Reuben Lara

My wife and I live in the heart of the Berkshires in Western Massachusetts, and we love being surrounded by so much natural and artistic inspiration! For the last twenty years, I’ve both freelanced and have been contracted as an illustrator, print designer and animator, diving into multiple disciplines, many production workflows, and many roles of project responsibility. I also spent about nine years at a non-profit educational organization as an art director and illustrator. But regardless of where I’m at in the creative pipeline, I join fellow artists in aiming to create imagery that triggers a response in my viewers, even if only for a moment of pause.

I enjoy sharing my techniques with other artists looking to expand their painting and illustration abilities. I learned so much from mentors who weren’t guided by position or job security and who freely shared production-proven gems with anyone willing to put the work in. I believe in affordable and accessible education, but also believe that, beyond introductory training, it’s healthy to pay something, if even a little, for education you value. To this end, I’ve really enjoyed teaching through online courses that offer free and paid content for those interested in digital painting. You can check out my free courses at youtube.com/reubenlara and more advanced, paid ones at gumroad.com/reubenlara.

As I tell my students, don't just look for shortcuts! Instead, find joy in doing the work. I hope you enjoy my artwork as much as I enjoyed creating it!

Reuben