but with such an accelerated pathto success, Kaiser reached a pointof ‘been there, done that” thatpushed him to review the joys andsuccesses in his life to find whatintrigues him most.

“I want to let the kid insideloose again,” says David.

He found himself searchingfor the kid who felt sheer delight inputting the dark lines on whitepaper, splashes of paint on a barecanvas, and the delicious feeling ofa lump of clay in his hand. Thesewere the objects of expression.

He decided he wanted to dofine art again, which in David Kaiser speed, resulted inan art exhibit “Images of the Old West” and in DavidKaiser caliber – a sell-out show. The line drawings ofcowboys and Indians were an exquisite expression andrepresentation of the cowboy life of his youth.

His biggest inspiration of late isn’t a person ofcelebrity, wealth, or seniority – it has been his seven-yearold daughter Mikaila – the perfect tour guide for some-one who wants to rediscover the child in himself.

It is not that difficult to get a glimpse of the kidin David if you look at his work which is stamped withhis personality - zany, complex, clever, imaginative, cre-ative, and witty.

Growing up in Minnesota, California and18 Peaks & Plains

OO NN TT HH EE CC AA NN VV AA SS Kay Bjork

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Cowboy Art - Cowboy Heart

So what has David beendoing in the last 25 years?

He built Kaiser Com-munications – an entertainmentadvertising dynasty with over1800 entertainment titles and over125 awards, seven pieces in thepermanent collection of theLibrary of Congress, and a clientlist that includes Disney, WarnerBros., Universal, Lions Gate,Blockbuster, Havas Interactive,and RHR International.

He directed the develop-ment of a new media division, anew home entertainment label,and a publishing arm.

He was invited into the Bohemian Club, a his-toric and prestigious group composed of some of themost talented, influential, and wealthy men in theworld.

He established the Uummphh Foundation toprovide funds and support for underprivileged childprodigies and a scholarship program for the Art CenterCollege of Design.

He has designed furniture and written chil-dren’s books.

He has photographed, drawn, painted, andsculpted.

It has been an exciting journey to say the least,

He has been entrepreneur, CEO, painter, illustrator, sculptor, animator, writer, model, actor, comedian,national award winner, and cowboy – and that was all by the time he was 25 years old.

David Kaiser

“BIG IRON”oil pencil26” x 35”

Phot

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Montana, he was the kidwho stuffed everythinghe could into every wakinghour. He built forts, racedsoap box derby cars, wrote,drew, painted, and sculptedworks that received nationalrecognition. At ten years old hewon a scholarship to the DisneySchool of Animation and at 11 hewas accepted to the BoscoTechnological Institute forAdvanced Learning.

Just as he was entering ado-lescence his world shifted dramatical-ly. He moved to northwest Montanawith his father to build a ranch. Workin the summer began with the sun at4:30 a.m. and ended with the 10 p.m. sun-set. He learned a tremendous work ethicand sense of survival while logging, buck-ing hay, herding cattle, and riding horses.During the school year he trudged on snow-shoes across a frigid snow scape to catch a busand worked as a bag boy and butcher at a localmarket. The people and place were etched into the mind ofthis young man as he learned to love the “cowboy way.”

David remembers those times with affection andwonder, “Every event in Montana grafted onto my life.”

They were memories that seeped so deeply intohis soul that even the move back to the frantic L.A. worldcould not blot out the cowboy in Kaiser.

When he first returned, “I walked around withmy pupils dilated.” Armed with a different kind ofstrength, the formerly shy boy thrived in high school. “Ihad the fictional reality” notes David, which included let-tering in three sports, dating the head cheerleader, drivinga Porsche, modeling, earning top grades and rank in hisgraduating class, selling his artwork, and at 17, becoming

20 Peaks & Plains 21 Peaks & Plains

ABOVE:Motion Picture Posters

BELOW:Rebranding of Looney Tunes Logo for Warner Bros

“Through hisphenomenal career

he has capturedthe moon. Now he

just wants todance in themoonlight.”

“BLACK JACK”pen and ink

26” x 35”

He also hopes that his life tells a story – a story of success thatproves that dreams do come true if you combine talent with hard work.“The message that you shouldn’t give up because eventually you willget there,” emphasizes Kaiser.

Even though financial success was packaged with the manydifferent achievements in his life, David doesn’t think that money is ulti-mately the measure of life’s success.

“It is in the journey. It is about self fulfillment and having validgoals.”

David Kaiser continues his journey in the entertainment world,the art world, and the world of a father. But he won’t always be drivinga race car. Some times this urban cowboy will get up with the goldensun – and take a horse.

For more information:WWW.KAISER COMM.COM

dkaiser@kaisercomm.com818-501-2388

22 Peaks & Plains 23 Peaks & Plains

“BEAR CLAW”pen and ink

26” x 30”

“LUCKY”pen and ink

26” x 35”

PP&&PP

“It is not that difficult to get a glimpse of thekid in David if you look at his work which isstamped with his personality - zany, complex,

clever, imaginative, creative, and witty.”

Childhood drawings.

the youngest person ever to be accepted into the Art CenterCollege of Design in Hollywood.

After graduating from Art Center with a doublemajor in Advertising/Design and Illustration, he beganfreelancing as a designer, illustrator, and copy writer forthe Charles Martin Agency in Hollywood. Here he workedon huge projects including the Ronald Reagan presidentialcampaign and the “Malling of America” advertising cam-paign which won an Obee Award for Best of Show. A yearlater, at the age of 23, he became the Senior Vice Presidentof the company.

Shortly afterwards he founded KaiserCommunications in his own backyard in Studio City withthe hefty client list of CBS Television, Disney, andUniversal Studios. His company grew to be one of the mostawarded agencies in the Entertainment Advertising indus-try.

Through his phenomenal career he has capturedthe moon. Now he just wants to dance in the moonlight.

This past year has been a sort of homecoming forDavid as life circles and returns to its source – to a time andplace where life had a simpler meaning, a simpler means.

When he leaves the technology, the amped upoffices, and what he calls “the migration toward non-

human” in a world of emails, text messages and faxes, hereturns home and takes the hand of his daughter to leadhim into a place where life is fresh again. In an enchantingway, their lives are parallel as he goes back to a hands-on,more innocent and purer form of art.

David said he has discovered what has been miss-ing – for years he has been the director, now he is actuallydoing the work.

He is finding joy in the magic of retreating into adrawing – pencil mark after pencil mark to create a face, acharacter, a glimpse into a simpler time that he rememberswitnessing in the people he met in Montana.

Kaiser also relishes his medium because; “draw-ing is a celebration of draftsmanship,” a skill that he feels isquickly being lost in the world of computers.

Some of the characters he draws are real and oth-ers from his imagination – a composite of bravery, entre-preneurship, freedom, and honesty, that he feels madethem the heroes of their time. He chooses faces that reflect“the road mostly traveled,” partly because they suit hismediums of pen and pencil and oil pencils, and partlybecause their lined, etched faces are like a map of their life.

His western art also satisfies his desire and gift totell stories. “I want to say something, to share something.”

Mikaila and David