At the Burrison Gallery: Seashells to Birds at Play—Watercolors by Lauren Sweeney
Seashells to Birds at Play, Lauren Sweeney’s watercolors are now on display at the University Club’s Burrison Gallery through May 10. She has had a life-long interest in art and biology. This led her to pursue a career first as a scientific illustrator, and then in scientific research. With a BA in biology from Penn, she studied medical illustration, then earned a PhD in biology. A career in research and teaching followed. Throughout her career she always painted, but only in recent years did art become her full-time focus. A lifetime of scientific observation underpins her interest in capturing the essence of her subjects, which range from still life to interior scenes, streetscapes and seascapes. In most of these, she focuses on glimpses of scenes to capture the essence of the larger scene. She has exhibited in many galleries in the area, and is a member of the Philadelphia Sketch Club, the Main Line Art Center and the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators. She has done a number of commissioned paintings, including for Penn’s Office of the Provost and the Delaware Museum of Natural History.