Every child loves to watch cartoons in their childhood. Today we are going to talk about the person who brings laughter into children’s life. He is an Australian living treasure and cartoonist, Mr. Michael Leunig.
He is a poet, cartoonist, and aboriginal artist by profession. He gained many titles in drawings, aboriginal art, poems, and short notes of common prayer. He is well-known in the world for his work.
Michael Leunig was born on 2 June 1945 in East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. His work includes the cartoon books such as The Curly Pyjama Letters, The Sunday Age, Goatperson, The Essential Leunig cartoon, The Stick, Everyday Devils and Angels, Curly Verse, The Penguin Leunig, The Travelling Leunig, and many other tales.
His book Curly World gets very much popular in Australian newspapers. He has also written a prayer book that was liked by people. He named it “When I Talk To You”. His books and tales are widely published overseas. He also plays an admirable role in politics.
1. Personal Life
Michael Leunig is a famous cartoonist but his personal life is not so happy and cheerful. As he has not experienced good relationships with his family and siblings. Even he was not able to attend his parents’ funerals.
Michael Leunig got married to Pamela Munro but Leunig’s first marriage does not work for a long time and they ended their relationship with a divorce. After that, he married Helga in 1992, but they also parted ways in the year 2010.
He has four children. All of them are born on notable days. They are held on Guy Fawkes Day, Valentine’s Day, Australia Day, and Christmas Day. His studio is located at Northcote, Melbourne. He also has some property in North Eastern Victoria.
2. Life and Career
Michael Leunig is a fifth-generation Australian. He was born in east Melbourne age and grew up at Footscray. He got his primary education from Footscray North Primary School. After that, he joined Maribyrnong High School for further education.
After finishing his education he worked as a laborer in an abattoir. He was interested in theatre and making documentaries so he wanted to enroll himself in Swinburne Film and Television School. But he sticks is to his dream and he fulfills his dream and gets enrolled in the school.
His name was listed among the Vietnam war soldiers, but he was rejected because of his health issues. He was found deaf in one ear. He began his cartoon career in 1965. His cartoons first appeared in the Monash University newspaper.
After that, he did not look back. He worked for many magazines and Australian newspapers. His work was liked and appreciated by people and his publications were widely published overseas.
The main outlet of Leunig’s work was Fairfax Media newspapers and the Sydney Morning Herald. His penguin books edition is very famous and its 49th edition is also launched.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation also takes time to discuss the political and philosophical issues with Leunig. He has given his extensive review on this topic.
3. Characters and Themes
In his professional career, Michael Leunig makes various characters and themes but the characters which got very popular are The Duck, Mr. Curly, and Vasco Pyjama. These are the characters from Curly Pyjama Letters.
Michael Leunig is well known for his mystical writing skills, art, poems, aboriginal drawing, prayer tree, and political review. He has drawn many cartoons of dogs, angels, animals, dogs sniffing, strange creatures, birds, and many other’s tails. He is very open about his work in his interviews.
4. Cartoons Characters
Leunig’s drawings are drawn with quivering and sparse lines. He mostly uses black and white ink to make his cartoon characters. He always drew human cartoons with exaggerated noses which looks very funny.
When he gained popularity he tried many new ideas such as teapots balanced on their heads, faces like ducks, and curled hairs. His work includes moral, spiritual, and religious themes.
Sometimes his work was a part of the controversy. In 2003, he was commented by the Iraqi government because of the invasion of the Iraqi government.
5. Honours of Michael Leunig
Michael Leunig gets many titles in the world due to his amazing work. He was declared an Australian Living Treasure by the National Trust of Australia. The Melbourne tram and Australian chamber orchestra were decorated with his cartoon characters.
He was also featured in the opening ceremony of the Melbourne Commonwealth Games in 2006. He is the creator of the iGoogle theme which is very popular with Torres strait islander peoples.
He also performed in the Sydney Opera House and Byron Bay Writers Festival. He also performed in collaboration with Gyan and Richard Tognetti.
6. Published Works of Michael Leunig
Michael Leunig has done a lot of work in writing, drawing, theatre, and aboriginal art. The collections of original poems and cartoon stories of Michael Leunig are The Penguin Books, The Prayer Tree, The Travelling Leunig, The Strange Creature, Everyday Devils and Angels, Short Notes from The Long History, The Penguin Leunig, and many more.
His multi-decade complications are Holy Fool, The Wayward Leunig, The Essential Leunig, and The Curly Verse.
His work in the Australian National Bibliographic database is The Animated Leunig, A Bag of Roosters, The Bedtime Leunig, The Stick: and other tales of our time, Wild Figments, You and Me, Ramming the Shears, Leunig’s Carnival of the Animals, and many more.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q 1. What is Michael Leunig well known for?
Ans. Michael Leunig is a popular Australian cartoonist, philosopher, writer, poet, and painter. He has done a lot of work in his different fields.
Q 2. What is the inspiration of Michael Leunig?
Ans. Michael Leunig was inspired by creative influencers. He got inspiration from Spike Milligan, Martin Sharp, Salinger, The Beatles, and Eye Magazine.
Q 3. What is the educational background of Michael Leunig?
Ans. Michael Leunig got his primary education from Footscray North Primary School. Then he joined Maribyrnong High School for his higher education. Then he joined Swinburne Film and Television School for his further education in theatre and arts.
Q 4. Is Michael Leunig still working?
Ans. Yes, Michael Leunig is still working on the book The Age, and he makes cartoons for the newspaper’s Saturday Spectrum section.
Q 5. Is Michael Leunig’s work available on the online browser?
Ans. Yes, his works like Art Loft, Queenscliff Gallery, Printmaker Gallery, Art Images Gallery, Hearts and Minds Art, and Willunga Gallery are available online.
Final Note
In this article, we discussed a person who brings happiness to children’s faces. He is an Australian cartoonist, Michael Leunig. He is from northeastern Victoria, Australia. He is very famous among the Torres strait islander people.
He is well known for his drawing, writing, artwork, poems, and cartoon stories. His famous works are Short Notes from The Long History, The Penguin Books, Leunig’s Carnival of the Animals, The Wayward Leunig, and many more.
His books are related to religion, spirits, animals, angels, and birds. He won many titles from the people. He has done unforgettable work in his field. His books are available online. He also gave his performances in collaboration with other artists.
Last Updated on January 19, 2024 by namitasoren
