On this episode I speak to the truly wonderful Sophie Green. Sophie is an award-winning conservation & wildlife artist who specialises in capturing the photorealistic details of animals and their surroundings. We talk about her journey through life including how she suffered with selective mutism as a child. This led to her being unable to speak in certain social situations meaning she developed an ability to listen and observe what people said, how they said it and what reactions that led to in others.
So while Sophie’s subjects are animals, her ability to watch people and question why people are doing what they're doing, whether they're doing what they should be doing, or think they should be doing, or whether they're actually being kind of authentic to themselves must have influenced her ability to so accurately reflect not just the image of the animals but the emotion that comes with that. As she says herself:
“It is impossible to admire the beauty of the natural world without also reflecting on its vulnerability.”
Sophie has dedicated her time and artistic work to raising awareness for issues surrounding animal welfare and the environment. Her art is magical, emotive and so realistic that it’s hard to believe it’s not a photograph stepping out of the canvas toward you. Sophie says:
Throughout her career as a fine artist and since founding the online gallery and art store, Art Basket, Sophie has donated 10% of her profits to wildlife & conservation charities and has worked closely with foundations such as IFAW, The David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation and Explorers Against Extinction to help to make a difference.
In 2021, Sophie was awarded the ‘medal of excellence’ by the Artists for Conservation foundation for her outstanding work in the wildlife & conservation sphere. Sophie was also the winner of the Leisure Painter People's Choice Award 2020 and 2021, runner-up in the BBC Wildlife Magazine People’s Choice and was deemed ‘highly commended’ in prizes such as the Wildlife Artist of the Year competition, the Sketch for Survival Award and the Ashurst Emerging Artist Prize. In 2021, Sophie was selected to be one of 20 Artists to exhibit at COP26 in the Blue zone.
To see some of Sophie’s brilliant work go to:
https://www.sophiegreenfineart.com/
For more from me go to
https://fionamurden.com
Fiona 0:02
Today I am really thrilled to be joined by Sophie Green. Who I have not been stalking you, Sophie, but I do know your work. Oh, and I'm a good friend. Well I hope I'm a good friend. Giles is a good friend of mine. And you are Giles's best friend, I think.
Sophie 0:35
Yeah, I would say so we literally live five minutes down the road from each other. We see each other all the time. And we text all day, every day.
Fiona 0:42
Yeah, and I think that constitutes best friends. Yeah. But Sophie, your work is absolutely stunning. So for people that haven't come across you, what do you do?
Sophie 0:57
Well, I am an artist, and I paint animals primarily. And yeah, I sort of paint in a photorealistic style. So my, my paintings look very close to real life. And I use my art to sort of inspire people and connect people with nature. And also kind of raise awareness and money for conservation issues, and try to open people's eyes to the sort of state that this planet is in and do a little bit of good with my art.
Fiona 1:28
And you I read on your website, you give 10% of all your earnings to conservation. And you also exhibited in for COP, I can't remember which one it was last year.
Sophie 1:41
26. Yeah. Yeah. So, it started off as 10%. That was kind of my, my baseline. And that was 10% of my profits kind of went, I just distributed them to conservation charities that had some meaning for me. Nowadays, to be honest, it's probably quite a bit more than that, because I kind of will often donate paintings to charity auctions, or for charities to sell. And sometimes we'll donate prints and stuff. And then yeah, and then often I'll sort of put more money into conservation charities, or this year, I set up a project fund of my own. So yeah, I basically sourced conservation projects that had some sort of meaning for me or made me excited. So for example, one of them is like safeguarding snow leopards in the Himalayas. And then I put 30% of all of my sales from my recent exhibition into that project fund. And so that money will be funding those conservation projects, or at least supporting some of the big ones. So yeah, it's kind of a sliding scale as to how much money I actually donate. And I do try to keep track of it as well, just just for myself, because obviously, I love what I do, I'm passionate about what I do. And, and I want to know that my money is doing good. And I want to kind of have a little bit of ownership over where that money's going. And so I do kind of try to track roughly how much money is going into conservation. And I think it's also nice, just for my sort of like collectors and the people that are investing in my art to know where their money is going. Because it's, you know, their money as well, at the end of the day. So,
Fiona 3:22
Absolutely. And I think on the one hand, it will probably, I'm sure feel like, you can't quantify it. But on the other hand, being able to, it's, some people need that. And you also need to think about your own living, because if you're not earning money, you're not. You can't do what you do. Which means you can't give.
