Today we’d like to introduce you to Ellen Lustig.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Currently, I have 3 businesses. I am a caricaturist, a mural painter, and a puppet maker. I started my caricature business at the age of 16 after years of drawing my grade school teachers. I primarily drew at events and private parties. While in College, I drew tourists in Ghiradelli Square in San Francisco. After college, I was a ceramic sculptor for 9 years creating giant food sculptures and selling them in top galleries around the country. I grew tired of creating similar objects and then decided to start a mural company. Because I already had a client base, I immediately became successful with my murals.
About 10 years ago, I proposed to create hand puppets for a Synagogue School in Glencoe, IL. These caricature puppets of celebrities became a culmination of my sculpture, painting, caricature, and sewing. I created a website www.makemeapuppet.com and proceeded to take commissions on custom made puppets.
During all this time of recreating myself, I continued my caricature business. I now draw both traditional and digital caricatures. The digital caricatures are popular at trade shows, corporate events, and weddings, so I travel throughout the country drawing these. I also draw gift caricatures in my studio.
In my free time, I work on my own paintings and have created several different series of them over the years. I also perform blues keyboard at a few jam seasons including Kingston Mines in Chicago and Wooden Nickel
in Highwood.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I have been very fortunate to have made a living creating artwork my entire life. I’m constantly working and reinventing myself but I love what I do, so I don’t mind being so busy. My first real job out of college was for a whiskey bottling company. I made ceramic prototypes for collectable whiskey decanters. The company also branched out into making decals for their products and I set up the artwork for the decals.
I not only worked 9-5, but overtime as well to make deadlines. My employer would not pay me overtime because he told me I wasn’t working fast enough. At that time, I decided that if I had the capability to work that hard and developed a discipline to do so, I would be much better off working for myself creating things that I loved. I quit the job and have been working for myself ever since.
The biggest problem that I came across working for myself was dealing with clients who didn’t want to pay me. I have since learned to write contracts and get deposits which has alleviated the problem. I take a lot of pride in my work and most clients are happy with the results of my commissions.
Please tell us about Ellen Lustig Artist.
Most of my work deals with working with clients. I have a good read on most people and have developed a good client base. I get new clients on a daily basis and feel that I can insure them a high level of professionalism. Since most of my work is site specific and personal, I offer to brainstorm with my clients to make sure we are in the same page if what they need.
I’ve never felt competitive with other artists doing what I do, instead I am supportive and try to bring others the work that I am unable to do. I think my clients feel my enthusiasm about my work which is very contagious.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
From the time I can remember, I was happy to color for hours. I remember in Kindergarten, being assigned to paint a clown. Our teacher took all or drawings and taped them above the blackboard for us to see.
I looked at each drawing thinking scribble scrabble, scribble scrabble, scribble scrabble….and then I noticed my painting resembled an actual clown!
It was an “ahah” moment where I realized I had a talent that others didn’t have.
Pricing:
- Tea Dion all caricatures-$150 per hr
- Digital caricatures-$250 per hr
- Custom hand puppets-$500-$2500
- Murals-$800-
Contact Info:
- Address: Ellen Lustig
817 W. Washington Blvd. #404
Chicago,Il 60607 - Website: www.artips.com www.digitalcaricatureartist.com www.makemeapuppet.com www.twistedtoypaintings.com www.chicagomuralpainting.com
- Phone: 312-491-1494
- Email: ellenlustig@gmail.com
- Instagram: ellensartips
- Facebook: Digital Caricature Entertainment by Ellen
- Twitter: @lnarts
- Yelp: Ellen L ellen@artips.com
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