Visual Language Magazine Contemporary Fine Art Vol 2 No 9 September 2013

VL
Heather Lara
Heather Lara was born and raised in New England where she developed an
appreciation for nature at an early age. She’s lived many places since her
childhood but now happily resides in Temecula, California with her husband,
two small daughters and too many critters to mention them all.
A volunteer job with the Animal Department at the Living Desert in Palm Desert
introduced her to a career as a serious artist.
Kiss of Death 8 x 12
“When I was hired by the Graphics Department full time. I expanded my resume
by working freelance for the American Wilderness Experience, helping them
open their zoo from the ground up by creating many of the exhibit graphics.
When we moved to Argentina it was a sharp detour from my rising career path
but I spent my time down there collecting dogs and honing my craft - I even had
my first solo exhibition at the Centro Cultural Fisherton.
Though I don’t have an art degree, the Scientific Illustration classes I attended
at the University of California at Santa Cruz helped me develop the techniques I
use now and my Biology Degree has given me the necessary knowledge of form
and structure to create the extremely lifelike depictions of my subjects.
My painstaking attention to detail has created a portfolio rich in the diversity of
life, from landscapes and portraits in pastel and watercolor to meticulous wildlife
scenes in colored pencil. But what I’m sharing with you here is my love of
scratchboard, a unique and challenging medium that really lets me showcase my
attention to minute detail. I believe that all of nature has beauty, even the
smallest insect, and I hope to share this with others through my art.”
HeatherLara.com
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