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!

I hope 2011 will be a good one for all visitors to the Kal Sketchblog.

I am happy to announce I have an exciting year ahead with speaking engagements currently slated for Rome, London, Houston, New York and San Francisco.

I have some exciting animation projects in the works as well as plans for a new KAL book.  The Economist has already commissioned me to create a 2012 Kalendar which I will start in the weeks ahead.

Here’s a sneak peek at the May spread for the 2011 Economist Kalendar. I am delighted to say that sales have been brisk this holiday season. You can order yours from the newly revamped Kaltoons store!

I have the honor to announce I have been invited to address the TEDx Warwick conference on March 5, 2011.

For those of you unfamiliar with the TED speaker series,I recommend you check out the TED website. TED stands for Technology, Education and Design and since 1984 the TED speakers series has wowwed audiences around the world.  Each TED event assembles a eclectic group of up to 50 speakers to give “The talk of their lives” for 18 minutes.  You can view scores of these talks at the Ted site.

TEDx events are smaller in scale usually engaging 10-12 speakers. TedxWarwick is regarded as the first and largest of the TEDx events in England. I am very honored to have been asked to address the gathering.

Tickets will be available to the public. I will post more information here as it comes available.

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.

I am very excited to announce the new Kaltoons online store is up and operational. You can now purchase books, prints and the 2011 Economist Wall Kalendar! Great holiday gifts!

Click the link in the menu bar above or  go to http://shop.kaltoons.com.

Also check out the above sneak peek at a spread from the 2011 Kalendar.

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.

Here’s the June spread from the fully illustrated 2011 Economist Wall Kalendar. You can order them from The Economist or check out the New Kaltoons Store after November 26 to place your orders there!

Here’s this week’s cartoon for The Economist. Sort of works like an animated cartoon…

The magic of the Internet reveals itself once again…

I received a rather unusual email the other day…

A delightful couple in Ireland wrote to say they met me 30 years ago at the Towers Hotel in Glenbeigh, County Kerry.

They know this to be a fact because they have proof. I drew their caricatures on the menu of the hotel pub that evening. They were camping nearby and ventured to the pub where I was visiting on a tour of southwest Ireland. They recall us meeting and chatting one evening at the pub bar.

They verified the event by producing the caricatures I drew that night (by email). The drawings are now framed and  hanging on their wall in their home in Dublin.

What an amazing surprise!

I wrote back to the couple and thanked them. I told them when they met me I was a hopeful aspiring artist. Each caricature I drew in those early days (including theirs) taught me lessons that still reside with me today and help inform my work. In some way I can say their faces helped launch my career!

Perhaps the Internet will send more early caricature subjects my way… if you know of any…