Lara has painted ever since she had the motor skills to. She was inspired by her father, Jeff Renaud. She often watched as he created his masterpieces of color in the garage and knew from a young age that making art would also be her passion. Lara studied at at Pratt MWP, NY, where she learned Classic painting and color theory from painters Christopher Cirilo and Gregg Lawler. She studied drawing and life drawing under Steve Arnison and Eulia Neal at Pratt MWP, NY, and Ardis DeFreece at the Pacific Northwest School of the Arts, OR. The skills she developed under these masters, in addition to her studies of the Impressionists, Cubists, and French Canadian landscape artists, influenced her style and creativity in the digital arts.
