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This painting was inspired by a very regal looking plumed (or green) Basilisk lizard I saw at the Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. His profile was quite striking! This lizard has earned another common name, the Jesus Christ Lizard, due to his ability to run across water. Basilisks are about 2 feet long, and are found in tropical rain forests of South America. I knew this character would have to be the main focus of the painting, but it took me awhile to figure out what else to include. I finally decided on an inner border of orchids (all based on photos I took at an orchid show) and an outer border of frogs. Many of these are colorful poison dart frogs, and some are tree frogs. The fat red one is a Madagascar tomato frog - very aptly named!

Nature is my primary source of inspiration, and color my main mode of expression in realistic, abstract and surreal artwork. I love combining art and science. I feature real species in natural history paintings, as I can't imagine subjects more wonderful and bizarre than those found in nature. Inspiration is more intuitive for my abstract work. I employ multi-layered colors to explore micro and macrocosms of energy, dimensions, and the cosmos. When I create a piece of surreal digital art, I feel as if I am telling a story without words, leaving the interpretation to the viewer's imagination. Poured acrylics, the medium of my most recent body of work, is a huge departure from previous realistic work. I find the organic forms, patterns...