Sophie 3:43
Yeah, exactly. It's kind of, it's a it's a funny one, because obviously, if you're in any creative industry, you would like to sort of just be constantly in that creative flow and, and doing good in the world and not really caring about finances, and like sort of the business side of things. But I think having kind of a little bit more ownership over the business side of things, and paying attention to finances, and also sort of like marketing and sales and just ever all the other little hats that I have to wear at certain points throughout the year. I think that has actually allowed me to be more creative and to do more good. So for me, it kind of it makes sense to try and quantify it to a certain extent. But then there's also the stuff that you can't really quantify like the amount of people that enjoy my art and the amount of happiness that comes up just looking at it or the amount of people that have learned a little bit more about animals and or a certain species just through through my artwork and stuff like that is really just as just as rewarding for me, I think.
Fiona 4:42
And on that creative piece because I think any creative I mean I so I'm not creative that you are but I've written a couple of books, they're nonfiction, so they're not really very creative at all. But I found actually writing them was really enjoyable for the bid I hate is the bit after, which is the marketing and the sales and I think artists or Creatives or people who enjoy that space by virtue of that don't necessarily enjoy the other space. How do you? And do you ring fence time and mental space to be able to only focus on art?
Sophie 5:26
Yeah, that's a difficult one. I mean, first of all, I would say, making anything, even if it's nonfiction, is definitely creative. I think like, a lot of people don't think about certain things as being creative, like cooking or gardening and stuff like that. But I feel like as humans, we're all innately creative. And so when people say, Well, I'm not creative, like you, I would say, I'm definitely not more creative than anyone else. But yeah, it does come with some difficulties in that, if you have created a thing, and then you have to then sell that thing. It's really like an ongoing thing. And I think nowadays with social media, and people have their own websites and their own domains and emails, and, and you find that you're constantly glued to your phone as well. And so the work in that sense, like the business side never stops. Like, for me, it's constant. And if I'm not doing emails, and admin and social media, then I'm sort of creating social media content and, you know, putting together draft posts or creating videos in Premiere Pro and stuff like that. And, you know, I'm quite lucky, because I actually enjoy that sort of thing. I quite enjoyed the marketing side of things and creating content and stuff like that. But that often means that then I have hardly any time to actually paint any more. And this is a problem that I had during the run up to my exhibition, which I've just had last month. And I got to the point where I was spending days and days and days just sitting at my laptop, and I wasn't even didn't even have time to like, leave my laptop, because every time I would send out an email, another important email would come in. And that was just like that for days. And then I realised I haven't even finished my collection yet. And the exhibition is like in a couple of weeks. So I really had to sort of Forge out time, put the devices down. For me, literally turning off phones and laptops is sort of a must, because I don't have the self control to like not pick them up. Again, it's a bit of an addiction. So yeah, just sitting down in front of the easel or whatever it is sitting down to write or sitting in your garden to garden or sitting in the kitchen to cook, whatever it is you put yourself in front of that. And you kind of force yourself in the beginning, and then you sort of slowly get more into the flow of it and you find yourself lost in what you're doing. And then it becomes easy. But often it's just getting started. That's sort of like the hard bit, I think.
Fiona 7:56
And for something that you do act to actually produce work for an exhibition and have a deadline is massively pressurised in, particularly when it's something creative, however you define creative, but if we're talking about purely in an artistic sense, it's not a case of I've got to write 1000 words, it's a case I've got to create and paint and bring something to life off paper in a way that I presume you. It's a silly word to actually use presume you must want to feel proud of what you create as well.
