Bio

Gabe Leonard was born and raised in Wyoming where he spent his childhood trying to skateboard on gravel roads in the summer and digging his parents car out of six foot snow drifts in the winter. After graduating from Campbell County High School in 1994. He attended the Columbus College of Art and Design where he graduated with a bachelor of fine arts degree in 1998.

Upon graduation Gabe moved to Los Angeles to pursue his dream as a background painter for feature animation. Unfortunately, in 1998, most of the studios began firing their traditional artists, sending production overseas or moving into digital formats. Gabe took a part time job at Macy's (folding shirts) while going from studio to studio competing for any opening against the many experienced, out of work, studio artists who were applying for the same jobs.

In February of 1999, to supplement the insufficient wage Macy's paid, Gabe started selling color copies of his paintings on the boardwalk of Venice Beach. By May of the same year Gabe quit working for Macy's. With the bit of success he found selling his work in Venice, and the independence that came with it, Gabe decided to continue to follow his own path and discontinued the pursuit of studio jobs.

Since then Gabe has continued to sell his work at outdoor events and gallery exhibits. Although he no longer sells color copies made at kinko's, he does continue to offer prints and reproductions of his work. His art can be found in private collections all over the U.S., Europe, New Zealand, Australia and parts of China.

While mostly exhibiting in California festivals and galleries, Gabe has gone on to participate in several of the country's top art festivals and his work has been in gallery exhibits in New York, Los Angeles, New Orleans and San Diego.

Gabe continues to live in Los Angeles, California where he can often be found sleeping, thinking about taking long walks on the beach, being grateful he isn't stuck in traffic and in his studio painting until the sun rises.