Cow, Version 7.0

I'm ridiculously excited today to announce the 2009 Kansas City Irish Fest cow artist for 2010.

But first a little background on our illustrators and their work for Irish Fest. The very first KC Irish Fest back in 2003 didn't have a cow, which was a good thing as it turns out because the poor girl would have drowned in all the rain that nearly washed us away that year. In 2004 we moved to Crown Center and featured a cow on our posters and ads for the first time. That image was a piece of manipulated vintage clip art that I did. It was used in conjunction with the first appearance of our "Celtic Pride in Cowtown" tag line. There was never any intention then of making the cow our mascot and having it reinterpreted annually. But the cow that first year got a huge response and a tradition was born.

Having worked as a full time illustrator myself for more than 20 years, I have worked with and become friends with some of the best illustrators anywhere and many of them have graced the Irish Fest promotional materials over the years. Tom Patrick and his beautifully painted cattle auction scene in 2005. Mike Esberg in 2006 with his whimsical smiling cow and the first appearance of a little bird friend. Maria O'Keefe, who taught the cow to stand up and step dance in 2007 and made one bird into three. In 2008 I forgot to ask anybody...oops...so I painted the fiddling cow myself. Back to the A team with Maja Andersen this year, who gave her cow a lovely Irish dancer to carry around. You can see most of them here. And every single one of these amazing artists did this artwork for nothing. Not one thin dime. Now we make sure they don't pay to get in to Irish Fest and they certainly don't get thirsty if we can help it. But that's about it.

So now on to 2010 and today's announcement. Joining our roster of cowboys and cowgirls is one of America's best cartoonists, the award winning Oliver Christianson. You may have seen his distinctive signature "Revilo"- Oliver backwards- on his work. His inimitable style has been published worldwide. Here's what you should do. Go pick a spot on your wall now for next year's poster because you're going to want to frame it.

Huge thanks to Oliver for agreeing to work for beer, or in his case "Irish martinis" which I could use a recipe for if anybody's got one. We'll be unveiling the new cow here right after the first of the year. In the meantime, here are a couple Revilos.