| ARTIST BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH: | Leonard Gibbs was a self-taught realist painter known for his acrylics, dry brush paintings, and pencil drawings of children, cowboys, marine life, and the landscape.
Gibbs was drawn to adventure as a boy, and at the age of 16, he earned his pilot’s license. Soon after high school, he enlisted in the navy and served on several ships including the Royal Navy submarine HMS Tallyho. When he left the navy, he became a commercial artist and eventually the creative director and vice president of an advertising agency in Edmonton. Gibbs left the corporate world before he turned 40, to devote himself full-time to painting.
Gibbs was careful and deliberate with his art. His paintings were built slowly, starting first with sketches and preliminary watercolours to establish the composition. Then, he’d begin painting with thin brush strokes and coloured glazes to bring out texture and colour. His compositions often emphasized the human form, but the creation of overall mood and emotion was central to his practice.
Gibbs exhibited his work commercially throughout western Canada and the USA, and in the Alberta oil boom of the 1980’s, his shows were often sold-out and his work in-demand. He donated works to public fundraisers in Alberta, and was a proud supporter of the arts in Edmonton.
Gibbs later moved with his family to Victoria, B.C. where he remained for the rest of his life. In addition to painting, Gibbs built and flew his own airplane, built a model railroad, drove classic sports cars and built and sailed model boats.
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