(KTNC) - Nebraska Cartoonist Paul Fell spoke about his work, the state of political cartooning today, and the exhibit of his work now hanging in the Stalder Gallery in Falls City during a talk Friday evening.
 Fell is a Massachusetts native who came to Nebraska to attend Peru State College.
 He was a teacher and coach at Auburn High School, and taught in the Art Department at Peru State, which is where he began his career as an editorial cartoonist.   (play audio   :52    “different papers.”)
  He was the Art Director at the “Lincoln Journal” newspaper until 1992, and has been a freelance cartoonist since then.
He said it’s important for a freelance cartoonist to be diversified.  Fell does work for a wide range of publications including “Husker’s Illustrated” magazine, “Successful Farming” magazine, and the “Oklahoma Gazette.” He also does a weekly cartoon for the Nebraska Press Association that appears in newspapers across the state.
 The Stalder Gallery exhibit includes a sampling of editorial cartoons and cartoons from “Husker’s Illustrated.”  Fell said it’s not common to see a collection of cartoons hanging in an art gallery.  That’s because he says many people consider cartoons to be “low art.”  (Play audio   :46    “political corruption.”)
 Fell gave a less-than-rosy outlook on the state of editorial cartooning today – which he says has “both feet in the grave,” as many newspapers, facing financial difficulty, have eliminated full-time editorial cartoonists from their staffs.  (play audio   :55    “happens at home.”)
 The exhibit of Paul Fell’s cartoons will be at the Stalder Gallery until August 17th.  You can find more of his work online at www.paulfellcartoons.com.