Illustrations
David Catrow / Springfield News-Sun

David Catrow's record nine first places put him well ahead of the pack in the Best of Cox Awards.

He previously won the Community Division's Illustration category in 1990, 1994, 1995, 1997 and 1998, and Editorial Cartooning in 1989 and 1995. (The latter became a combined category in 1996.) This year, he's Cox's champion in both his disciplines.

Yet there's a third interest for the Ohio workhorse. He is one of the nation's top illustrators of childrens' books.

"Sometimes I wish there was a constitutional amendment to add eight more hours to the day," Catrow said.

His work is extensively sought by publishers, newspaper syndicates and private collectors. He has illustrated more than 30 books for children, and his editorial cartoons are syndicated to more than 900 newspapers in the U.S. and Canada, including the New York Times, USA Today, the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times.

Catrow originals are in the permanent collections of the National Archives, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and the Museum of Cartoon Art in San Francisco.

Art became a second career for Catrow. A Virginia native and pre-med major at Kent State, he worked as a paramedic for 10 years, all the while doing free-lance drawing for the Cleveland Plain Dealer and Akron Beacon-Journal. He joined the staff of the News-Sun in 1984.

He and his wife, Deborah, have two children, Hillary, a sophomore at DePaul University, and David IV, a high school freshman.

What are the hobbies of Springfield's noted artist?

"I bicycle, birdwatch and I paint some on my own," Catrow said. "I like painting birds and wildlife. Right now a lot of our free time is spent watching our son play soccer. He's going to Europe this summer to play, through American Youth Soccer."