Old Friends, New Friends

"World Wide Cob-Web" is how my pal Thom Sevalrud refers to my presence on the Inter-Zone, and he's right; I've been nothing but absent for the past couple of months. Excuses? Plenty. Valid? Not so much. I promise to correct this, if only to hold my head up high on the site that bears my name.

Have completed a few nice projects of late: a few new icons for Scholastic and packaging for Sniffers Dog Treats. Both were done as Edison, my other, not so secret nom de plume. If you're even slightly interested, travel over to the website of Gerald and Cullen Rapp Illustration to see my alter-ego in action.

My old friend Seth just completed the cover for Criterion's release of Leo McCarey's 1937 masterpiece "Make Way For Tomorrow", starring Beulah Bondi and Victor Moore. Moore is a favourite actor of mine, who had a long career on stage and in film, including the wonderful "Chimmie Fadden" series back in 1915, and "Make Way For Tomorrow" is one of cinema’s purest tearjerkers. It has a heart-breaking ending which you'll never forget. My wife cried her eyes out, and I wasn't far behind her. I can't recommend it enough.

When I was last in New York, which was more years ago than I'd care to admit, I finally made the personal aquaintence of one of the illustration representatives at Rapp who I'd had a wonderful e-mail and telephone relationship with, Daniel Zalkus. We found that we shared a love of cinema and illustration of the Fifties and Sixties, and got on like a house on fire. Well, he left Rapp and New York a month or so back to live in Michigan and begin his illustration career in earnest. He sent me a link to his website yesterday, and I've got to share it. I love his work. His line and composition remind me of the late, great Robert Weaver, but with a contemporary twist. Great stuff, Dan.