THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 23, 1995 TAG: 9511180321
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JOAN C. STANUS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines
When Mark Roco got the call from the editors of Highlights magazine, notifying him that one of his drawings would appear in their November issue, the Norfolk teen couldn't even recall which drawing he had submitted.
After all, he draws something new nearly every day, and it had been two years since he had submitted one of his illustrations to the national children's magazine.
``I'd forgotten all about it,'' the St. Pious Catholic School eighth-grader said. ``I was really surprised.''
The illustration turned out to be three dinosaurs fighting. It appears in the magazine's section, titled ``Dino Don's Dinosaur Days.'' Each month, Dino Don answers questions about the prehistoric creations submitted by children from throughout the country. Some kids, like Mark, submit their drawings, too.
``I'd subscribed to the magazine for five years ... and I wanted to see if they'd put it in,'' the Norview teen explained. ``When I draw stuff at school, people tell me it looks good.''
Mark sketched the dinosaur fight freehand after looking at a similar illustration in a book. It only took him a couple of hours to get it just like he wanted. He mailed the sketch in and forgot about it.
Back then, as an 11-year-old, Mark was ``into drawing dinosaurs.'' But now, at 13, he has moved on to sketching sports figures like Cal Ripken Jr. and Michael Jordan.
According to his mother, this shy altar boy spends most of his free time drawing.
``He's got a gift; it just comes naturally,'' noted Alice Roco, who has two other older children. ``It's an outlet for his shyness. When he's not doing homework, or playing with his Game Boy, he's drawing something.''
``It's his hobby,'' added his dad, Tim.
Eventually, Mark would like to turn his hobby into a career. But he's savvy enough to realize that life as an artist probably would be a rough one financially.
``For a while, I thought I wanted to be a doctor ... but it's nice to draw, too,'' he said. ``I'm starting to draw buildings, so I'm thinking maybe I'll be an architect. Then I could do both.''
Nearly 3 million copies of Highlights are circulated to homes, school libraries and professional offices throughout the country each month. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by L. TODD SPENCER
Mark Roco, an eighth-grader, spends most of his free time drawing.
by CNB