Based in the United Kingdom, Sophie Green is a contemporary artist and conservationist known for her hyper-realistic animal paintings that raise awareness and financial support for issues surrounding animal welfare and the environment. In this episode of In Our Expert Opinion Real Estate Podcast, she shares her experiences traveling the world from swimming with manatees in Florida to her Arctic expedition observing polar bears. Sophie also talks about the inspiration behind her new "Commodities" collection, a poignant critique on humans' exploitation of wildlife.
While her work has captured the attention of organizations like National Geographic and the Jane Goodall Institute, she was also commissioned by Dean Saunders, Founder and Managing Director of Saunders Real Estate, to create a painting for The Saunders Art Collection. Her painting, entitled "Florida's Gentle Giant," features a graceful manatee swimming through sunlit waters.
Below is an excerpt from the interview. Listen above for the full podcast.
Sophie Green, contemporary artist and wildlife conservationist
How did you get connected at Saunders Real Estate? Well, it was a couple of years ago when I was putting on my “Impermanence” collection, and Dean Saunders, your amazing founder, reached out and asked me about one of my pieces–I think it was a lion piece he wanted to buy for his amazing collection.
For whatever reason, he didn't end up buying it and I never heard from him again. Then recently, he messaged again and he said that he kind of always, I guess, regretted not buying that lion piece. He told me about your amazing annual art commission and he asked if I would be open to doing a commission.
I was right in the middle of doing my “Commodities” collection, and I was so sick of painting the same thing over and over again so I thought, “Perfect, great timing.” He asked for a manatee, which I thought was even better, because I just swam with them a couple of years before. So I painted the piece, I came out [to Florida], we did the big event and the print release, and it was amazing.
"Florida's Gentle Giant" by Sophie Green depicts a graceful manatee.
About the manatee. They’re a really unusual species–I mean, they're beautiful and so amazing. Their characters are amazing, but away from places like Florida, the rest of the world sees them as this hilarious kind of sea cow creature. It's not something I would normally paint because it is very area-specific; it's not necessarily going to sell if I paint a picture of a manatee, but they are really cool and it's a great kind of texture and color for me to get stuck into in terms of painting. I loved it.
How did you get involved with conservation? When I became an artist, it just kind of made sense to paint animals because I loved animals. I knew I wanted to make a difference in some way, so when I first started out, I decided to donate a percentage of my income to animal charities; that was kind of like RSPCA or Dogs Trust–pets and stuff like that.
The more I traveled, and my art kind of naturally opened doors for me, the more I saw firsthand the issues in the world. You know, I like to be quite positive and look at the world in a positive way, but there's no denying there are some problems out there. So, I thought it made sense to raise awareness for these issues and paint more wild animals.
Sophie Green, a contemporary artist based in the United Kingdom, joins the In Our Expert Opinion Real Estate Podcast to discuss her commissioned painting for the Saunders Art Collection as well as her work with wildlife conservation.
I worked with some amazing charities. I like to have really strong working relationships with the charities that I donate to. I became an ambassador of several charities like The Jane Goodall Institute and Helping Rhinos. My latest collection is in aid of the Born Free Foundation and the Jaguar Rescue Center, which is in Costa Rica where I volunteered last year.
What major challenges have you observed in wildlife conservation? I think the biggest problem on this whole planet is overpopulation–but it's a problem because we're here to procreate. I'm a woman, and we're born to have kids, but it is an extremely overpopulated planet and that leads into all sorts of avenues with the climate crisis, the state of the ecosystems, the state of the planet itself, and then the wildlife.
I've never positioned myself as an expert in conservation. I just know what I've seen firsthand and what I've experienced. Even when I was volunteering in Costa Rica, a lot of the issues that I saw were to do with overpopulation and a country whose infrastructure can't cope with the amount of tourists and people.