Sophie 8:35
Yeah, of course. So it is a funny one, because on the one hand, you've given yourself those deadlines, you've I was the one that decided to do an exhibition at the end of the day. So it's not like anyone was forcing me to do it. And it was a few times when several of my friends have said to me, like all of the pressure that you put on yourself and all of the deadlines, everything has come from you. There's no outside source, that's like forcing you into doing this, like worst case scenario, if the exhibition doesn't happen, then it's fine. Just send an email out to everyone and say it's cancelled, you know, you lose your deposit for the gallery, but it's fine, the pressure is completely over. But it's really hard to sort of remember that, that that is pressure that you've actually put on yourself. Whereas when you're working for an employee, for example, or sorry, if working for an employer, and you're an employee, and you get sort of a deadline for a task you're supposed to do if you don't do that task, then you might be in a bit of trouble. But ultimately, it's the employer who has all of the pressure on them. So when you're self employed as a creative you're kind of the employer and the employee is a mad sort of battle in your in your head where you're kind of going back and forth with yourself and it's it's a really strange one. So you kind of have to be strict with yourself to a certain extent, but not let that kind of damage your set. You know your sort of mental health and stress you out and Have like that. But yeah, like now it's over. And I've done the exhibition I kind of look back, I take a step back and, and I'm like, Wow, I did that I actually, you know, once you've sent the email out to people saying there's going to be an exhibition, you kind of have to, you have to follow through. And I did. So. Yeah, it's a great feeling. But oh, God, this stress, I can't even put into words.
Fiona 10:20
And a huge amount of intrinsic motivation to get that sort of thing underway and to want to do that. But like you say, I think we can all forget that it's self-imposed pressure. And that doesn't mean the pressure goes away, if you remember it, but it does help put it into a little bit perspective, which I guess it's what your friends were trying to help you with.
Sophie 10:43
Yeah, exactly. Yeah, I had a few friends sort of say, because I was getting just like, worked up about it. And one of my friends was like, well just push it back, like, just do it, maybe do it next year, like, you know, and with all the best intention in the world, but that actually kind of spurred me on more. So I found myself like, No, I can do this sort of aggressively, like, I don't need to push it back. But yeah, it's a funny way. Like, I knew that I wanted to do an exhibition, like an in real life exhibition. And it was important to me, because I feel like since especially since the pandemic, and everyone's kind of locked away in their homes, and, you know, everything's done over zoom. Now. Now, many people don't even need to go into the office or to work anymore. Feel like those sort of face to face interactions are quite few and far between nowadays, and especially like with the art industry, I noticed that many artists have kind of taken a step away from doing traditional sort of exhibitions and stuff like that. And they're just primarily using social media to push their work out there. And it's amazing, and it works. And you know, you can get your artwork and or books or whatever it is, you can get your work seen by so many people all over the world in such a short space of time. And it's a free platform. You don't have to pay loads of money for a gallery, because you've got your own gallery on your social media page. But then that kind of well, first of all, it's nice for people to be able to see your work in person. And I definitely think there's a big difference between seeing a piece of art in front of you in the in the flesh kind of thing, compared to sort of seeing a picture of something on social media. But yeah, also just meeting people and letting people know that I'm a real person. I'm not just some kind of, like, identity on the internet. Yeah, I just found it. It made a huge, huge impact on my career and how I view my career. And yeah, it was definitely worth it. I think.
Fiona 12:43
Amazing. I wish I wish I'd come. I will next time you have if I'm allowed to I don't know what your what your rules are.
Sophie 12:51
Everyone all is welcome.
Fiona 12:55
Fantastic. So, what I'm really interested in is why. So why conservation? How did that. And it's also something that so many people will enjoy art at school, but it can never, not it can never, they cannot see a way through for it to be a career. So those two questions are both quite big ones. But if we start with what, what spurred you on what interests you in conservation? What is it that has meant you focused all of your artistic energies into that?
Sophie 13:41
Yeah, it's a good question. I think I'm in terms of my personality, I think that that is just me all around. I do focus on one thing, and I get kind of like tunnel vision. And I almost become a little bit
Fiona 13:54
But why conservation.
