Pat Oliphant

“I'm not a journalist; I'm a cartoonist. I'm a satirist.”

“Good caricature is not about exaggeration. It's about revealing the person's character.”

“You have to be willing to offend people. If you're not offending someone, you're not doing your job.”

“You must have a point of view. You can’t be a fence-sitter. That’s the death of a cartoonist.”

“I think a cartoonist is a bit of an anarchist. They have to be against the grain.”

“Political cartoons are not just about making people laugh. They're about making people think.”

“I was born with a pencil in my hand.”

“The job of the editorial cartoonist is to be the catalyst, to be the court jester. He has to be the one to say 'The emperor has no clothes'.”

“Humor is a great weapon, a great shield, a great way of communicating.”

“I get my ideas from the news, but I'm also a great eavesdropper. I'm always listening to what people are saying.”

“My penguin, Punk, is the Greek chorus. He comments on the action.”

“I don't think you can be a good cartoonist unless you're a good draftsman.”

“The way things are, you can't be a pessimist. You've got to be an optimist.”

“There’s a responsibility to be yourself. If you’re not being yourself, you’re not being honest. And I think that’s the main thing, to be honest with yourself and the public.”