leah porter

I’ve been painting and drawing all of my life. My parents who are both artists by profession, met while studying painting at the Santa Barbara Art Institue in the 1970’s. Growing up in with them in their studio, I was able to explore various mediums in a very free way. My education began with them in the classrooms where they taught adult painting classes or when we drove the countrysides, looking for compositions for their next work. The conversations over light and shadow and color relationships played a role in how I not only experience my surroundings, but also how I work today.  

In 1994 I received a scholarship to continue my studies in art and so I attended Western Oregon University, where in 1998,  I received a Bachelor of Arts degree in painting and printmaking. A part of my education included exhibition curation and gallery management and so in 2006, when I fell in love with the community of Los Cabos, Mexico, I opened Casa Dahlia Gallery in the Gallery district of San Jose del Cabo. Since that time, I have chosen to maintain exclusivity in representing my own work. 

My paintings are often minimal landscapes with a glowing "tone" of light and color. Although I have worked in various mediums, I am currently exploring the mineral and organic earth pigments of indigenous cultures. 

My desire is to create peaceful and restful spaces, both in interiors and on the surface of my paintings. 

“The art of art, the glory of expression….is simplicity. Nothing is better than simplicity . . . . nothing can make up for excess or for the lack of definiteness.”   - Walt Whitman.