Sophie 13:58
So when, well, when I was a child, that's all I cared about was sort of animals being outside the natural world. That was my, my my world. My whole world was just that sort of like very introvert and very Yeah, just lived in my own world. I would be the kid that was sort of like make a beeline to an animal if they saw an animal in the street and I would often get like attacked or scratched or bitten. Yeah, it was just, I just loved it. And then when I first started painting, I I started off painting sort of like cats and dogs, you know, people's pets I was doing Commission's and stuff and I knew that I wanted my artwork to make a difference in some way. And so I started off by donating to most of our animal focus charities like the RSPCA or dogs trust and stuff like that. But to be honest, the the direction kind of shifted slightly more towards sort of wildlife and conservation quite organically. And I went from Painting Commission's and painting people's pets and stuff more to towards like wild animals and animals in the continent of Africa and, and stuff like that and so it kind of made sense for me to then shift my ethos of my whole career over more towards sort of like protecting the natural world and, and conservation issues. I think once you start delving into that world, it's very obvious very quickly how much sort of trouble the planet is in at the moment and how much pressure wildlife is under at the moment. And so, for me, it was a very sort of organic, organic sort of detour into that sort of area. But in terms of animals, for me, that was what it always was. And so yeah, I guess I've always kind of directed my focus into one area. And that area for me has always just been animals, wildlife, the natural world. And I've never really had an interest in doing anything else to be honest with you. I have done other bits and pieces over the years, I just have no passion for it. And I procrastinate a lot. And yeah, and then it just ends up being a big flop. So yeah.
Fiona 16:15
And then how did you come to do art?
Sophie 16:20
Sure, honestly, I wasn't innately gifted as an artist growing up, I did art as a child, like most children do, just sort of drawing and painting for fun, did bit school I did a bit at home. My brother is a very, very gifted artists. So he definitely helped me a little bit with my technique and stuff growing up. And then I just carried on doing it as a hobby over the years, because I enjoyed it really. And it wasn't until I was kind of in my mid 20s, that I actually decided I might do this might try this as like a job. Because previously I'd kind of like most people do, I thought it would be cool to do it. But it's probably not within the realm of possibility. I'm gonna go and get a proper job. And then I became a primary school teacher. I did. I actually, funnily enough, I sort of worked in the film industry. When I was younger, sort of from the age of 19 onwards, I've worked here, periodically in the film and television industries. And I would say that it was quite a creative industry. And it was really fun. And I was earning good money. And then I think my dad sort of made a comment, like, when are you going to go and get a real job. And so I, for some reason, quit this, like extremely well paid job that I enjoyed, and then went and became a primary school teacher, because that was what I thought I would enjoy. It was what my mum did as well. And then, yeah, I did it. I went to university for three years, did it for about a year, and then was like, This is not for me. I didn't have any spare time to like, do what I actually enjoyed, like creating and being creative and painting and stuff like that. And I think that was what kind of pushed me to do it as a career because I didn't have the time to do it anymore. And I'd had it kind of taken away from me. And there was enough to sort of say, oh, no, this That's terrifying. The idea of doing something I'm not 100% passionate about for the rest of my entire life and not doing the things that I love. I think that is like, absolutely terrifying as a concept. And there's many people that live like that, because they don't think it's possible to live any other way. Because society sort of tells us that that's not how it's supposed to be so yeah,
Fiona 18:38
I actually I mean, I work with creative directors within business, not always, but sometimes fashion designers. And I would say that every one of them has felt like it's not what they should be doing at times. And it's hard because I think especially if your own your dad would have meant best for you, I'm sure but if you have a parent making a suggestion that something isn't what it should be or what you should, you should be doing something a different way. We all want to live up to our parents’ expectations. And then they only want that August because they want the best for us. But it's really tricky, isn't it?
Sophie 19:18
Oh, god, it's difficult because yeah, we innately want to sort of please our primary caregivers, and also the people that are out sort of tribe, our friends and relatives and stuff because, you know, tradition, you know, if you if you kind of get ostracised in any way, it could be quite damning, I think it previously used to be. And so, you know, if you've got family members and friends that will just sort of have their normal jobs, quote, unquote, normal and do what they think society kind of expects them to do. Then stepping outside of that kind of sphere can be really scary. I mean, I'm very lucky because I've got really, really supportive friends. Some of them are relatives as well. But the ones that aren't creative, so also just very supportive. And they always listen to me and my wacky ideas. And you know, they've never ever questioned anything that I've said that I've wanted to do. But in terms of family, yeah, for me, it was difficult. Maybe difficult isn't the right word, but uncomfortable because my whole family sort of teachers, or firefighters, or Undertaker's, like people with very, very grounded normal, quote, unquote, jobs. And so yeah, it was it was uncomfortable, and it was scary, and especially sort of giving up a regular, reliable income to go it alone. And there was definitely times when I had to sort of work out what I can and can't say, to sort of certain people in my life, because I knew that it might be met with resistance, because whatever I was doing at the time, didn't kind of line up with other people's version of reality. And that's kind of all it is really, it's sort of everyone has their own idea of what life is and what life should be. And if someone else's idea doesn't line up with yours, then that can cause some sort of friction. But it's bizarre really, that that's a, that's a, that's a thing, you know, that we kind of as humans innately have buttheads on what we should and shouldn't be doing in the world. And it's, it happens in every kind of area of life, like politics and religion and careers, and how you how you should or shouldn't be raising your kids. It's, you know, everybody's different. Yeah, so uncomfortable, but so worth it.
