GYROSPRINTER - Careening across the plains on two powerful legs, the Gyrosprinter is Darwin IV's fastest ground-dwelling creature. Equipped with a hyper-developed set of halteres for balance, the flexible-bodied animal can turn on a dime eluding most predators with ease. The relatively small, bony "head" or cephalon at the end of the creature's neck serves two functions: it houses the primary sensory organs and is the protective, sheath-like tip for the animal's long tongue.

This is arguably my favorite painting in EXPEDITION. As one of the last ones executed, this is pretty much where I was heading from the beginning, but the journey had taken on a life of its own. If I had one thing to change about the physical rendering of the paintings in the book, it is that I would probably not have worked on stretched canvas. With that said, I think this is the most successful of the canvas pieces, a painting where, for me, the composition and technical application of paint seemed most satisfying.