine, but with beauty. She calls this approach The Art of Precision, uniting the discipline of her medical career with the meticulous accuracy of botanical watercolour.

Her dedication soon gained international recognition. In 2020, she graduated with Distinction from the Society of Botanical Artists (SBA) Diploma Course in London, a rare honour worldwide, and is now a Fellow of the SBA. She is also a member of BASNZ, the Waiheke Community Art Gallery, and the NZ Chinese Calligraphy & Painting Academy.

Over her 27 years in New Zealand, Jian has participated in local and national exhibitions, won numerous awards, and built a circle of collectors at home and abroad. Her paintings—ranging from oils and watercolours to pencil sketches —have been featured in art magazines in New Zealand and China. Gulf News profiled her work in June 2022, and in 2025 she opened her own studio-gallery on Waiheke Island, welcoming both locals and travellers. She also donates 20% of her art sales to local charities, reflecting her belief that art should not only beautify the world but also give back to it.

Jian’s credo: “Use the beauty of art to decorate your world—and others’.”!