Fiona 21:42
Definitely worth it. And I think careers is particularly difficult one because it's not like religion, where you say there are moral values involved, or politics where policies will impact lots and lots of people, it's, it's your career. And I know that through my career, I've seen a lot of people following the OT rather than the want to. And one thing you said earlier actually kind of freed yourself, by hearing a friend say you don't have to give your exhibition and you're like, No, like, what, and it's slightly tangential, but I was coaching someone the other day, who's the CEO, and he wasn't 100% Sure, whether this is still he wants to do. And so I said to him, right, we're going to have a session where we just think about everything else you could do, because then you'll be happier doing what you're doing. And it sounds crazy. But I think that being told that a there's other options, B, you need to do those other options, when it's a friend sort of egging you on a little bit, probably a friend who knew you pretty well and knew that's how you were going to respond. But if you're very, in, you've got a lot of self awareness. So you're aware of who you are, how you work, what your passions are, even what you're saying to some people to make sure you protect what you need to in order to keep your passion and energy intact and not undermined. Do you think that comes from being you describe yourself as an introvert, a deep thinker, someone who's observing the world and observing your place in the world and other people's reactions to you? Or do you just what I mean, might not have a single answer, but where do you think that comes from? Do you know?
Sophie 23:33
Yeah, I think it's a few different things. And it's certainly still grow, or, you know, I'm still growing in that respect. Like, I would say that I am fairly sort of introspective. And I do sit with thoughts. And I do question a lot of that, like, even with myself, I questioned myself just as much as I question others and stuff. But that's come with with time, like, I wasn't always like that. And also, for me, living alone, I think is, is a big one. I spend a lot of time sort of, with my thoughts were often people who have sort of busy work schedules or kids might not get even the time time to do that. So I feel like I've been quite lucky in that sense. I think just as a person, you know, as a kid, when I was a kid, I was I had selective mutism, which is sort of like an anxiety disorder, where you it manifests in an inability to speak in certain social situations or outside the family home, for example. So when I was at home, I was chatty and fine and then as soon as I left the house, if I was sort of like, playgroup, or then school after that, or if I was out with my mom, I physically could not speak. And so the only option that I really had was to just listen to people and listen to what they're saying, watch how they're saying it sort of develop that kind of appeal Indians, I guess rightly or wrongly, I, my selective mutism kind of lasted up until I was seven. So after that point, I kind of became a little bit more extroverted and chatty and made friends and stuff. And before that, I have sort of like, occasional memories that pop up from infant school. So from the age of four to seven, where, you know, I don't really have many memories of me enjoying myself or me bit playing with people kill other children, or me reading books or anything like that. But I have a lot of memories of other people and what other people used to say, or mannerisms that other other children used to have, and stuff like that. And I think because I was kind of in this world of just watching people at that point, part of that I think, has stuck with me. And I do think that sometimes when I'm out and about, I kind of go into that zone a little bit. And do kind of like watch people and I think that has given me the ability to sort of question a little bit more kind of why people are doing, why they're what they're doing, you know, whether they're doing what they should be doing, or think they should be doing, or whether they're actually being kind of authentic to themselves. And then that's kind of led me to question that within myself as well. So it's a really interesting one, I think, I think everyone should be working on that and doing that, because it's just such a, such a game changer when you kind of have these realisations like, oh, I don't actually want to be doing that. Or I don't want to buy these things. I'm just doing it because I think that's what society kind of expects of me. But yeah, it's really fascinating.
