🌿 January Feature Artist — Zoe Lawrence

We’re delighted to introduce this month's Feature Artist, Zoe Lawrence, whose stunning illustration of a Red-bellied Black Snake features on January in the NatureArt Lab 2026 Calendar.

Zoe’s artwork coincides beautifully with Snakes Alive!, the much-loved summer exhibition held at the Australian National Botanic Gardens from 12–18 January, celebrating Australia’s remarkable native reptiles through education, conservation and close observation.

About the artist

Zoe is an established natural history illustrator and artist based in North Queensland, with a deep passion for illustrating the natural world — particularly native Australian fauna.

She studied Natural History Illustration at the University of Newcastle, where she worked across a wide range of creative projects including animations for music videos, private commissions, logo design, and published illustrations for Australian Geographic.

Following her studies, Zoe worked closely with wildlife at Australia Zoo, further strengthening her understanding of animal behaviour, anatomy and ecology. She now works full-time in bushland regeneration, bringing together art, science and hands-on environmental stewardship.

Practice & approach

For Zoe, careful observation is at the heart of her practice. She believes that truly understanding a species — its movement, form and character — is essential to capturing its beauty and charisma on the page.

Zoe works across a diverse range of media, including pencil, coloured pencil, watercolour, acrylic and digital illustration, allowing her to respond thoughtfully to each subject and project.

Her Red-bellied Black Snake illustration reflects this approach — a work that balances accuracy with warmth, inviting viewers to look more closely at a species that is often misunderstood.

See Zoe’s work at Snakes Alive!

Visitors to Snakes Alive! will be able to view NatureArt Lab artworks, including pieces created through our Illustrating Reptiles workshops, and purchase the NatureArt Lab 2026 Calendar.

💚 $5 from every calendar sold is donated to the ACT Herpetology Association (ACTHA), supporting reptile education and conservation.

📍 Snakes Alive!
Australian National Botanic Gardens
🗓 12–18 January 2026

Enjoy more of Zoe’s stunning work here:
https://www.zoelawrence.com.au  |  @zoelawrence_art/

Image Credits: Zoe Lawrence