Respawn

Series of seven – 48" × 30" Studio Proofs, available now Each a unique work on canvas, hand-embellished by the artist Respawn [ree-spawn] — verb (of a character or item in a video game) to reenter an existing game environment at a fixed point after having been defeated or otherwise removed from play. One of the few poetic commonalities all artists share is the act of starting over. Every work of art eventually reaches its end — whether it’s a masterpiece or a disappointment. And when it does, what always follows is another blank canvas, a fresh lump of clay, an empty page. Every artist has a profound relationship with beginning again. Some dread it; Gabe Leonard is invigorated by it. In his latest work, Respawn, Gabe explores a universal truth of the human experience through an archetypal figure from American mythology — the self-made individual standing triumphantly at the summit of his own hard-won success. He looks out over the path he’s climbed, basking in the satisfaction of how far he’s come under his own power. But, as always in a Leonard painting, the story doesn’t end there. The real message lies in what comes next. No matter what journey we follow — whether we rise or fall — every path eventually reaches its conclusion. We come to the top of the mountain or the bottom of the valley and find there’s nowhere left to go but back toward where we began. Every ending is simply the start of the next beginning. We have all been there one way or another. And in this painting we are reminded that no matter where we have come from, the paths we have taken, the places we arrived, that in Gabe Leonard’s own words “Every day is a new chance to Respawn in this game we call life.”   The Cinematic Artist. Gabe Leonard's paintings take you into a world rich with inimitable atmosphere and narrative intrigue. What tales lie behind these interesting characters? And where will their stories take them? Leonard spent his early years in the mountain state of Wyoming, sketching wildlife and selling them to his school friends for a dollar. After graduating from Columbus College, Ohio with a BA in Fine Art, he moved to Los Angeles where he... Continue reading About the Artist: Gabe Leonard