Fiona 26:34
I call it in my first book, I, I say, observe, don't react. And it's hard for people to do it. And I'll say to pick and pretend you're a detective. So you're interested in what's going on? And why is that happening? And you don't know the answer to anything. So you're not forming necessarily premature judgments, you're gathering information. But it sounds like because of that, really, I mean, lonely experience that you had, must have felt incredibly isolating when you were in those social situations. Because it's not like, you decide not to talk and you can't. So you've, it's been become part of who you are, by the sounds of things, this observational nature. And interestingly, if you refer it back to your art, you're capturing the essence of something that's alive with an animal. And the magic of it. And to be able to do that is not just observing it as a 3d or 4d object, but as something that's living and breathing. And I must say, I've only seen your art online, but he does feel like you're with the art that you create that you if that's the right word. It's alive. It has it has a soul. It has a heart. Really, really impactful. Thank you. And so but one other thing I'm really interested in, so I can see why you would want to protect Snow Leopard. But what brought you to that particular animal? Yeah, good question.
Sophie 28:25
First of all, so when I was sort of picking the projects for the project fund, I basically sort of chose the charities that I kind of felt more most of the connection with, if I'm honest. And again, this goes back to sort of my artwork and my money, and like everything, all of my energy even and my emotion that I put into my art. It's so sort of precious to me, and sacred in some ways that I kind of like to work with charities where I know that the money is going to be doing good. I know that it's not just going to be covering overheads, or, you know, Christmas bonuses and stuff like that. And so I do sort of work with charities that I have sort of more close ties with and closer relationships with and that sense and so I've kind of reached out to a few charities that I trusted. One of them a charity called explorers against extinction are amazing charity, and they have a set group of projects each year that they sort of reset at the end of each year. And so, one of them for 2022 was the Snow Leopard project. And there was a couple that was a snow leopard project and there was also reforestation in Borneo and sort of protecting orangutans and stuff like that, which I was also very tempted by but I went with snow leopards in the end, just because I find them so elusive and and yeah, we're not. Scientists aren't really 100% sure on how many there are out there but they know that they're kind of vulnerable and diminishing and I think Particularly because climate change has had kind of an effect on their habitats as well. So that was why I went with that one. And I, I personally at the time didn't really know much about snow leopards either. And so I thought, oh, it'd be a good, good project to sort of like sink my teeth into. And then I created the painting stealth, which is a snow leopard painting, it's sort of a snow leopard, almost like walking out of the canvas towards the viewer. And it was one of my most popular pieces. I think most people that came to the exhibition mentioned stealth, and the painting got snapped up before I'd even finished it, which was, which was good. So yeah, it ended up becoming one of my most sort of meaningful projects for me. But yeah, I sort of speak to the charity sometimes. And they have said, sort of, well, if you manage to sort of fund this project, we can potentially get you involved and take you out there to sort of see the work that they're doing and stuff. So yeah, it's exciting. This is really exciting. But there's just so many like elements to the natural world and all the different ecosystems that we don't even consider like another one of the projects was restoring seagrass around the UK, which can then help to sort of tackle some of the main drivers of climate change. And I had never sort of considered sea grass to be that impactful in tackling climate change, or even sort of keeping the marine ecosystem healthy and balanced. And yeah, when I heard about this project, I say, oh, yeah, that one sounds really cool. Because, you know, it's local, and it's impactful. And it's something that not many people really think about. So, yeah.
Fiona 31:42
I love your curiosity. There's a real sort of wonder and curiosity, to you want to know more you want to know more? And I think, with conservation, like you say, you can what you didn't say this exactly. I'm putting words into your mouth, but you can never know it all. There's always more to learn. Yeah. And it's extraordinary what you can learn. But I've seen that painting online, that you refer to stuff and it is absolutely amazing. Do you think this might be a bit weird? But do you think that connection with animals when you probably while you're observing other children, as an infant, you may not have been engaging with them as closely? Because there was that barrier for you? Do you think animals you felt like you could be understood? And you could feel like you belonged with them? How did that have any impact ever? Do you think?
