About the Gila Monster Drawing
I have encountered Gila Monsters (Heloderma suspectum) twice in the wild in Arizona’s Santa Rita Mountains—first a remarkably small juvenile and later a full-grown adult. Both encounters were unexpected and memorable, combining the excitement of finding an animal I had long hoped to see with a deep respect for one of the world’s few venomous lizards.
In Breaking Through, I wanted to recreate the surprise and immediacy of those encounters. The Gila Monster appears to push through the surface of the paper, bringing its bead-like scales, powerful claws, dark face, and blue-purple tongue directly toward the viewer. The illusion allowed me to combine a detailed wildlife portrait with the feeling that the animal has suddenly emerged into our space.
Breaking Through is a colored pencil Gila Monster drawing by Michael E. Dorcas for Tantilla Art. Reference photograph courtesy of W. W. Lamar.