Lara says:

If didn't have painting, I don't know how I'd cope with life. When I experienced grief, I was in such a dark place. That’s when I had to paint. I just had to - it was the only way I could cope. I can disappear into another world where I am extremely peaceful because I'm just oblivious to the outside world. So many times, the dinner has got burnt, the dogs have been left whining at the door, or I’ve been late to collect my kids from the park. But larger scale is too overwhelming. With miniatures, I’m just in this tiny world. It’s a bit like Alice in Wonderland; going down a rabbit hole or finding a tiny portal to another realm. You feel like you are looking through the keyhole and getting a glimpse into the magnificence of the world. I'm not religious, but I'm spiritual, and I find that when I am in nature, especially at night, just wandering through the trees and looking up at the moon and the insects - that to me is where God is. I have had some miraculous, wondrous moments in my life, often when I have been in nature, when I have felt like the universe was speaking to me. So, when I am painting these tiny scenes, it’s almost like being close to God in a way. It’s like I am telling a story about the wonder in the world with light and colour and composition. I'm just lost in that small world and it feels like pure joy.