Karel Doruyter was born in Rotterdam, Holland, and came to Canada in 1953, at the age of 11.  He spent his formative years growing up in the interior of British Columbia. His interest in art started at an early age, leading to his first exhibition in 1959. Karel attended the University of British Columbia from 1961 to 1968. During this time he had his own studio and also supported himself as a graphic artist.

For the next 20 years he had a variety of jobs including planning and design, manpower planning, human resource training and management in Canada and Australia.  In 1972, Karel’s interests and work moved him to Australia. During this time he developed an interest in boat building and design.  Karel always continuously worked as an artist. He taught adult education classes in drawing and painting both in British Columbia and Tasmania. After returning to Canada in 1980 he settled on Hornby Island, where he built boats and continued his artistic career. Exploring the BC coast and working with native artists influenced his painting in both subject matter and style. This culminated with his move to Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands) in 1989 to work with native Elders. He remained there for the next six years.

Karel Doruyter currently lives in Victoria, painting, writing and managing high latitude expeditions.  Mountain Galleries at the Fairmont is proud to welcome this unique artist to its collection.