Leon Betista was born in 1975 - His father was a successful photographer and he was exposed to the airbrush at an early age.
His new tool was not the slim, lightweight model that we know today, but rather a large and awkward unit that took considerable skill to use, let alone master. The fine mist of paint that the airbrush sprayed onto a negative or print was worth the effort, however, as it could, in the right hands, emulate the emulsion of a negative or print. This ability to correct flaws in the photographic process (and in the features of the portraiture clients) was a major component to the success of commercial photographers of the era.

In 1997 he went to Los Angeles with his brother and father. The boys were on their way to Canada for schooling and eventual apprenticeships, but the LA stopover changed Leon's life forever. There he "discovered" his great artistic idol: Joaquin Alberto Vargas y Chavez, better known as Varga.

In LA he was hired by Playboy magazine. He began retouching photographs for a living and drawing and painting. Perhaps it was from Vargas that Leon developed the tone of his art - the idealized depiction of the female form glorified but never vulgarized. Sensuality was everything, but the sex was never blatant.
Leon created several very exotic nude paintings. It is probable that these were done to supplement the money that he was surely earning - and spending with wild abandon. When he eloped with his wife, Emilia, he had to borrow the money to pay for the marriage license
Much of his life was spent in low-paying positions in the art departments of various Hollywood studios. As the decade drew to a close, he faced desperate times. He was in New York and his wife was still in California. Work was almost non-existent. Then, in a twist of irony, Esquire hired him to replace Vargas.