Creator of the Comic Strip, Pickles
at the Charles M. Schulz Museum
Saturday, September 19

August 21, 2009—Santa Rosa, CA.

(Santa Rosa, CA) Brian Crane, award-winning creator of the popular comic strip, Pickles, will be at the Charles M. Schulz Museum on Saturday, September 19 to talk about his strip and to teach the first in a series of adult art and cartooning classes. From 10–11:30 a.m. Crane will instruct a small class of adults in the first of an exclusive series of Master cartooning classes. At 1 p.m. Crane will make a public presentation about his comic strip in the Museum’s Theatre and will be available to sign books immediately following (from 2–3pm).

The Adult Master Cartooning Class that Crane will be instructing is the first in a new series of classes designed by the Schulz Museum to explore different aspects of the creative process, including how cartoonists develop concept and story ideas.  Each class will provide an intimate environment in which budding artists and cartoonists can receive art instruction and advice from top cartoonists.  The following syndicated cartoonists will teach or contribute to one class throughout the fall: Brian Crane (Pickles) on September 19; Paige Braddock (Jane’s World) on September 26; Greg Evans (Luann) on October 24; and Stephan Pastis (Pearls Before Swine) together with Alexis E. Fajardo (Kid Beowulf) on November 7.  Fees and advance registration are required. Call (707) 579-4452 #263 for more information and to register.

About Brian Crane and His Comic Strip Pickles
Pickles, winner of National Cartoonists Society 2001 Best Comic of the Year, is a daily comic strip about an older couple and their family.  It features Earl and Opal Pickles, who have been married for over 50 years, and it explores the humorous side of family and friendship in ones later years.  Pickles is currently syndicated in over 500 newspapers around the world and is featured in four print collections: Pickles, Pickles, Too: The Older I Get, The Better I Was, Still Pickled After All These Years, and the newest collection, Let's Get Pickled!

Soon after Pickles’ debut in 1990, creator Brian Crane “retired” as an art director for an advertising agency in Reno, Nevada, to devote his full attention to his comic strip.  Crane was born in Twin Falls, Idaho, but grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area.  He graduated with a degree in art from Brigham Young University in 1973.  Crane lives near Reno with his wife, Diana.  He's the proud father of seven and grandfather of seven.

About the Charles M. Schulz Museum & Research Center
The Charles M. Schulz Museum opened in August 2002 to fulfill its mission of preserving, displaying, and interpreting the art of Charles M. Schulz. The Museum carries out this mission through changing exhibitions and programming that build an understanding of cartoonists and cartoon art; illustrate the scope of Schulz’s multi-faceted career; communicate the stories, inspirations and influences of Charles Schulz; and celebrates the life of Charles Schulz and the Peanuts characters.

[Note: If you would like any of the images in this release at a higher resolution to print in a publication, contact Gina Huntsinger at gina@schulzmuseum.org.]