Week 2 – Who we are – The Artist

I conceived of Brush with Extinction as a way of both highlighting the plight of endangered primates and showcasing my wildlife artist sister at the same time. Before I get much further, I thought that it would be worthwhile introducing the two players in this little adventure. The first person to talk about is the one who will be in front of the camera: my talented sister.

Lauren Dorman has been an artist her whole life and has studied at some of the most prestigious art schools in the world. She started with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration from the Parsons School of Design, Paris. She then returned to London to complete an Illustrative Arts degree with first class honors from City & Guilds London Art School. Lauren’s first-class education was then capped off with a Masters of Art in Natural History Illustration with an Ecology Emphasis at the Royal College of Art.

Lauren currently works as a freelance wildlife artist and illustrator, with several gallery shows (Space Gallery, Coningsby Gallery, London Zoo Gallery, and Lauderdale House) and book illustrations (Touching Wildlife, Tales of Indian Nights, and Spells for Cats) under her belt. She is also a great traveler, finding inspiration for her work in expeditions to Africa and South America. Lauren was certainly no tourist in her travels, working as a volunteer artist for the Worldwide Fund for Nature in the Okwango Rainforest in Nigeria and the expedition artist at the Environmental Learning Institute Rescue and Rehab Centre on the Napo River in Ecuador. Both trips entailed spending several months deep in the rainforest, working with the indigenous population on conservation projects and sketching the local wildlife.
The reason that I emphasis all of Lauren’s accomplishments up front is that I don’t want Brush with Extinction to appear as if it is a vanity project featuring some self-professed artiste who couldn’t draw her way out of a paper bag. As you can probably tell, I am a huge fan, but fraternal pride aside, I think it is important to point out that I like all of Lauren’s work enough that I would pay, and have paid for it.