HIS cartoons will be instantly recognisable to readers of The Northern Echo but the man behind the pen has always kept a low profile.

Since 1990 John Longstaff, better known to many as Cluff, has been drawing daily cartoons for the Echo but his work as a satirical cartoonist spans more than 40 years.

A new retrospective exhibition of his work, held for the first time to mark his 65th birthday earlier this year, will open to the public at the gallery within Darlington’s Crown Street Library on Saturday (September 20).

Although best known for his work as a cartoonist – which has featured regularly in Private Eye, Spectator and The Oldie for many years – the exhibition will also include a large number of Mr Longstaff’s paintings, his other artistic passion.

Darlington-born Mr Longstaff sold his first cartoon to Private Eye at the age of 32 which gave him the courage to turn a hobby into a career.

“I always knew I was going to do something in art from an early age but I wasn’t quite sure what,” he said.

“I sold my first cartoon at 32 but even then I thought ‘I’m just doing this until I decide what I’m doing with my life’ – all of a sudden I’m 65 and still doing it.

“I thought I had made it when I sold that first cartoon but of course I hadn’t.”

The name Cluff, used on almost every cartoon since that first success, was taken “on a whim” from a 1960s television series Cluff, about a police officer in the Yorkshire Dales.

As his career took off Mr Longstaff gave up his job in the planning department at Middlesbrough Council to become a freelance cartoonist.

His work has covered the spectrum of popular media, featuring in publications from Punch to adult comic Brain Damage.

Although the market for cartoonists has declined, Mr Longstaff still finds himself in demand, not least at The Northern Echo where he continues to provide a daily cartoon giving his wry view on the news of the day.

“I call up at about 5.15pm and find out what is featuring in the newspaper the next day,” he said.

“Some days it’s obvious what the main stories will be so I’ll have already come up with something but other times I’ll call up and be told a list of ten things and still have to wrack my brains for something to work on.”

Asked if his work had influenced the way he looks at the news, he said: “It must do, at least subconsciously. The problem is that so much of the news is horrific these days and you can’t write a cartoon about that.

“The other problem is that people feel so disconnected from politics and Westminster at the moment, it’s not just Scotland that feel that way.”

The exhibition of John Longstaff’s work will be on display until November 13.

The official opening of the exhibition will be held on Monday (September 22) at 6pm.