By Meghan Streit
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

Even when he was a young child mischievously coloring on the walls with crayons, Ed Margolis was perfecting his budding talent.

“I’m an artist, I’ve been an artist all my life,” Margolis says.

He primarily creates pen and ink drawings and acrylic paintings, but enjoys depicting a range of subjects—from precisely detailed streetscapes to boats and airplanes. Margolis never received any formal training,  and credits his success as an artist to “natural talent.”

“God put me on this earth to be an artist, to make people laugh, and to help people,” he says.

Artist and entrepreneur
Margolis operated Edmar Studios in Skokie for almost 50 years. He sold his art at shows, but instead of parting with his original artwork, Margolis would make high-quality copies. To make each drawing or painting one-of-a-kind, he would change the color scheme or add a unique detail to personalize each piece.

“When you buy a picture of mine, you’re not getting the same thing that anyone else has,” he says.

To carve a career out of his craft, Margolis also worked for numerous companies creating art for catalogs, matchbooks, billboards, and other corporate media.

“It was commercial, and I had to do it the way the company asked for it,” he says. “I’m a one-man shop.”

‘Wallpaper’ that is truly one-of-a-kind
Since he moved to Sedgebrook, Margolis continues to add to his collection of artwork and still periodically sells pieces at shows. He has turned his second bedroom into a studio and he sometimes works in the community’s creative arts studio, where other residents stop by to admire his  work or ask for advice on their own art.

His latest undertaking is decorating his new Sedgebrook home with his hundreds of original drawings.

“I don’t want to have any wallpaper,” he says. “I’m going to fill the walls completely with pictures.”