DATE: Wednesday, February 26, 1997          TAG: 9702260048

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY NIA NGINA MEEKS, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  104 lines

QUICK DRAWWITH SOME FAST STROKES OF THE PEN, WAYNE STAYSKAL TURNS OUT POLITICAL CARTOONS WITH A CONSERVATIVE SLANT

QUICKER THAN President Bill Clinton can scarf a Big Mac, Wayne Stayskal can draw said Eater-in-Chief.

With a few strokes here and conviction there, Stayskal delivers editorial cartoons to readers throughout the country - including Pilot peepers - via his home base, the Tampa Tribune.

``I can't think without my pencil in my hand,'' he said, laughing. ``It's like my thing.''

His cartooning career spans some 30 years. Last week, Stayskal shared perspectives and a bit of his own history at a journalism conference at Regent University in Virginia Beach.

His lanky frame melted in a chair Friday morning as he chatted in the library a few hours before his presentation. The graying, clean-cut 65-year-old hardly fits the artist stereotype. No long hair. No grubby clothes. No spaced-out eyes.

Nor do his politics fit the assumptions of many op-ed readers. Shannon Parham of the 300-member Association of American Editorial Cartoonists lists Stayskal among the few whose views lean more to the right of center.

Stayskal neither ducks nor revels in his conservative label. Seldom does he break things down to that level because he finds ``liberal'' and ``conservative'' hard terms to define.

``That's who I am, that's the perspective I draw from,'' Stayskal said. ``I think government should get out of the way a lot of times and it doesn't. On moral issues, it's more clear cut. I'm against abortion. The liberal mind says it's OK.''

He's not bashful about his faith, either. Jesus Christ is his rock, and he shares that fact with the world. Early Friday, Stayskal appeared on a segment of the ``700 Club,'' chatting about his life and work.

He grew up in Chicago. Once, when he was a kid, his parents shooed him to the corner with a book of editorial cartoons, in hopes of keeping him quiet. Years later, that exposure would serve him.

Stayskal spent four years in the Air Force, then attended the Chicago Academy of Fine Art for two years. He did a stint as a commercial artist then landed at the Chicago American. There, he began his newspaper career, first as a staff artist, then as art director for the Sunday magazine.

It was his second job there that put him on his career path. For 10 years, Stayskal worked for editorial cartoonist Vaughn Shoemaker as an assistant and apprentice.

Stayskal later lifted his pen as the editorial cartoonist for Chicago Today. Next, he moved to the Chicago Tribune. He moved to the Tampa Tribune in 1984.

He also authored four books, one of the most recent being 1993's ``. . has the books on hand, they can be ordered.

Stayskal said life is a bit easier for him because he works for an editor and newspaper that share his views.

Still, conservative cartoonists aren't quite as rare as dreadlocked Congressmen, according to Lucy Caswell. She curates the Cartoon Research Library at Ohio State University.

``There is a myth about liberal media bias that is prevalent and inaccurate,'' Caswell said. ``There are a number of conservative cartoonists. It seems to me that political cartoonists represent the perspectives of American newspapers.''

It is a diversity Stayskal enjoys reading.

``There are a lot of guys where we don't agree with each other politically, but we're great friends.

``Clay Bennett (of the St. Petersburg Times) and I are at opposite ends of the pole. He probably says things better than anybody. His cartoons are so to the point. I'll say to him, `You made a mistake, but you got your point across beautifully.' ''

It is also a diversity Stayskal appreciates from an aesthetic view.

``I like most cartoonists,'' he said. ``Generally speaking, I enjoy about any style because I think it's dull to draw from any one style.''

His own style has been an evolution, influenced by the early images in that political cartoon book to the subtlety of British satirists. Stayskal's signature is his long, lean lines of minimalism.

``I don't think there is any question that he found his own voice artistically,'' Ohio State's Caswell said. ``That is a sign of real maturity as a cartoonist. It is a way of expressing their ideas that they are comfortable with and suits what they have to say. That is the most important component of what they convey in the cartoon.''

For Stayskal, that means staying loose to keep his pen and mind moving in even strokes.

Sometimes he has to work at chilling. Sometimes too much material sits waiting to be plucked. One such ripe orchard is campaign season. The mass of opportunity chokes his creative flow.

``At times I get a little uptight, and I get a little sharp,'' Stayskal said. ``My editor will tell me sometimes, `You've got the ax out. Get back to rapping them on the head lightly.' Sometimes you just don't notice it on your own.''

His latest project helps sponge some of his extra creative juices. It's a new nationally syndicated cartoon he launched last year. It doesn't deal with elephants or donkeys, just people. It's just ``Ralph'' - the Joe Schmo protagonist who tells it as he sees it.

``There is nothing political about `Ralph,' '' Stayskal said, his blue eyes sparkling. ``Ralph is just a guy. Zero politics.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]

CHARLIE MEADS

The Virginian-Pilot

[Wayne Stayskal...]

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