Keith Van Douglas, 71, sits at the diner table and draws out one of his latest ideas. There are four sketchbooks spread across the table amongst an assortment of coffee mugs and opened sugar packets. Some may just see a man sketching, but to many, he’s an artistic legend called “Cartoon Man.”
Douglas puts his pencil down and turns his notepad around. A half-traced page shows a whimsically drawn popcorn bucket with red, white and blue stripes.
“I’m gonna call this one ‘Propaganda Popcorn’,” Douglas said with a sly smile and laugh.
Douglas is an artist and political cartoonist from New Orleans who has lived in Baton Rouge for 24 years. He’s done work for the Baton Rouge Business Report, The Times-Picayune and more. Douglas said he’s taught art for about 40 years, including classes at McKinley High School and summer programs at LSU.
Douglas said throughout his career he’s become used to backlash and negative messages because of his political content. He said one social media user once threatened to come to Louisiana and “kick his butt.”
“He was all the way in Nebraska or something,” Douglas said. “I replied to him; Man! Your tractor can go that far?”
Douglas calls himself “R.A.S.C.A.L,” an acronym for raw and satirical cartoonist at large. He’s become known for his witty and multi-layered images. One of his political cartoons depicts government officials in lingerie dancing around an enlarged man with money in his hands as he smokes a cigar. Douglas titled this “Legislative Lap Dance For The Rich”.
“I believe all artists can culturally change perspective,” Douglas said. “We’re supposed to do it.”
Douglas said he became passionate about political cartoons because of his father who was a social studies teacher and minister. He also illustrates children’s books and animated shorts. With his lengthy career, some people say he’s a man whose pencil never stops moving.
Beth Hanning, an associate of Gallery Rinard in New Orleans, said the store has been selling work by Douglas for over 10 years.
“He’s just so talented and generous with his art,” Hanning said. “It’s like that man does not stop drawing. He’s always creating something.”
Hanning said Douglas’ art sells relatively fast because he makes a lot of smaller pieces that are good for grab-and-go. One particular series of pieces that Hanning referenced was “Booze Birds.” These paintings depict vibrant colored cartoon birds holding different alcoholic drinks.
Intoxicated birds aren’t the only characters he has in store. Douglas said the animals and people he creates come with backstories and these stories are often rooted in New Orleans or Black culture, he said.
“Calliope Cat” is a feline from New Orleans who knows how to second-line with the best of them, Douglas said. He flips through another sketchbook. There are dozens of sketches with animals in fine suits holding instruments.
Douglas said he loves the use of alliteration in his work. Whether it’s a character like “Ricochet the Rattlesnake” or “Alligator Anny,” Douglas never fails to put together catchy names. He said these names push viewers to remember the work more because of the ways we naturally pick up the rhythm of alliterations.
Douglas currently teaches art at Central High School in Baton Rouge. He said his passions for spreading artistry to the youth drive him. It was a former student of his who gave him the name “Cartoon Man.”
Douglas said he once taught a cartoon summer camp hosted by LSU. He said one kid in particular would see him and say, “There’s that cartoon man!”
“Before then, I was ‘Marshall Quickdraw.’ I would come dressed up in a cowboy outfit and stuff, ya know,” Douglas said.
Douglas still has students who remember him and his work years after teaching them. Elizabeth Walker, owner of Elizabethan Gallery in Baton Rouge, said she’s been showcasing art from Douglas for about 10 years.
Walker said the gallery gets many customers who remember being taught by Douglas in either middle school or high school. She said, in some cases, this leads some of his former students to buy a piece right there.
Walker was drawn to Douglas’ art because it offered the gallery more variety with its musical and southern themes, she said.
“Sometimes in this art world, artists can get a little above themselves or finicky,” Walker said. “But Keith has never been like that, even though he sells so well.”
Douglas’ wife, Terri Douglas, said she’s seen his passion for art throughout their years together. It’s actually one of the things that attracted her to Douglas when they first started dating.
“He would take me with him when he would do caricatures at festivals and events,” Terri Douglas said. “I would just see him drawing and think, this man is drawing too fast!”
Douglas said he wants to work on more of his own independent projects in the future. He said he wants to make sure to have something that can grow in the long term. Douglas flips through his sketchbooks to find another character.
“This one is ‘Brother With a Brain,’” Douglas said.
The picture depicts a man with a large brain in the shape of an afro. Douglas said he plans to use this character for a city-wide mural project. Each neighborhood would have a different mural of Brother With a Brain and each one will have some sort of social commentary written on it, he said.
Douglas said it’s always his goal to push the boundaries. He said that’s where the fun in all of it is. He traces out a few more lines, closes his sketchbook and smiles.