the book
the artist
Stan Mullins

Utilizing a renovated Southern Cotton Oil Refinery in Athens, Georgia, as his studio and home, Mullins creates artwork that spans the globe, both literally and figuratively. His mediums of expression range from oil on canvas paintings, watercolors and drawings, to marble and bronze sculpture, to literature and film. Mullins received his Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Georgia and works with numerous museums, cultural institutions, corporations and individuals. He is the founder and Executive Director of the Athens Center For International Arts, and also a founding member of Forging New Tomorrows, Inc. In 1992, Stan Mullins was the first artist-in-residence at Zoo Atlanta. Then Stan Mullins traveled twice to Rwanda in 1993 and 1994. The proceeds of his artwork went to the Post War Rehabilitation & Development Program in Rwanda. Under the Backyard Sky (1995) by Neil Shulman and Sibley Fleming was the first children's book Stan Mullins illustrated. His works have been exhibited on six continents and featured in the New York Times and CNN.

Stan Mullins' art in this book is dedicated to the memory of Willie B. of Zoo Atlanta. When Stan Mullins was artist-in-residence at Zoo Atlanta, Willie B. was the first gorilla to have posed for him. Subsequently in 1993 and 1994, Stan Mullins traveled to Rwanda to paint the mountain gorillas.