I recently discovered this old photo which conjured a fun memory.

Flash back to July 1986, The Economist commissioned me to do a cover for the magazine featuring the new and, by Soviet standards, modern new leader of the USSR Michael Gorbachev.

At the time a new television show was also the rage: Miami Vice.

I opted to create Gorby in the likeness of the hip star of the show Sonny Crockett.  But in 1986 there was no Internet and photos of Miami Vice were not readily available in Brighton, England where I lived.

So to create a good reference photo for the cover my wife and I went shopping. I picked up the outfit in the picture and posed while my wife took a Polaroid (remember those?) snapshot.

You can see the final results below of the cover I created for that week’s edition of The Economist.

No, I didn’t also buy the car.

If you are in the Bay area on April 28th Please come on by this event. The event is open to the public but be sure to rsvp as per the invitation above. I look forward to see you there!

This is my cartoons I contributed to The Economist this week. You can tell I had some fun with the football cartoon!

Last March I had the opportunity to visit Beirut. There I was able to see up close the impressive redevelopment of Lebanon since the war that devastated the country in the 1980’s. I was also keenly aware of the tensions that currently lie just beneath the surface of this beautiful yet potentially explosive land.

My visit helped inform this cartoon that I drew for this week’s edition of The Economist. There is no question that visiting the Middle East has made me feel more connected to the stories playing out in the region.

I had a rather busy Wednesday last week. On that day I created two covers for The Economist.

Both are on the newsstand now. One is about guns and politics in America appearing as the cover for the US edition of the magazine, the second is on the Euro Crisis appearing on the front of the magazine in the rest of the world.

Having one artist create 2 covers in the same week may be a first for The Economist,. Just to complicate the matter, I was in Rome at the time attending an Economist related event for the international sales staff of the magazine. Members of The Economist team graciously found me a room at the hotel with some natural light for me to work (see below). You can see the finished products above.

With the start of the new Congress in Washington DC I was inspired to make this cartoon. I guess I have been around long enough to remember all of these “changes” in Washington.

While in San Francisco at the opening of my recent exhibition “Drawn From The Economist” I had the honor of being interviewed by the Art’s correspondent for the PBS Newshour. The video was posted today at the NewsHour’s Website.  The exhibition is on display at The Cartoon Art Museum until March. I hope to get back to the Bay area again soon have an event or two at the Museum before the show departs!

Here’s a sneak peak at the April spread of the 2011 Economist Wall calendar. You can place orders now securely in the new Kaltoons store.

I recently attended the fabulous “World in 2011 Festival” sponsored by The Economist in New York City. I was sketching the speakers and was asked to give the final address to the attendees. You can see my chat in the video above. Below are some close ups of the sketches I discuss in the video.

The Economist is hosting an extraordinary event this coming week in New York City. “The World in 2011 Festival” is a 3 day program of talks, discussions and entertainment focusing on the possibilities and potential of 2011. Speakers range from President Bill Clinton, Admiral Gary Roughead, Chief of US Naval Operations, to Master chef Jose Andres, and Grammy award winning artist Loudon Wainwright III.

I will be at the event drawing, capturing the 3 days activities in lightning sketches. At the end of the program I will give my cartoon predictions for the year ahead as well as a “Cartoon history” of the proceedings… helping the the event to “draw to a close”.

You can find out more information about the festival here.