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!

My thoughts on Disney Princess Movies.

My Family was never what I would call a, "Disney family." Perhaps it was our somewhat rough upbringing or the fact that VCR's had not really been invented yet? Nothing Disney (especially the Princess movies) really appealed to us. Honestly, I'm kind of thankful it was that way. We grew up outside in a crowded neighborhood. If we did watch TV we watched the cartoons of Chuck Jones, Fritz Freleng and Walter Lantz which was fine by us. Now that I think about it, psychologically, it was more in step with our comically violent tendencies.

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!

Birds Eye View

This busy piece appears in the May issue of Highlights High Five. The city is based on my hometown of Philadelphia. The original art can be seen below.

Heidi and Zeke 25

Heidi and Zeke 26

Nothing to see here.

Just a short old dude drawing you. 

March's Heidi and Zeke for Eagle Eye!

Let me tell you, drawing a bleacher is not fun. Tilt-a-whirl, however, was kind of fun.

Be sure to get the kids in your life a subscription to Eagle Eye Hidden Pictures! Highlights has something for every age. 

Saint Patrick's Day.

This day has always had a different meaning for me. Not only is it now the anniversary of my Dad's passing but it also reminds me of a particular relative of mine. My Great-Great Grandfather, Luke Dillon, was also known as "Dynamite" Dillon, an Irish patriot who fought hard for Irish Independence around the turn of the 1900's. He is credited for setting off bombs in England's House of Commons, Scotland Yard, Canada's Welland Locks among many others. He is also known to be the part of a failed attempt to destroy the London Bridge. Until the day he died, he supported the cause of Irish Independence. Occasionally I find some old newspaper articles and books written about him. Recently I stumbled upon this ballad that was written for him...

Currently I'm delving into research about his time as a Corporal in Company E of the US Infantry/Calvary. For eight years he was stationed along the Bozeman Trail in Wyoming & Montana during the "Indian Wars" with Chief Red Cloud & Crazy Horse. He fought & survived many battles with the Sioux, Cheyenne, & Arapaho warriors.  It's fascinating stuff.

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!