Sophie 32:43
I don't know if, if that was like a conscious thing? To be honest with you, I think. Because my sort of obsession almost with animals started at such a young age, I don't really remember the thought processes behind it. It's kind of been
Fiona 32:59
There probably weren’t any, because when you're that little, it's not thought through. It's
Sophie 33:02
exactly you do. I think this is why children are great, because you do what feels right. And you're more intuitive. And that sense. And so yeah, for me that, you know, I used to spend all my time sort of like making dens in the garden or like, trying to save like cracked eggs. Hmm. But you know, when you're a kid, and you find a cracked egg, and it could be empty for you know, but oh, I need to save it. And then the egg will hatch. And then I'll have a bird as a pet, and you know, and stuff like that. That was just what I used to do. And then I would also sort of like read animal encyclopaedias and like make make little fat files and stuff. And yeah, I think for me, it was very sort of intuitive and innate. It has been suggested to me since though a few people have asked sort of, is there a connection between you kind of wanting to be the voice of the voiceless. Now, when you were a child, you were the voiceless kind of thing? And if I'm honest, I don't know, it's a possibility. I just feel like I've just done my best to kind of do what feels good to me and do what feels right. And for me, I, I'm just passionate about animals and wildlife. And as you said, I think it's important to acknowledge that nobody knows everything. You know, no one on this planet knows absolutely everything. And I certainly don't know everything. And I love to learn but at the same time, because I sort of, because I'm an advocate of protecting the natural world, and I post a lot about sort of animals and wildlife and stuff like that. I think it's important to acknowledge that I am not an expert. I'm just somebody that's very passionate about it, and is using my skill to make a difference and my skill just happens to be art. So
Fiona 34:50
Have you met David Attenborough?
Sophie 34:52
No, I haven't. I haven't. would one day one day.
Fiona 34:55
He's my hero. I think you're probably a hugely more lightly to meet him than I ever am. So I hope you do. I hope so too. Amazing. So the other thing is that you've won a lot of awards. You're pretty humble. So I don't think it's probably something you want to sit and run through. But you have won a lot of awards. And I write those into the show notes. And I'll put a reference to where people can find you as well. If they want, if anyone wants to come and actually see your art is that is there anywhere that it is up? Are there any places where people can see things?
Sophie 35:37
So at the moment, because my exhibition has literally just ended last month, so all most of my collection is now back in the studio and kind of being shipped out to their new homes. There's two pieces from the collection that I've sent out to a gallery in Burford in Oxfordshire, I think, which is the Cotswold Contemporary Gallery. My, my fine art publisher. So yeah, if you happen to be in the sort of Cotswold area, then courts will contemporary and Burford has got a couple of my pieces. But yeah, for the most part, what I tend to do is I post everything on social media, so on Instagram and Twitter, which is Sophie green art or Sophie green fine art. But then once I have a collection going, then I'll do I'll save it up for my next exhibition. So the next time that someone will be able to see my full collection of artwork in our gallery will probably be 2024. I'm aiming for possibly the summer of 2024, just because my last exhibition was, obviously November cold and flu season, I caught COVID immediately. It was out of action for like half of the exhibition with COVID. So well, yeah, but I think at the time, it was frustrating. But looking back now, in hindsight, I'm almost like, that was such a big lesson. Because I stressed myself out so much. I was literally running on fumes. And I was exhausted and got to the exhibition. And I just sort of, it's always the way I mean, I had it as a teacher as well, you'd be like running on adrenaline. And then you'd get to halftime or East holidays and you get like the flu or something. And it was the same thing. I was in bed for like a week and a bit with coat with really bad COVID Actually, it was pretty nasty. And then even when I was sort of like in the clear and could go back to the gallery, I still felt really rotten and tired. And I was sort of like doing interviews and stuff like that I just there's a ITV came to the studio and did like to the gallery, sorry and did an interview. And I was like, Oh, this is gonna be so cool to watch. And then I watched it and I've lost I'm so skinny. I'm really pale and my voice is very sort of really kind of groggy, and just it was just all for us. Okay, well, I won't be sharing that anyway. But yeah, no, it was a good lesson like so this time. In 2024. I'll be doing my next one sort of hopefully in the summertime and I will be making sure that I look after my physical health a little bit better beforehand. So yeah.
Fiona 38:24
If you need someone to talk to about it, I'm happy to talk to you about that it nearer the time.
Sophie 38:27
Oh thank you. Oh, yeah. Amazing. Actually.
Fiona 38:31
The thing is, as well I think in England, we forget how dreary the winter isn't how ill everyone gets, I think well we're living in the sort of summer and spring and we kind of merrily trotting along and enjoying ourselves and thinking yeah, it gets cold and dark, but we forget quite how much it impacts so
Sophie 38:51
I get really impacted by it. I am a big fan of the sunshine. I think I think people are different. Like I was talking to Giles about this in the summer because Giles and his wife Michelle and I are like fair, like fairly fair skinned and we're like Oh can we can't stand the heat. We the whole family gets ill every time it's really hot.
