Douglas Bolly is an extraordinary artist whose work is admired by collectors and fans worldwide. A dedicated environmentalist, he is especially adept at capturing the fragile beauty and sensitive spirit of Florida. He is noted for his photorealistic portrayals of marine and wildlife in masterfully crafted environments of perspective and light. He has participated in many exhibitions and presented several one-man shows with the stated mission of “helping to raise awareness of our natural environments through art and encouraging others to make a difference in the world around them.”
In 2002, Mr. Bolly accomplished a memorable feat by creating life-size undersea murals on the wheel houses of two impounded freighters that became part of Palm Beach County's Artificial Reef Program. The vessels were sunk to create the Governor's Riverwalk Reef off Lake Worth Inlet.
In 2004, he was invited by Bethesda Memorial Hospital to produce an eight-mural project spanning the entire Hyperbaric Treatment Unit. These murals set a tranquil mood for patients and staff through oceanic, reef and tropical vistas.
From 2006-2009, he travelled the United States and Canada with the Bass Pro Shops imagery team. As an artist for this team, he created large scale murals and built life-sized dioramas depicting wildlife in their natural surroundings. During this period, he also painted numerous murals of dancers for a local dance studio. This inspired his “Spirit of Dance” paintings. These works show relationships between dance and the animal world.
Mr. Bolly is best known for his works that show scenes from Florida and its wildlife. Most recently, he created the strikingly beautiful mural that is displayed on the first floor of FAU’s new College of Engineering and Computer Science Building. This mural has many obvious and hidden tributes to FAU, its accomplishments, its students, and alumni.
His work has also appeared on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, and recently, he created collaborative, sculptural work for Mars Candy and Walt Disney Imagineering.
Mr. Bolly graduated from Florida Atlantic University in 1994 with a bachelor of fine arts degree, awarded magna cum laude. He has also received many professional and academic honors for both his artistic and environmental work.