Doug LaRue

Exposed to a wide range of creative expression at an early age, Doug was born in Amarillo raised in Dallas and Houston educated in College Station and settled in Ed LaRueAustin. Doug quickly developed a passion for drawing and painting from his mother, an accomplished oil painter and the technical aspects of photography, design and sports from his father, a mechanical engineer who moonlighted as a NCAA Football Referee. 

Doug began to win art contests in grade school and zoomed through honors Art classes in high school, worked at camera stores, theaters and photo labs, successfully maneuvered through professional internships and advanced photography summer classes at Southern Methodist University.

As a member of a staff that won a national publication design award LaRue was featured in a film which led to a scholarship.

ArchitectureArmed with a Nikon F3, 128k Mac and a Zorlac skateboard, LaRue left home for college and soon landed a position as a NCAA Sports Photojournalist for regional publications, United Press International and Associated Press. Doug successfully petitioned to get a programming language class to count as a required foreign language credit toward his degree from the Texas A&M University College of Architecture. Doug continued to win art and photography contests and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Design.

LaRue’s art education continued as a Medical Illustrator for the Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences producing medical art with traditional mediums, computers, cameras, video, film and press equipment. Opportunities to train in digital media design, illustration and photography through workshops offered to state agencies allowed him to travel across the country, including the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators Advanced Airbrush workshop at the Smithsonian Institute of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

Doug has designed architecture, designed and published books and magazines, published an Arts & Entertainment magazine, photographed science and music documentaries independently and for the History Channel and Country Music Television, art directed films and commercials, wrote and directed a Screen Actor’s Guild independent film, appeared in studio feature films including IdiocracyMike Judge’s Idiocracy. Doug’s work has been published in newspapers, books, magazines and movies around the world. His art has showcased in solo and group shows including the Texas State Capitol, Austin City Hall, The Wittliff Collections at Texas State University and the Forsyth Gallery Collections at Texas A&M University.

Van Wilks Live PerformanceDoug grew up in Texas creeks, rivers and lakes exploring, fishing, boating and waterskiing which played a big role in a happy childhood which inspires him to seek projects, contracts and volunteering opportunities from agencies focused on water quality, pollution and water conservation causes.

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