Fiona 39:14
I guess Giles you won't be coming out to see me in California then.
Sophie 39:17
Oh, I will be coming whereabouts in California?
Fiona
LA.
Sophie
Oh god it’s alright for some, isn't it? I mean,
Fiona 39:25
it's it's great for creative. I mean it's not like great for wildlife necessarily although the coyotes wandering around.
Sophie 39:34
Oh, yeah. No, I have I have been to LA before actually. And it was yeah, it's different to what I'm used to. I literally live in the woods in nature but I was I was I weirdly enough I was on a sucked into an Instagram wormhole the other day and I found this girl who lives out in I want to say it's like Topanga or somewhere. Oh yeah. In the mountains. Yeah. And it looked like like paradise, and I, I was sort of like, Oh God, this is what this is the sort of place I want to live probably possibly not in California, just because it is literally the other side. What's the furthest side of America from the UK? But I can imagine my mom knows that. Your mum, your mum? Yeah, I know that feeling. Sort of,
Fiona 40:21
We're moving from I've got countryside all around me at the moment to Yeah, it's going to be different.
Sophie 40:29
It will be it'll be a lot. There'll be lots of lessons there. Lots of adventures.
Fiona 40:33
I think that's what, that's what I'm looking at it is and I'll definitely be back here. Anyway.
Sophie 40:39
Oh, yeah. It'll be amazing. Such an adventure. Exciting.
Fiona 40:44
Yeah. And we obviously, we welcome anyone coming out and staying with us as well. But anyway. So I'm gonna put everything that people need on the show notes in terms of where to find you where to follow you. I really, really, really do recommend that people follow Sophie, because your work is absolute gorgeous, stunning. And, I mean, I was really lucky a few years ago, I went to Zambia and went to a Conservation Reserve with, but then going and seeing elephants and giraffes. And just, you just think these creatures have so much magic. And the world they live in is so important to the world we live in. Yeah. So thank you for doing what you do.
Sophie 41:37
Oh, thank you. Yeah, I think people don't realise how connected we all are on the planet, I think it's very easy when you live in sort of the UK, or parts of America, or places in the western world where we're so sheltered from, first of all, sheltered from the sort of immediate impact of climate change, and also sheltered from the sort of degradation of the ecosystem, you know, it's hard to sort of, it's hard to really understand the impact of species dying out and sort of like the sixth mass extinction. When we live in the UK, for example, where, you know, we've got owls and foxes and badgers and bunny rabbits running around, and we're just, you know, like Lala doing our thing. And then meanwhile, you know, there's a species all over the world, literally, just going extinct at ridiculous fit, you know, ridiculous speeds. And it can be really difficult to kind of put the two together. And I think, sadly, we probably will see more of the effects of climate change and the sort of degradation of the ecosystem in the western world a little bit more, I think, but yeah, it's important, you know, some people won't be able to go out on Safari or sort of like, go on expeditions and stuff like that. And so you were able to do that. And therefore, for you, you feel like you've built up a connection with those animals and with nature, and for people that, that can't do that. I would hope that my artwork would sort of do that a little bit instead, if it can, and there's loads of artists and photographers and videographers and people that are doing the same thing. And it's I think it's really important,
Fiona 43:22
I think so I think it's massively, massively important. And I feel very privileged that we were able to go, I think, we need to be reminded as well, because we do live in a bubble, whether that's an urban world, or whether that's just being in the UK, where we don't necessarily have insight into what's going on in other places to the same degree. But like you say, you're providing a window into that, which is massively, massively important.
Sophie 43:51
Thank you. Thank you so much.
Fiona 43:53
Thank you so, so much. So, I've really enjoyed speaking to you. I really, really, really appreciate your time and have enjoyed speaking tip. Thank you.
Sophie 44:00
No, thank you so much. Thank you for having me. And it was really it was really fun to come on.
Fiona 44:04
I will say bye bye. And as I said, everything about you will be in the show notes so people can
Sophie 44:10
Thank you. Have a lovely rest of the day.