Gatis Sluka

By LatAm ARTE

“I am the cartoonist Gatis Slug. Slip is not my nickname, as some think, but my real last name. Where do I come from? From Raua, in the beautiful village of Vidzeme where I also took a pencil in my hand for the first time. In first grade I realized that I want to be a cartoonist. For some time now I have been overwhelmed by “Dadzis” magazine. I was already trying to make the subjects of the drawing lessons a cartoon style with a big nose and eyes. I draw people with four fingers, for the moment, because four fingers were cartoon characters and good caricaturists. Walt Disney and Gunnar Berzins have been studying me for a while. So I'm generating pleasure for myself and others as someone suggested sending some cartoons to a newspaper and they published them too. It was published in the newspaper “Comunicaciones Vestis” in 1993. Subsequently, my works were published in the magazines “Zeme”, “Fokuss”, the morning newspaper “Independiente”, the magazines “Autobild Latvija”, “Golfs.lv”, “FHM” for more than 10 years once a week and sports news cartoons. Since 1998 I have worked at Latvijas Avize. While drawing cartoons, I studied at the Riga College of Applied Arts and obtained a master's degree in graphic arts at the Latvian Academy of Art, as well as completing animation courses at A Film Latvia. While studying at the Academy of Arts, I also participated in graphic arts exhibitions in Latvia and neighboring countries. In addition, from time to time, he participates in an exhibition in Latvia and abroad.”