Salinas Valley Area:
Leon lived and painted in the Salinas Valley area for more than 40 years. His painting sojourns would also take him into the rural hills to the East and South of Salinas, and the nearby coastal areas of Monterey, Carmel, Watsonville and Santa Cruz. Painting on location he concentrated on farm landscapes and agricultural themes, documenting the local rural scenes of an earlier era.
Leon originally came to Salinas in 1931 to teach art at the Central Grammar School, and soon began teaching at Hartnell college where he became the school’s first art teacher. He taught at Hartnell for nearly 40 years, encouraging and influencing many young artists.
The Salinas area would remain a strong subject for his watercolors until his retirement to the Sierra foothills.
