Biography
Laurie’s passion for wildlife is evident in her detailed, award-winning paintings. Much of her life has been spent immersed in the beauty of nature and wildlife observation.
Laurie was fortunate in her teen years to be tutored by a nature artist from the Wedgewood Company of England, and had her first one-person gallery show at the age of 16, in Morristown, New Jersey. She then received a scholarship to study art and music at Marlboro College, Vermont. As a young adult, Laurie explored graphic arts, illustration, and jewelry making, selling at East Coast and Colorado fine craft shops, galleries, and major art fairs for many years. Also a professional full-time harpist since 1985, she began painting again in 2005.
Her work was featured on the cover of the June 2007 issue of the Journal of the American Veterinary Association. Her painting “Iguana” won Best in Animals and Wildlife category in the 2019 online exhibition of the International Guild of Realism. She was chosen AFC Artist of the Month for August 2020.
Laurie currently shows her work at juried shows and in her Art of the Wild gallery in Port Townsend, WA.
Past juried and/or gallery shows have included:
International Guild of Realism 2019, 2021, 2023 (Best of Animal and Wildlife category 2019)
Sugarman-Peterson Gallery, Santa Fe, NM (2003 IGOR show)
The James Museum of Western and Wildlife Art, St. Petersburg FL (AFC show 2021)
Ironwood Gallery, Arizona-Sonora Desert Art Museum 2007
Baldwin Gallery, Arizona-Sonora Dester Art Museum, 2023
San Fernando Valley Arts and Cultural Center 2023
Cultural Center of Cape Cod 2023
Sedona Arts Festival, AZ
Edmonds Arts festival, WA
Glendale Arts Council (AZ) Juried Show (Patron Purchase Award 2007)
West Valley Art Museum, AZ
Prescott Fine Arts Fair, AZ
Sedona Arts Center – various juried shows (2nd Place Professional 2007)
Tubac Juried Arts Festival, AZ
Tubac Arts Center Miniature Show
Tsuga Fine Arts miniature shows, Bothell, WA
Gallery North Juried Miniature Show, Edmonds, WA
Fred Oldfield Western Heritage Center Western and Wildlife Art Shows, WA
Shoreline Arts Festival, Shoreline WA
Bothell Live Arts, WA
Mountlake Terrace Festival of the Arts (honorable mention 2010)
Valley Art Show, Duvall WA (2nd Place 2010)
Kirkland Art Center Studio Tour 2013
Pura Vida Gallery, Jerom AZ
Canyons Gallery, Sedona A
Art and Soul Gallery, Bothell, WA
Support for Conservation:
Much of my time has been spent on projects with organizations which, among other concerns for the well-being of human and animal residents of the Pacific Northwest United States, seek to stop the military's killing and abuse of area wildlife on land and in the Salish Sea. I have also volunteered extensively as a veterinary assistant at a rescue shelter, and have included the Sarvey Wildlife Care Center in Washington State prominently in my will. I've donated several large paintings to the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Colorado to use for fund-raising. I have donated part of my art proceeds to Center Valley Animal Rescue in Quilcene, WA, and volunteer as an editor for their newsletters, publicity and appeals. I also pledge to donate a portion of the sales of my artwork to Artists for Conservation, and fully share its mission