ARTWORK DESCRIPTION:

Carrie Cook’s painting of ‘Louie’ was created to highlight not only the fate of orangutans used in the entertainment industry but also those facing perils in the wild. Every orangutan has its own story and, like ours, they’re filled with both loss and hope. ‘Louie’ was born to a breeder and taken from his mother as an infant to be trained for work in the entertainment industry. ‘Louie’ was eventually relinquished into the care of the Center for Great Apes sanctuary.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY:

A Signature Member of the Society of Animal Artists and Artists for Conservation, Carrie Cook is actually a portrait artist, highlighting non-human animals who have the right to life and freedom from harm. A former graphic designer in NYC, student of Disney in L.A., and teacher of mildly interested middle school students in Colorado, it was as the former Head of Graphics at the Dallas Zoo, and the distress she felt for captive animals, that led her down her current path. Cook’s work has been exhibited at the San Diego Museum of Natural History, the Nature in Art Museum in Gloucester, and many points in between.