Leona Sanderson, Artist, aka Lee Sanderson

After 37 years of teaching art in the La Canada public schools, Leona Sanderson turned her attention to the development of her own art. In a very short time her work in watercolor became recognized and she was named as one of the Descanso Gardens featured artists. She has served on the board of directors of the Verdugo Hills Art Association, and is also a member of the San Gabriel Valley Art Association as well as the La Canada Art Guild and the Mid-Valley Arts League. Her work has appeared in many local juried exhibits and has received numerous awards. In the fall of 2002, her painting “Recess” won the Deirdre Mary English Award. This was a one time award in memory of Deirdre English, a well known local artist and patron of the arts. Leona went on to win many first place awards and three “Best in Show” ribbons. In the spring of 2004 her painting, “Sports Bar: March Madness”, won the John Bohnenberger Award, naming it the best watercolor in the show. That particular painting also won first place in genre. In the same show Leona won first place in still life for “Lilies, Paint and Mercy” and an honorable mention in the animal genre for “Theola Katz”

Recently, her work work was accepted in the Thirty-Sixth Annual National Exhibition, “Works on Paper”. Her paintings feature floral themes, antique objects, landscapes and occasionally sports themes. She is deeply involved in exploring color, composition and texture in working with oil. Her canvases include representational work as well as abstract. Within the last year her abstract work won several “Best in Show” awards as well as many first place honors. In 2008 and 2009 her work was awarded two additional first place awards in the Pomona Valley Art Association Exhibitions.