East of Here and West of There

Oh my. We've lost another grand master of illustration. Leo Dillon, one half of the amazing art couple Leo and Dianne Dillon, recently passed away. News here . I've been enamored with their work ever since I got my hands on an old copy of Pish, Posh, Said Hieronymus Bosch. And even more amazing is the story behind their art and their relationship. They met in college and their relationship started competitively, each trying to outdo the other. Leo was African American and Diane was white. What started out as competition became a serious relationship during a time when intolerance was widespread. Their fusion found its way into their art, mixing deftly into each others' styles. In an interview, they propsed the idea of having a third artist in their midst -- one being Leo, another Diane and the third was the amalgam of both being neither but also being both. On May 28, 2012, Harlan Ellison reported on his website a phone call from Diane announcing Leo'...

This is an illustration for a poster of Madeline L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time. Doing it the old fashioned way. Those are Tombo dual brush pens. Too bad I can't get them here anymore. Here's the thumbnail rough I drew on my sketchpad. Here's my favorite version of the cover as illustrated by Leo and Dianne Dillon. I just heard that Mr. Dillon passed away May 26, 2012. Sad, sad loss. R.I.P. Mr. Dillon.

If you're free this weekend and you dig comicbooks, drop by and support homegrown comicbook talent. Gabby Atienza is a local artist and his Deputy Dodgers has been his personal project for some years now. Gabby was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome late in life and he documented his personal journey in an amazingly personal and creative comicbook, his debut project " My Life As A Comic Book." If you're in the Pasig area, drop by and check out his DEPUTY DODGERS: The Ulstarn Saga. More on Gabby and his first comicbook here .

"Let the wild rumpus start!" -- Where The Wild Things Are I first saw this book in the grade school library of the Ateneo and the pictures seemed alive with squiggly, rhythmic lines and scratches. And I immediately fell in love with his drawings. All together, I think I've owned around 5 or 6 copies of this book in various editions and at various points of my life. His line work had a certain quality -- a "wildness" about it-- that breathed life to his images. R.I.P. Mr Sendak. Thank you for the stories and pictures. You are an inspiration. Picture taken here. http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/maurice-sendak-quotes?hootPostID=977c5508699cb32fea164578db4c3d87

I've been having fun taking pictures with my Galaxy Wifi S and an app called Multilens. Taken while bumming around my wife's office.