Leon Holmes

Leon Holmes is an international award-winning Australian artist, lecturer and ambassador, who has made himself a global name as being one of the most enthusiastic and successful professionals of his trade – Plein Air Oil Painting.

Born and raised in Perth, Leon’s career started with a wide range of artistic fields including Printmaking, Graphic Design, Art Direction, Illustration and Photography before the artist made his dream come true becoming a fulltime artist in 2003.

Leon is using only the finest art materials available to produce artworks of an exceptional quality that are standing up to demand of his serious collectors base and competition around the world.

The majority of Holmes’ works are painted from life ‘En Plein Air’ (in the open) and are capturing the beauty of natural light and colours of various scenes including landscapes, seascapes and portraits. Challenged by the forever changing conditions surrounding him, the artist has adapted to work quickly which resulted in dynamic and vibrant studies that are also inspiring the artist’s larger studio works.

After having resided a number of years in Europe refining his skills and networking with other artists has opened the doors for Leon to exhibit and teach alongside the Elite of professional Plein Air Artists at invitational, international art events like ‘Maui Plein Air Invitational’ in Hawaii, ‘Forgotten Coast en Plein Air’ in Florida and ‘Art in the Open’ in Ireland. Inspired by his experience Leon has worked hard to successfully initiate a similar annual event in his hometown in Mandurah, called ‘Plein Air Down Under’ in 2019. Leon also founded the Mandurah Portrait Group, which runs on a weekly base and which he attends himself since its start in 2015.

Apart from teaching workshops, Leon is devoted to make Plein Air Painting of today a more enjoyable experience. The artist is constantly sourcing quality art materials to supply artists and his students with the finest Plein Air painting supplies and has put his own knowledge and experience to good use designing his own range of outdoor painting equipment, including the Leon Holmes Pochade Paint Box and Swag Apron. Both are handmade, practical and light-weight products that are available on this website and through the studio door.