The Magic of Mokuhanga

How Leon Loughridge Uses Watercolor and Mokuhanga to Capture the West

Leon Loughridge is a busy artist—and that’s just how he likes it. Living in Denver, Colorado, and working out of a remodeled garage that serves as his studio, he shares his love of landscapes by creating watercolor paintings and woodblock prints that are carried by several galleries and featured in several art shows each year.

He can thank his grandmother for instilling in him a love of art. When he was a young boy growing up on a ranch in Pojoaque, New Mexico, his grandmother, who was very active in the local art scene, would invite artists to visit with her at her home and recruited some of them to give her grandchildren painting lessons during the summer. Those lessons, combined with the time Loughridge and his brother spent roaming outside on foot—and later on horseback—led to an appreciation of the land, which later led to a dedication to capturing it through art.

Today, Loughridge creates landscape watercolor paintings and woodblock prints called Mokuhanga. “My inspiration comes from watercolor sketches I do outdoors,” he says. “I quickly catch the basic elements that make that view visually strong. Then I take it to the studio and enlarge it. The sketch becomes the road map that tells me how to set up the final woodblock image.”

Read the full article in the November/December 2026 issue.