Lawrence Murley is a sculptor living near Chysauster in West Penwith, Cornwall. He specialises in carving animals from serpentine, which is found on the Lizard peninsula. He also uses marble sourced from quarries in Ireland, Turkey or the USA. Before taking up sculpting full-time in 1997, Lawrence worked in tin mining at Geevor. After marrying, he and his wife spent a few years living in the USA, where their children were born, before returning to Cornwall. He is an expert at karate and a proficient surfer, having taken up the latter at the age of 47. Lawrence's mother is the highly regarded sculptor Theresa Gilder.