Lara Shecter

Oil painting of a sunset over a body of water with boats and ships, mountain range in the distance, sky with orange, pink, and purple hues, and reflections of the sunset on the water.

I have always been making something.

Who Am I?

A straightforward question, but like for most people, it has many answers. I am an artist, a photographer, a designer. I am a mother, a wife, a good friend. I am a homebody, an optimist, a lover of life. And sometimes, I am just a total mess.

For more than 25 years, I have been learning, experimenting, and evolving in my creative field. I have worked in design, marketing, and photography, all while continuously pushing myself to refine my craft and define my artistic voice. From my earliest childhood memories, I was always making something: LEGO towers, sewing Barbie outfits, sculpting with FIMO clay, glueing googly-eyes onto anything and everything, always doodling, and endlessly experimenting in the kitchen (often with disastrous results).

At 17, a backpacking trip across Europe became my gateway to the world's art masters. The trip was a whirlwind of museums, historic buildings, and monumental sculptures. The sheer volume of visual stimuli was overwhelming, but certain moments remain vivid. The first time I stood before a Salvador Dalí painting, the way he distorted reality, blending the conscious and subconscious, made my own sense of time feel as warped as one of his melting clock faces. I was instantly captivated by how art transforms the familiar into the surreal and communicates complex ideas in unexpected ways. I have never forgotten that feeling. Seeing something familiar made suddenly, completely strange.

A young girl with brown hair tied in pigtails, wearing a yellow dress, sitting at a dining table with a glass of dark soda, an open coloring book, and a paintbrush. A landline phone and some papers are on the counter in the background.
A girl with curly brown hair stands smiling in a living room, arms crossed, next to a tall stack of colorful rectangular blocks. In the background, another girl with curly hair is sitting on a sofa, talking on a phone and touching her head.
Two young girls sitting at a table during a birthday party, with one holding a handmade doll. There are colorful streamers hanging overhead and various party items on the table.

The Journey

Years of obsessing over the perfect font, the right line weight, the exact shade of a colour as a graphic designer has deeply influenced my artistic approach. One of my design heroes, Tom Eckersley, is a master of visual economy. His minimalist compositions, often created through collage, distill intricate concepts into strikingly simple forms. His ability to strip an image down to its essence is something I continually strive for.

Closer to home, the great Canadian landscape painter E.J. Hughes pulled me somewhere else entirely. While designing a series of books about his work, I came to understand how even the most realistic art tells an abstract story, one shaped as much by the artist's vision as by the viewer's interpretation.

A painting of a large white and black ship sailing in dark waters along a rocky coastline with forested mountains in the background, under a cloudy sky. The text overlay reads "A Journey with E. J. Hughes."

Now & Then

My images blend realism, graphic precision, and storytelling with a sense of déjà vu. Living in Vancouver, surrounded by the striking contrasts of British Columbia's natural beauty and urban landscapes, continually fuels my imagination and shapes the way I see and interpret the world.

I am drawn to the tension between people and the environments we create. The lone figure in the harbour. The dog running free on an empty beach. The father and son at the water's edge. We are always alone together, and I find that endlessly worth painting.

A large red and white ship resting in shallow water with mountains in the background and two birds standing near the shore.

Building Blocks

Overlapping lives and stories, like echoes in time

Close-up of a large sculpture of a laughing face, with hands resting on its head, painted in black and white.
Woman moving laundry on a table cluttered with folded clothes, towels, and laundry items in a living room with a TV and shelves in the background.
A young female gymnast in blue and sheer attire performs a balanced leap with her leg extended high and arms outstretched, surrounded by flowing blue fabric, with the text '2014 The Gymnasts of Aura Rhythmic' on a white background.
A police officer in uniform kneeling and smiling at a seated German Shepherd police dog during a training or community event. The dog is wearing a harness, and there is a vibrant graffiti mural of a woman with blue hair in the background.
Modern kitchenware including a cone-shaped kettle with a cylindrical handle, a wavy, ribbed metal strip, and several dark-colored teapots or kettles with artistic shapes on a speckled gray surface, with a warm orange background.
A family group photo outdoors during sunset, with people dressed in white shirts and khaki shorts or pants, some wearing flower accessories in their hair, standing in front of a garden with palm trees and purple flowers.
Three workers are climbing and working on tall construction cranes while a large crane lifts a section of the crane structure against a blue sky background.
Colorful scrapbook cover with children handprints and the title 'Now and Then' in bright, playful letters, labeled as 'The Coolest Scrapbook for School-Aged Children.'
A woman sitting on the floor surrounded by empty laundry baskets and various groceries and bags on a wooden floor in a living room.
A snow-covered forest trail with tall pine trees and a person walking in the distance.
Black and white photo of three young girls sitting together, smiling and looking at the camera.
Book cover titled 'E.J. Hughes: Through the Decades' featuring an abstract painting of a landscape with dark clouds, rain, and a distant landmass.
A woman sitting cross-legged on a metal walkway at the top of a tall steel observation tower, holding a camera and wearing a safety vest, with a cityscape and a sports field in the background.

Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to explore my work

I am glad you found your way here. I hope something caught your eye, or your memory, or something you didn't know you were looking for.

Every piece begins somewhere. Come and see where.

See How it's Done
See How it's Done