Frozen Grin: October 2014

This is a drawing of my friend Tomás Serrano. He lives in Salamanca, Spain. We have never met in person, only corresponded through the internet. Tomás loves Alaska and was here three or four years ago. In the course of his visit, he ran across the ever-alert Steve Aufrecht. Steve put us in touch, and we struck up an acquaintanceship. Tomás is not merely talented, but versatile as well. He works in several distinct styles when cartooning, has published two books for children, has animated for music videos, and practices as an architect. Recently he surprised me with a beautiful caricature portrait, based on a photo he found on my FB page. It is sharply observed, and drawn with panache in what looks like non-repro blue ink. I was delighted and humbled at the same time.

It finally dawned on me that I should return the favor, but I hesitated, unsure if I could do him justice. Plus, I hadn't a clue what he looks like. So this morning I googled "Tomás Serrano Salamanca". As soon as I saw his face I knew everything was going to be all right. The setting is a reference to a brilliant cartoon for which he won Premio Mingote a well-known European cartooning prize in 1995. You can see the cartoon here . Tomas has a spiffy website here and a blog here . It's a strange world we live in, where Anchorage borders Salamanca, but it does have its compensations.