Interview with caricaturist Denis Lopatin

Denis Lopatin is a caricaturist. He draws very humorous caricatures. Let’s talk with Denis.

Arifur Rahman: Denis, tell us about yourself. 🙂

Denis Lopatin: Hi, I’m Denis Lopatin, 41 old, born in Minsk, Belarus. All my life I earned caricatures. After 2002 escaping the authoritarian regime of Lukashenko, went to the Far East of Russia, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, near Alaska. In 2018 was forced to leave the country due to criminal prosecution for a caricature of a State Duma deputy. I am currently a political refugee in France.

Arifur Rahman: Oh! Sorry about that! 🙁 I experienced almost the same. Anyway, how long have you been working as a caricaturist?

Denis Lopatin: Works published from 1994 to the present.

Arifur Rahman: Do you currently work for any publication?

Denis Lopatin: Always happy to do the work for publication. After leaving Russia I do not have a permanent contract and make it for individual commissions.

Arifur Rahman: How do you plan your day as a cartoonist? Do you plan your day?

Denis Lopatin: Without a specific schedule, I work days until the moment of exhaustion. Sometimes it’s for one hour, sometimes 20. The result is important, no matter how!

Arifur Rahman: What tools do you use as an artist?

Denis Lopatin: Depending on the time available, these may be oil paints, acrylics, ink or Photoshop. Street caricatures made with a pencil because in the cold brushes freeze to the pants.

Arifur Rahman: What work do you most enjoy doing? What are your hobbies?

Denis Lopatin: The most pleasant thing in this business is to complete the work. The process of finishing. You can end it endlessly until it gets worse. And a little worse again.

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Arifur Rahman: Name three artists/cartoonists you are inspired by? How have they inspired you?

Denis Lopatin: Sebastian Kruger, Thomas Fluharty, Paul Moyse, and many other genial artists, who are on the top of skills. Their great work shows that it is useless to try to become the same great, you can only relax and be yourself.

Arifur Rahman: Why did you decide to be a caricaturist?

Denis Lopatin: When at the age of 15 I received a fee for a first published caricature, I incorrectly extrapolated future income and mistakenly decided that it would be a profitable business.

Arifur Rahman: Is there any piece of advice you could share with young cartoonists?

Denis Lopatin: If you can force yourself not to draw at least a week, then this is not yours. Yes, you are not an artist, otherwise, everyone would know that. Listen to your parents and go to dental school.

Arifur Rahman: What is your aim in life?  Where you want to see yourself after ten years?

Denis Lopatin: I hope to live a long long time and see what discoveries in science will appear. And how politicians will die.

Arifur Rahman: How do ToonsMag and other organizations help Cartoonists most, do you think?

Denis Lopatin: When I faced criminal prosecution for satire, I was helped by the organization Cartooning for Peace and some others. With their support, I successfully escaped to France with my family. Practical assistance to colleagues in distress is something for which I am grateful and would like to participate.

Arifur Rahman: What’s your favorite cartoon right now and where can people buy it?

Denis Lopatin: The best is yet to come, but there is almost a good my cartoon of Charles Darwin who is ashamed of the result of human evolution. If you are too, then this picture is for you.

Arifur Rahman: It was really nice to meet you. I wish you will live a long and healthy life and will able to fulfill your dreams. Keep drawing!

Read also: Interview with cartoonist Mary Zins