How it all started!
In 2004 I started with my study in Veterinary Medicine, from which I graduated cum laude in 2011. During my study I became very much interested in the evolution, anatomy and physiology of all animals. I have spend an extra year of research during my education in which I have studied the calcium metabolism in elephants. After my graduation I have started as a mixed practitioner and after a couple years I became a veterinarian at the Rotterdam Zoo. Here I have gained a lot of experience with so many different animals from fish to elephant. Because we have done in house necropsies I have also gained lots of experiences with the anatomy of a lot of different animals from all taxa.
I also got the opportunity on doing a lot of research and some teaching when I was working at the zoo. For some years ago it became more and more clear that I wanted to do more with research and teaching and with my own creativity. In 2022 we redecorated the whole veterinary treatment room at the Rotterdam zoo. The zoo wanted a large animal anatomy drawing on the wall, so I decided to ask if I was allowed to make a sketch of the anatomy of the black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis). This was when I realized that my passion for research and teaching could also be combined in my passion for drawing. In 2023 I decided to leave my position as head vet at the Rotterdam Zoo to be able to finish my PhD and start a new chapter as a researcher and teacher and illustrator. In december 2024 I have finished my PhD entitled: Vitamin D and mineral metabolism in the hindgut fermenting Pachyderms. What can happen if we take elephants, rhinoceroses and tapirs out of their natural environment?
From the ‘archive’: During my study to become a veterinarian we had to learn a lot of anatomy of ‘ companion and farm’ animals. To understand and remember this better I draw a lot what we had to learn!
LS illustrations 