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We first met Leo at the 2025 Sauga Plein Air Competition at Riverwood Conservancy. Open skies, blooming flowers, and the quiet concentration that gathers when easels line a path. Leo kept a low profile, gently supporting the flow of the day with a calm presence.
Based in Mississauga, Ontario, Leo Dias is a self-taught artist who was born in São Miguel, Azores, and immigrated to Canada as a child. He grew up in a rural coastal town, where his parents cultivated their own food and life moved through the rhythms of nature. That early connection to land and sea remains central to his work. The currents of air and water, the textures of earth and shoreline, these elements continue to shape his practice.
Over the years, Leo's practice has been refined through both exploration and study. He worked in stone and clay at Streetsville Sculpture Studio, explored printmaking at Image Matrix, and studied drawing, painting, and design at Humber College. These experiences gradually evolved into a distinct mixed-media approach, layering acrylic paint with paper decoupage to create surfaces rich in movement and texture.
Then came plein air—the pull of painting outdoors. When Leo couldn’t find a local group to share that practice, he created one. In 2023, the Sauga Plein Air Group began with a few informal meetups in parks and heritage sites along the Credit River. It soon became a weekly rhythm, bringing artists and hobbyists together to connect and learn from each other.
In just over a year, the group has expanded beyond its early gatherings. Since then, it has organized exhibitions, participated in multidisciplinary events, and partnered with community spaces including Visual Arts Mississauga, Heritage Mississauga at The Grange, the Unitarian Congregation Mississauga, and Heathers Café.
As the Sauga Plein Air Group continues to grow, so does Leo's practice—one formed by texture, movement, colour and a deep sense of place. What began as a search for community has become something deeper: an ongoing act of seeing, shaped by nature and sustained through connection.
“Through creating this group, I’ve come to understand that painting outdoors is not only an artistic practice, it is also a communal one,” Leo reflects. “Parks have become extensions of our studios, where artists gather to share ideas, experiences, and inspiration. It has reminded me that art thrives in community, and that creativity, much like nature, flourishes when nurtured in open and connected spaces.”
Today, he remains grounded in the natural world and committed to building spaces, both on canvas and beyond, where people can come together to create and stay inspired.
Sometimes the landscape isn’t just what we see—it’s how we choose to see together.
If you would like to learn more about Leo's practice, visit www.leodias.ca.
Join the 2026 Sauga Plein Air Competition this spring to paint outdoors and connect with fellow artists. Experience Mississauga through a shared lens of creativity.
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