'It's a big highlight of my career'

An illustrator whose work is featured at a new exhibition at the Natural History Museum said the opportunity is "surreal".

Bea Baranowska, from Radstock, Somerset, is part of the Birds: Brilliant and Bizarre exhibit.

Curators from the London museum discovered Ms Baranowska's work on Instagram before asking her to be a part of the display.

"It's a very big highlight in my career," she said.

After graduating with a graphic design degree, Ms Baranowska said she secured a job at a children's book publisher and stationary company in Bath to get experience within the industry.

Her role involved laying out other illustrators' artwork onto books and stationary.

"I did really enjoy it, but I wanted to be doing the illustrations," she said.

When the Covid pandemic began in 2020, Ms Baranowska was furloughed.

She used her free time to build up her own portfolio before embarking on her career as a full-time freelance illustrator in the October of that year.

“It was the one positive that came out of [Covid]", Ms Baranowska said.

At the start of the year, Ms Baranowska was contacted by the Natural History Museum to ask her to be a part of the Birds: Brilliant and Bizarre exhibition, which explores how birds have evolved from dinosaurs.

“It was one of those e-mails that I had to read about 10 times thinking ‘that can’t be real'.

"It's amazing that [the Natural History Museum] found me," she said.

“Most of my illustrations are based around birds, wildlife and nature.

“I’m really interested in connecting people with nature, because I feel like we live in a world where people are quite cut off and at our desks and screens.

"We need to not forget about what’s outside and protecting nature and preserving it for future generations," Ms Baranowska added.

The Birds: Brilliant and Bizarre exhibition is on display at the museum until 5 January 2025.

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