ABOUT ME

🎨 ¿Necesitas un ilustrador profesional o dibujo en vivo para tu proyecto o evento?
🎨 Looking for an illustration artist or live drawing for your creative project?

LEONARDO RODRIGUEZ · ILLUSTRATION ARTIST

I’m Leonardo Rodríguez, an illustration artist and cartoonist born in Venezuela and based in Barcelona. For over 30 years, I’ve been drawing with ink, watercolor, and curiosity. My work blends traditional techniques with contemporary themes, and has appeared in publications like MAD Magazine, Esquire Spain, and Simon & Schuster. I’ve illustrated books, created characters for animation, and performed live drawing at international festivals across Europe and the Americas.

• Whether it’s a caricature drawn in seconds or a layered watercolor tribute, I believe illustration is a way to connect — with humor, with memory, with the world.

A curated selection of works representing my career in illustration: from editorial collaborations
 with MAD Magazine and Azione to personal projects and international publications. The block includes caricature, children’s book covers, graphic portraits, and symbolic pieces
 about memory, music, and peace.

Professional Experience

• Contributor for Azione (Switzerland), since 2024

• Illustrator for MAD Magazine (NY), 2004–2019

• 2D Artist for Pocoyo’s Christmas Carol, Zinkia (Spain)

• Freelance Art Director at Dancing Diablo Studio (NY): Macy’s Parade, Bronx Zoo, Ralph Lauren

• Editorial illustrator for Esquire Spain, La Marea, El Nacional, Loft Magazine (US)

• Book illustrator: Home-Field Advantage by Justin Tuck (Simon & Schuster, 2011)

Exhibitions & Festivals

Posters and excerpts of artwork shown at caricature and graphic humor festivals between 2024

 and 2025: Marciac, Saint-Jean-de-Sixt, and Osmose. An itinerant glimpse into 

live drawing, visual satire, and shared artistic encounters.

   

Exhibitions — Solo and Collective
France, Belgium, USA, Japan, Peru, Venezuela, Spain
Awards & Jury Roles

• Audience and Jury Prize, Festival Osmose de la Caricature 2026, Saint‑Jean‑de‑Sixt, France.

• Member of the International Jury, World Press Cartoon 2021, with Christine Trax (France), Yugoslav Vlahovic (Serbia), João Alpuim Botelho and President António Antunes (Portugal). Caldas da Rainha, Portugal.

• National Cartoon Award “Pedro León Zapata”, Caracas, Venezuela (2001).

• Best Caricaturist, Juan Rulfo Award, La Maison de l’Amérique Latine, Paris, France (2002).

• Honorific Award, First Comic Exhibition, Alliance Française, Caracas, Venezuela (1996).

Selected Exhibitions (Solo & Collective)

2026

• NIGAOE EXPO 2026, Tokyo Solamachi®, Tokyo Skytree, Japan.

• Festival Osmose de la Caricature, Saint‑Jean‑de‑Sixt, France.

2025

• ROCK&LEO, Solo Exhibition. February 22 – March 21, 2025. Salle Charlemagne, Saint‑Jean‑de‑Sixt, France.

• International Cartoon Contest “Málaga Grenet”, Centro Peruano Norteamericano, Arequipa, Peru (2025, 2024, 2023).

• President of the Festival CLAP MARCIAC - Salón de la Caricature et du Dessin de Presse, 2025.

2024

• Bebel – Tribute to Belmondo, December 6–22, 2024. Galerie Aarnor, Jemeppe‑sur‑Sambre, Belgium.

• CíTRIC – Humor Gràfic i Caricatura, Barcelona, June 6 – July 6, 2024.

• Art, Humour et Rock N'Roll, February 9 – March 3, 2024. Galerie Aarnor, Belgium.

2022

• SEE YOU IN FLORIDA – A Vene‑Rican Odyssey, The Clemente Center, New York, USA.

• DOCTOR 1919 NFT, Benefit NFT Collection organized by Cisneros Media. Black Dove Art Gallery, Miami, USA.

• The Caricature Horror Exhibition Show, Festival CURTAS, Vilagarcía de Arousa, Spain.

• OSMOSE de la Caricature, Saint‑Jean‑de‑Sixt, France (since 2022).

• CLAP MARCIAC – Salon de Caricature et Dessin de Presse (since 2022).

2020

• Bell Brochette, Salon International de la Caricature, du Dessin de Presse et d’Humour, Saint‑Just‑Le‑Martel, France.

2019–Present

• Collective Exhibition, Salon International de la Caricature, du Dessin de Presse et d’Humour, Saint‑Just‑Le‑Martel, France.

2017–2018

• Rencontres Bozoulaises de la Caricature et du Dessin d’Humour, Espace Denys Puech, Bozouls, France.

2016

• Illustrissims (Solo Exhibition), Claraboia Espai d’Art, Rubí, Spain.

• Ilustrando La Última Frontera, Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival, Spain.

2013–2023

• Salón Internacional del Cómic de Barcelona, Spain.

2012

• Château d’Excideuil, Périgord Vert, Dordogne, France. June 3–14, 2012.

2011

• The Original Art 2011, Museum of American Illustration, Society of Illustrators, New York.

  (Cover illustration for Home‑Field Advantage, Justin Tuck.)

• Kerpoof! An Exhibition of Illustrators and Animators, St. John’s University, Queens, New York.

Teaching

• Independent art teacher (online and in-person) since 2008

• Former instructor at Prodiseño School of Visual Arts (Caracas)

• Drawing teacher at Caracas Institute of Design

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