What a catch: Kansas City fandom creates custom appeal for taco-loving cartoonist vibe

Drawing from Kansas City’s spotlight moments — whether trendy and new or iconic and timeless — W. Dave Keith balances a quirky aesthetic with a practical focus on what will actually sell.

W. Dave Keith displays a Super Bowl-inspired Chiefs painting; courtesy photo

“I’ve slowly learned that if I want to make money off this business, I need to make stuff that people want to buy,” acknowledged the Overland Park native and multifaceted artist. “Then I still sometimes have free time to do the weird stuff that I used to do, which I love.”

It’s a colorful mix of nostalgia and now that searches (and finds) hometown inspirations. Among Keith’s best-sellers: works showcasing Kansas City sports victories and legends. A new focus illustrates an interest in local landmarks and community pride — showcased through detailed maps with a familiar flair.

“Some people say my style is very ‘Where’s Waldo?’” said Keith. “I try not to hide too much in my paintings, but sometimes I add little things like ‘Find the (Patrick) Mahomes’ and ‘Find the Super Bowl trophy’ and stuff like that.”

Click here to follow W. David Keith on Instagram.

When word broke that Chief’s star tight end Travis Kelce and popstar Taylor Swift cuffed up, friends immediately reached out to Keith — encouraging the Kansas City artist to illustrate the high-profile duo’s emerging love story through his signature “cartoony” style.

Little did they know, Keith was already in the Swelce business. 

“I did my first Travis and Taylor painting the first week they were dating and I sold a lot of them,” he said, noting such tie-ins to enthusiastic fandoms have helped make his creative venture more viable. “This is a side hustle. But in the past couple years, it’s really picked up. I’m hoping to turn it into a full time thing.”

His prints can be found at local stores like Made In KC, Shop Local KC, The General Store + Co. and We Got Your Back Apparel in downtown Overland Park, Print & Ship KC and Monarch Books and Gifts in south Overland Park, and Local Foundery in Lee’s Summit, plus online and on First Fridays at The Bauer.

A new collection of city prints — featuring pieces based on Kansas City, Lee’s Summit, and Overland Park — is gaining its own following. Maps illustrating Lawrence and Manhattan also are in the works.

‘People love the Lezak’

Keith — also a filmmaker and host of Taco the Town podcast — began his creative journey as an illustrator, drawing comic strips and political cartoons for the newspaper at the University of Kansas. 

“I’ve been an artist pretty much my whole life,” he explained. “I grew up as a newspaper junkie and I’ve always wanted to work for a newspaper, doing cartoons. That was just like a dream for me.”

After college, Keith began turning his illustrations into paintings. At first, he experimented with “odd” paintings that begged a question — What’s the story behind this? — inspired by “The Mysteries of Harris Burdick” book he read as a kid.

“It just leaves it up to the kids to write the story in their head of what’s happening in the painting,” Keith explained. “They’re all very mysterious paintings. That’s what my first ones were like. I had one with a bear who was hiding a book in a trench coat as he was walking out of an exploding hotel.”

His style took a turn when he began receiving requests for custom family portraits, he noted. When a friend invited him to show his work at his gallery in The Bauer around 2018, he was inspired to pivot again: to more KC-centric paintings.

W. Dave Keith with his KC Legends portraits at The Bauer; courtesy photo

Some of his most popular paintings are within his KC Legends series — featuring everyone from Royals Hall of Famer George Brett and jazz musician Count Basie to Tasso’s Greek Restaurant bellydancer Zaina Ali and the Grandview Taco Bell black bear.

“I’ve sold a Gary Lezak pretty much every month since I started selling them,” he shared, mentioning the longtime Kansas City region meteorologist, author and startup founder. “People love the Lezak. I sell a Mahomes and a Kelce a lot. Charlie Parker is popular and Salvador Perez. Then, Paul Rudd, and (Jason) Sudeikis, I have them as well. And then I just sold my first Heidi Gardner.”

“One of my other popular ones is my Independence Avenue bridge,” he added, referencing the infamous low-clearance structure that frequently snags careless motorists with high loads.

Keith said he’s created about 100 such portraits — even taking some requests — with 70 of them hanging on the wall of a second-floor hallway at The Bauer.

“I have a box of boring historical figures that nobody wants to buy,” he continued, “which I love, because I love Kansas City history and Kansas history.”

W. Dave Keith holds his “Future Taco Eating Machine” painting; courtesy photo

Taco ’bout opportunity

Another passion balanced on Keith’s palette: tacos.

W. Dave Keith; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

About eight years ago, he launched a taco podcast — Taco the Town — after a friend suggested Keith start reviewing local taco hot spots.

“We’d just finished editing a movie,” he explained. “And every time we get done with an edit, we’d go get tacos at a Mexican restaurant in Parkville. And he said, ‘Dave, you eat more tacos than anyone I’ve ever met. You should do a taco show or write a taco article.’”

The launch of the podcast inspired him to start taco paintings, Keith continued. His first featured ghost presidents eating tacos and it sold immediately. He even got commissioned for taco murals — ghost rock stars eating tacos in space and a futuristic taco-eating machine — for two now-closed Session Taco locations. 

“If anyone needs any taco art, I’m your man,” Keith said. “I’m ready to do more taco murals.’”