AR TIS T

ractice makes perfect, or so the saying goes. At times the need to practice is born out of the desire to get better at something, and yet other times the desire to practice is born out of nothing more than sheer boredom. Growing up in Casper, Wyoming, there was not much for young Gabe Leonard to do other than catch lizards and snakes, or draw and build model airplanes. While the city of less than 60,000 inhabitants made it to Forbes Magazine’s top ten “best small cities to raise a family,” it seems it also was one of the best small cities to hone and perfect his skills.

P

“I always had a knack for drawing and painting, I was good at it,” said Leonard. “When you’re a little kid, if you’re good at something, you just keep doing it and you get better as you keep doing it.”

Knowing that he wanted to continue drawing as he

grew older, he moved to Columbus, Ohio to pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts. After graduating, he took what seemed like the logical next step and made his way to the City of Angels so he could enter the world of animation. Leonard arrived in Los Angeles at a time when the world was getting ready to transition from one century into another. The field Leonard so dearly desired to break into

C OVER FEA TURE

FROM VENICE BEACH TO INTERNATIONAL ACCLAIM — THE RISE OF GABE LEONARD

was also making a transition and diving head first into a digital world. “The day I got to LA I didn’t know where to go, I ended up in Burbank and I went to see a movie,” he said. The movie he walked into was none other than Antz, the 1998 film by DreamWorks, the second computer animated feature-length film ever produced. “I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was watching the career I wanted to have go down the toilet. It was all going digital.” A lack of a computer and the desire to create something tangible kept him from making the switch and entering the digital realm. Taking on whatever employment he could, Leonard took a seasonal job at Macy’s. Eventually, he found his way to Venice Beach and happened upon street artists selling their work. Leonard immediately recognized that while some of the art was not very good, these artists would not be there unless they were having some sort of success. He decided to try it for himself as a way to supplement his income.

Be Careful What You Wish For

You Only Die Once

I’m Not Asking

Shoot The Messenger

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OFF THE EASEL MAGAZINE – WINTER 2015