Autumn Leppla

My name is Autumn Leppla - I’m a mixed media portrait artist currently living in Los Angeles California.

I was raised in North Texas learning a mix of southern charm and my cultural native roots. My grandmother used to bring me with her to Winnebago tribe powwows and ceramonies. She wanted me to understand the values and history that was passed on to me through her blood. My Indian name is Ahoo Cho, it is a peyote name given to me by my grandma. In English it means “Blue Wing”. Native American culture taught me to lean into my spirituality early by tuning into the earth and universe.

Spirituality is a heavy influence in my art as well as current and past socio-political events. I use portraiture and symbolism to get across the emotions and ideas I stand behind. I find myself fascinated with the role of the gaze and expression. My favorite part of my process is painting the eyes. They tell so much about a person as the eyes are the windows to the soul.

I work with prisma color, oil paint, acrylic, as well as digital augmented reality. I spent my youth studying my craft taking 12 years of art classes, camps and workshops but recently have just been self taught.

I’m not one who is big on words so art allows me to expres...