Merry Christmas!

Christmas Card 2014

I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday. We did. 

Toys and Costumes!

Here are the latest Heidi and Zeke Eagle Eye Hidden Pictures. I had a bit too much fun with the Toy Store hidden picture. There are a ton of nods to science fiction.

Be sure to get a subscription to Highlights for the kids in your life!

Heidi and Zeke snowman and soccer help!

In this month's Heidi and Zeke adventure: Heidi and Zeke help a friend find a cookie to complete their snow family and an absent minded soccer coach needs help finding a soccer ball!

Northeast Philadelphia's Vogt playground and a northeast Philadelphia rowhome can be seen in the soccer illustration. I grew up right next to Vogt playground- the largest playground in Philadelphia- consisting of 7 baseball fields, 5 soccer fields, an olympic size swimming pool, 2 tennis courts, a roller hockey rink, 2 outdoor basketball courts, a kid's jungle gym, several drunk teenagers (at night) and a large gymnasium (of which my brother fell of the roof of and broke his arm).

Oh, and our puppy (at the time), Abbey, can be seen in the soccer illustration as well.

Remember, Highlights makes a great gift for the kids in your life. There's magazines and hidden pictures for all ages! Get them a subscription!

4 Heidi and Zeke hidden pictures.

These are my latest from Highlights' Eagle Eye Hidden Pictures. I love playing with lighting in my illustrations and these four were a treat! From the sunny beach to a dingy basement I tried to get it just right.

The challenge I have about making an outdoor illustration is that I really want the sun to look like it is out and not hiding behind a cloud somewhere. I find this is best accomplished through the use of warm shadows.

When we're indoors, as we have here, the light is more diffused, it comes from above and bounces off the floor creating some reflections. This is the trickiest to work on. I still don't feel like I've quite got it yet.

A dimly lit basement comes to life by placing a partly snow covered window.Lastly, my favorite lighting to work on is dark nighttime scenes. By just adding some small light sources the eye is easily drawn exactly where I want it to be.Be sure to get the kids in your life a subscription to Highlights. For ages 0-12 it's the best magazine on earth!

Latest Heidi and Zeke's in Eagle Eye!

Here are my latest Eagle Eye Hidden Pictures starring Heidi and Zeke! Eagle Eye is a monthly series of Hidden Picture magazines from the folks at Highlights. Click here to order!  Thanks for stopping by!

Heidi and Zeke 1 and 2

Here are the first two hidden pictures starring Heidi and Zeke.

Highlights' Hidden Pictures Book Club makes a great gift for all of the kids in your life. Be sure to check it out! A few clicks and you're done your Christmas shopping.

Eagle Eye Hidden Pictures Book 3 and 4!

Hidden Pictures Eagle Eye books 3 and 4 are out this month. Woo! More Heidi and Zeke!

Subscriptions to Highlights' Hidden Picture Book Club make really cool gifts for the kids in your life! Check it out!

Morning Exercise.

Our little dog Charlotte just graduated to being let loose from her leash occasionally and we're really enjoying it.

Dogs + Cowboys = Happy.

This is part of a big sketch I just finished for Highlights for Children. I'm waiting to get approvals before showing you the whole thing, of course, but I just wanted to share this dog with you. It makes me laugh. Nothing makes me happier than drawing cowboys and dogs.