About the Cartoonist and Caricaturist Simon Ellinas:
HELLO! AS A boy, I used to spend a lot of time on the bedroom floor filling drawing books with cartoons. I was inspired by American Marvel Comics and also films that I had seen.
And so it continues, although the bedroom floor has been swapped with a desk and drawing board. At school I used to draw people all the time. So, it’s hardly a surprise to my ex-classmates that I am still doing it. But it was never predictable that many of them would become doctors, lawyers and accountants.
I developed a ‘sensible’ freelance career as a graphic designer, designing and laying out magazines for companies such as Abbey National, Rolls-Royce and Marathon Oil. At the same time, I started contributing cartoon and caricature illustrations to many magazines and newspapers such as The Sunday Times, The Sunday Telegraph, News of the World and The Week. These and other commissions from advertising agencies and design companies came from many trips into London with my portfolio to see art editors.
I combined cartooning with humorous writing and magazine design with the production of Ha! Magazine in the mid-Nineties, a labour of love which ran for five issues.
Caricatures from Photos
The graphic design business faded away with the onward march of digital technology, so caricaturing and cartooning took prominence. New offerings such as caricatures from photos and caricatures live at parties and events helped to fill the income gap.
I created the concept and organised the production of Chattoon! The Chat Show with Cartoons. This ran for more than twenty episodes featuring various celebrities being drawn by cartoonists whilst being interviewed.
Nowadays, the caricature gift market is quite regular and I still get into magazines newspapers such as the Daily Mail, WProst and Business Matters. I’ve mixed it with my more serious painting and have had several exhibitions where several artworks have sold and I’ve had several special commissions. This one of Albert Einstein was for Fasta Pasta in London’s Muswell Hill.
When not drawing or thinking up brilliant new ideas, I spend time with the family, play the guitar (badly), walk the dogs or swim (quite well).
Please CONTACT ME if you would like to find out more about the cartoonist and caricaturist simon Ellinas.
