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Leonard Poteshman was born in 1925 and started early with a love of the arts, though his first endevour was music. However his early dreams of being a concert violinist came to an end due to injuries sustained while serving in the military during World War II. He then pursued an arts education at the Chicago Art Institute, later at the American Academy of the Arts, Chouinard, and the University of Guadalajara where he received his Masters of Fine Arts degree.

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Not following a predictable path, Len began a career in law enforcement where he worked undercover specializing in art crimes; he detected forgeries, created composite drawings of suspects and co-authored a book,  Museum, Archives, and Library Security.  He supervised the art crimes departments for the FBI, INTERPOL and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's and Police Departments. Powerful examples of his abilities as a sculptor include a work he created for the City of Montebello California made of confiscated weapons. He also created a sculpture of a law enforcement officer which was installed at the headquarters of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, in Gaithersburg, Md.

Retirement finally gave Leonard the time to fully explore his creativity.  He considers himself "a non-conceptual artist" whose "process of creating provides him with the possibility of bridging illusion and reality."  His work brims with energy and explosions of color and often expresses wry comments on modern life. 

Throughout his life Len was fascinated by Koi fish.  In 1971 he built a Koi pond and began raising ornamental carp.  Later he would capture their brilliant colors and sinuous nature on canvas, many in three-dimensional form.  Len was open to new and unconventional materials, experimenting with a variety of artistic expression, commenting "Portraits are nothing to me now when I have the opportunity to work with so many other mediums."  Examples include works that incorporate plastic fruit, epoxy and masks.  Bold colors conveyed both raw emotion and beauty.  However, he was equally comfortable with a softer palate and a refined delicacy of expression.

Len's work has been exhibited widely throughout California including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Riverside Museum and locally at the Bell Arts Factory.  In addition, his work has been exhibited in Spain, Mexico and Washington.  He was a member of the Buenaventura Artist's Union and an original tenant of the Bell Arts Factory.  He was also extensively documented in 2011 by Focus on the Masters, an institution that documents, preserves and presents the works and lives of accomplished contemporary artists. He was an energetic participant in fund raising efforts conducted by Focus on the Masters, the Ventura Music Festival, and Food Share, among others.