Saturday 7 August 2010

Michael and Mary Leunig

Michael Leunig is an Australian cartoonist/philosopher extraordinaire. I've been following his whimsical work for years:



I am also a big fan of his sister (?) Mary Leunig who is also an illustrator with four books published: One Happy Family, No Place Like Home, Black and White and Gray and A Piece of Cake. Mary's work is much darker than Michael's and perhaps as a result, less popular. At least that might explain why it was so difficult to source one of her images online. All I could come up with was this book cover:



Whilst Michael's work is gentle and poignant, Mary wields her pen like a knife at times. She translates the world of families, domesticity and relationships into images you can't help but react to.

They both give me a kick, albeit in very different ways.