About

Leon Koella is a landscape painter whose work grows out of a lifelong habit of looking closely at place, light, and weather.

He was introduced to painting through scenic art at the Carver Creative Performing Arts Center (CCPAC), where he was a student from 1990-1992, learning early how color and value can build atmosphere, suggest distance, and turn a blank surface into a believable world. That introduction to painting as “setting” still echoes through his work today.

As a painting student, Koella was told if he wanted to join the art world as a landscape artist he needed to pretend to like plein air. But Koella loved it straight away, finding the challenge of capturing the moment and the occasional fun of chatting with passersby immensely enjoyable.

Whether working from the studio or out in the world, Koella is drawn to the tension between representation and imagination. He strives to balance the solid and loose, capturing the geography and the emotion of place.

–

"Leon Koella’s brushwork invites viewers to walk the curved path beneath, feel the cool air, and reflect on the beauty of shared public spaces. Leon Koella is a painter who is often outside—his work shaped by direct observation and a love for natural light. His scenes are grounded, contemplative, and quietly poetic, offering glimpses of the world as it is and as it could be." -Suwanee Art Center