Leer Larkins was born in British Guyana and came to Riverside in 1963. He was an artist who received training from the Society of Arts and Crafts in Detroit. He worked in wood sculpture, ceramics, tempera, and watercolors. He designed stage sets for experimental theater in New York and was a U.S. Army photographer and researcher during World War II.
In Riverside, he founded Nosotros Inc. Fine Arts Workshop & Gallery and served as executive director for 20 years. Nosotros was a community project whose purpose involved a deep commitment to the spiritual uplifting of the quality of life of the individual and the community. According to Leer, “We have facilities and the supplies and the tools. We are trying to be artists.”