Sunday, April 14, 2013

Michael Leunig and Me

One of the more very laid back and interesting celebrity meet and greet experiences I've had. If you're Australian the name "Leunig" is something familiar, iconic or at the very least recognisable, if you've glanced at a newspaper in the last 50 years. Michael Leunig is not only a cartoonist but a poet, writer and philosopher too plus one of my earliest influences to become a cartoonist myself. So to have him speak at an admission free, live interview conversation about his life, work and philosophy one bright warm Saturday morning a few suburbs over from my place was kind of awesome.

Me with the con (conversation) sketch.


He found God...
Setting out over the hills of those who sleep, with a duck as companionship.
He's one of those personalities that transcends the normal of newspaper cartoonists.
His cartoons were made into a series of short vignettes using stop motion animation, and they're are just as evocative as the source material.

With the official "con sketch" of the interview, simply put Leunig detailed that life is as absurd as a duck with a teapot on its head.
 In this he described his process, there's no real planing, no under sketch, just emotion that can be tweaked with the simplest of a line. The expression in the character above could be so easily manipulated


Leunig's a very cool, generous and humble cartoonist.
 Though I couldn't stay for the question time after the intermission I got this photo of us together, the old master and the grown up fanboy.

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