Heaven's Crease

Per-Erik "Pelle" Lindbergh is unforgettable to Flyers fans.

An amazing natural talent, he took the city of Philadelphia by storm in the early 80's and created a goaltending buzz that had not been felt since Bernie Parent lifted the Stanley Cup in the mid 70's.

I was in high school when I heard the news that Pelle was killed in an alcohol related car crash. I remember it being a really tragic event and being covered extensively by the local news for what seemed like months. The school where he crashed was only about ten minutes from my home and my friends and I actually went over and looked at his demolished Porsche sitting on a flatbed truck in Lindenwold, NJ as morbid as that might sound.

Now that I am in my late thirties and a pretty serious Flyers fan, I look back on what a loss this was and how great a natural talent Lindbergh was. So with this in mind, along with the tragic way in which he died, I have decided to draw a tribute to him and donate the finished piece to the Southeastern PA Chapter of M.A.D.D. (Mothers Against Drunk Drivers) if they might have a use for it. So like my other two online journals, I invite you to check back and give me your feedback as the piece progresses. My goal is to memorialize Pelle's great hockey talent but also acknowledge the tragic way he died... kinda difficult in one drawing and a new venture for me, but I am going to try!

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01/11/07
So tonight I visited with the very dedicated folks who run the Southestern PA chapter of M.A.D.D. at their monthly board meeting and they very graciously accepted my donation of Heaven's Crease. Their response was very positive, and I am hopeful it will benefit their organization in some way.

I was impressed by the level of dedication these folks have to their fight against drunk driving (some of them have suffered very tragic losses in their families because of it). I was also amazed at the wide range of activities in which M.A.D.D. is involved, including support of local police departments and DA's offices, influence on public policy (with regard to drunk driving), education and victim support. It was also very clear that they have a lot of charitable work in the coming months and activities for which they do not currently have enough volunteers.

If you would like to get involved or make a donation, visit them on the web at: http://maddpa.org/

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01/06/07
Finished!
Well, it took much longer than I expected, but overall I think this is what I had in my head for this tribute to Pelle. The Angel was really difficult to render just right and is the reason it took me so long, but I think it was really important to work into the drawing.

So here it is. Thanks for the great hockey Pelle, we miss ya.

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01/01/07
Happy New Year!
About 90% done! I wanted to have it done before the end of the year, but I did not quite make it. Another night or two on the wings and I should be complete. This piece was pretty difficult, and although I am pretty happy with the results, I will be glad to get it done. It took me much longer than I wanted to, but I think it was worth doing as a tribute for Pelle. I have started laying out the "Isle of Champions" piece in Photoshop and I am looking forward to getting back to a fundamental hockey piece. Check back for the final posts on the Heaven's Crease piece int he coming days. Like my other stuff, once it is finished, I will have a limited number of artists proof prints for sale and I am still planning on giving the original 17x20" piece to MADD if they want it.

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12/10/06
Holiday delays...
Well, so much for having it complete by the end of November. The holidays have been chewing up my free time really heavily since Thanksgiving, so not a lot of "butt time" in front of the drawing. I've made more progress, but nothing worth showing. Hoping I can have it done by the end of the year. Sorry folks but I don't wanna rush it just to get done, check back soon.

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11/19/06
Slow going... Still at it, not quite done Pelle and still have the wings to go. I'd say I am about 75% complete. I am hoping I can have it done by the end of November. I am pretty happy with how it is turning out and I am hoping that once I begin shading the wing detail it will be even more dramatic. Stay tuned...

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11/03/06
I've made some decent progress, but still have a good amount of work to do. I will probably finish up Pelle's action first and then tackle the Angel's wings last. The wings are going to be really tedious. I wanted to have it done by 11/10 which is the anniversary of his death, but I am not going to rush it. Stay tuned - next piece on Deck: Isle of Champions - a tribute to the 1980 New York Islanders...

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10/21/06
Slowwwww...
Making some progress, but going painfully slow... But I would rather the quality remain high than rush it.

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10/06/06
Some progress...
Wow this one is tough! Making some progress on the inking, but it is really tedious. I am pleased so far with the results and I can see that as I shade it more and more, the piece is becoming more dramatic. Still a lot more to do...

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09/25/06
Going slow...
Well, September has been a busy month (outside of hockey drawings) and I have not gotten as much done on the Pelle tribute as I would have liked. I am inking the print, but not enough is done to make it worth posting another image of it. The piping on the large number 31 is taking some time and I have begun to shade the angel which is proving very tedious (as I expected). I am hoping I can have it done by the anniversary of his death (11/10). Gonna be tight! In the meantime, here is an eerily cool pic I snapped on a trip to the Hall of Fame last spring:

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09/01/06
Let the ink flow...
I knew I was stretching with this one, and man is it challenging. The shading on the angel is immensely complex and the wing detail is really intricate. I have started laying ink on the large number 31 so I can get back in my comfort zone... somehow putting the ink down always seems to reign in even the toughest drawing - so I am hoping that once I slow my pace down for the stippling the details will begin to gradually emerge into something good... stay tuned, lots to do!

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08/21/06
Started the rough sketch... wow, three simple elements resulting in a hugely complex piece. I think this is gonna be the toughest one I have tried to pull off yet... lots of work yet to do. The angel will be immensely difficult for sure.

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08/19/06
I have begun laying out the rough design for the print in Adobe Photoshop (like I do for all my stuff). This design is going to be a lot different than my normal action stuff though. It is only going to feature 3 elements: Pelle in action; his jersey number as a backdrop (31 of course we all know) and my interpretation of a weeping angel statue which is commonly seen in many European cemeteries (pictured below). I am hoping I can juxtapose the three elements together to memorialize Pelle's hockey career and also recognize the tragic mistake of his death. Stay tuned.

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08/17/06
Before we start talking about the drawing, we should review some of the more notable things about Pelle's brief but amazing life in hockey: The following information was obtained from "The Greatest Players and Moments of the Philadelphia Flyers" by the great Stan Fishler and Bill Meltzer's Heros of the Past web page:

- Bronze medalist with Sweden in 1980 Olympics - only team not beaten by the USA miracle squad.
- NHL All-Rookie team, 1983
- NHL All-Star, 1983, 1985
- Vezina Trophy winner

How he died...
Early in the moring of November 10, 1985, after celebrating with team-mates at the Coliseum in Voorhees, NJ, Lindbergh (with a blood alcohol level nearly double the legal limit) offered to give a ride home to a male and female passenger (business associates of the Flyers). The newspaper accounts at that time differed, but basically Lindbergh took his custom 565 horsepower Porsche 930 south on Somerdale road at high speed. At a point where the road veers sharply to the right (in front of a school), the car failed to negotiate the turn and slammed into a concrete retaining wall at the base of the school, mortally wounding Lindbergh and severely injuring the passengers. The main cause of the accident was alcohol and impaired judgement - a tragic mistake which extinguished one of the best goaltenders of his time. Pelle was not even known to be a drinker - he simply made one mistake.

What my friends and I saw in person in the days following his death...