Leonard Gerbrandt was born in Saskatchewan, Canada. After working in commercial art, he studied at the University of Guelph, majoring in Fine Arts with specialization in printmaking and art history, and graduating from there in 1970 with an Honours B.A. Leonard has taught at the Ottawa School of Art and in high schools since 1972, aside from periods during which he lived in Bangladesh and Kenya. In 1973, with the assistance of the Ontario Arts Council, he designed and constructed a pneumatic-hydraulic printing press at Canterbury High School. He has been a Board member of the Ottawa School of Art and was instrumental in setting up its Printmaking Studio, which is named after him. His work has been in regional traveling exhibitions with the Manitoba Arts Council and CSPW. He is represented in collections such as The National Film Board, the Agnes Etherington Gallery, City of Ottawa, Royal Trust, The Canadian Centre for Managerial Development as well as numerous private collections in Canada and abroad.