I was digging through some old file folders recently and found a few interesting bits of Soule Designs history. The items, a letter and a drawing, are from Ralph Dunagin, a professional newspaper cartoonist, who I met during a career fair at Tuskawilla Middle School in Orlando, FL way back in 1989.
I don't recall too much about my interaction with Ralph, but I do remember he was very kind and seemed to like my drawings at the time (which one of my teachers showed him). Lucky for us, his letter provides a great recap of our conversation:
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| Doxing my old address, you'll need to travel back in time to find me there ;-) |
As anyone who grew up pre-internet knows, getting letters back in the day was the shit, and getting a letter from an Orlando Sentinel cartoonist was ridiculously cool. Not only did he take the time to write, but he also gave me an original piece of comic art inked with what looks like sharpie on bristol board!
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| Wiser advice was never written... |
The most interesting thing about all this is I did indeed follow Ralph's advice, I took art classes in high school and then started college with a fine art major. However, that's when my art train derailed, leading me down the twisted art path cataloged here on Soule Designs. Pretty sure I am still waiting for "that break"?
Sadly, in looking up Dunagin's People for this post I discovered Ralph passed away in 2020 at the age of 83. I decided to frame his comic and put in on my wall to keep a bit of that early Soule Designs history up for all to see.
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