about

Leon Okun was born on February 6, 1980 in the USSR. In 1993 Leon’s family immigrated to San Diego from Belarus. His interest in figurative art developed while taking art classes at Mesa Community College, where he was given complete freedom of exploration. This freedom led him to a profound interest in figurative drawing and propelled Leon to pursue the kind of program that would satisfy his passion for fine art.

Leon’s educational art journey began at Watts Atelier (a small private art school with an emphasis on the traditional fine art), where he studied for two and a half years. There he met Ron Lemen, an art instructor at Los Angeles Academy of Fine Arts. To this day, Leon gives Ron Lemen credit for inspiring him to believe in himself and to set the highest possible standards for personal artwork.

In 2011 Leon received both a Bachelor’s Degree of Fine Art and a Master’s Degrees in Fine Arts from the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg, Russia and immersed himself into teaching. Successful in his own right as an Artist and as a Teacher, Leon now inspires his students to search out their dreams and to strive to achieve their own personal best.

Leon is a member of the California Art Club, the American Portrait Society, the American Impressionist society, and the Plain Air Painters of San Diego.

Leon has participated in and won numerous art competitions in San Diego and throughout Southern California. His style of painting is based on the traditional European classical art, and color pallet.

Most recently Leon had several successful exhibitions that drew a great deal of interest in the art community.