Artist Statement: These artworks are from a series of studies done for the Trilogy of “Zonk” picture books that I wrote and illustrated.

In the early 1990s, I moved to Tucson, Arizona on a quest for a more profound creative self. I became quite enamored of the Sonoran Desert. It is a very spiritual place and my own creativity became revitalized there. I had been primarily involved with the performing arts up until then. In the desert, I began a story and series of paintings that became Zonk, the Dreaming Tortoise, published in 1999. Although technically this could be called an illustration, I consider myself more of a painter and these stories the vehicle or discipline for my work.

The second book has the working title, Zonk and the Secret Lagoon, and will go to print in spring 2004. The third book in the Trilogy will be going to print in late 2004.