Gene 'Kulie' Kulievan was born into an old ranching
family in 1941 in the beautiful Napa Valley. In school he pursued agriculturally
oriented subjects, but his book covers were always filled with doodles and cartoons.
Gene 'Kulie' Kulievan was born into an old ranching
family in 1941 in the beautiful Napa Valley. In school he pursued agriculturally
oriented subjects, but his book covers were always filled with doodles and cartoons.
He attended Cal Poly at San Luis Obispo, graduating in 1964 with a major in Farm Management, and a minor in Animal Husbandry. While there he was often drafted to create cowboy cartoon characters for posters for the 'Okie Stomps'.
It was in the mid 60's, when his talent was first noticed by magazine publisher Champ Gross, who purchased cartoons for California Arizona Livestock Feeder News.
Western Life Magazine then began buying his cartoons, and he has been successfully selling his works to major horse and cattle publications nationwide ever since.
In 1982, an old college roommate convinced him to broaden his horizons with limited edition prints, T shirts, coffee mugs, sweatshirts and ball caps bearing many of his popular cartoons. These items are sold nationwide in saddle shops and western wear stores under the Kulie Originals label.
In 1983, Gene added yet another facet to his art, drawing cartoon Logos for companies, and satirical cartoons to accompany magazine articles and newspaper editorials. Recently,Gene was been picked up by Feature This Syndicate, his unique humor can now be seen in magazines and newspapers nationally.
A lot of Gene's inspiration comes from judging and showing horses and everyday
ranch life.
Over the years he has shown cow horses, cutters, halter and pleasure
horses, as well as purebred cattle. Gene and his wife Barbara own and
operate a 700 acre ranch in South Central Missouri where they continue to
raise Registered Angus cattle, Ouarter Horses, and Australian Shepherd
dogs.
Editorial Note: 'Don't ever let Gene see you doing anything odd, strange, or just plain dumb. You will become fodder for his delightful sense of humor, and a character in one of his cartoons'.
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