“The beauty of the natural world, alongside the humorous and sinister nature of animals are current themes of my work. From scientific depictions of seeds, leaves and animals, to narrative scenes where rats, slugs, or plump-bodied chevrotain take centre stage, my work reflects both an interest in the reality of nature as well as my own imagined narrative scenarios. In the last couple of years, works have included: a written and illustrated children’s picture book, involving a slug called ‘Herb’; illustrations of British pond creatures for an educational pack; book jackets; another children’s picture book based on the text ‘In the Attic’; and paintings based on the sacred rats from the Indian Karni Mata temple.” (via Illustration by Lara Hawthorne)