AZ was raised on the island of Guam from 1952 to 1963. In 1966 his family moved to the Panama Canal Zone where he began painting and exhibiting before graduating from high school. His initial influences were Chinese and Pre Colombian art, as well as his many explorations in Central American jungles. His original dream was to become an archeologist.

After graduation in 1990, he moved to MICA in Baltimore for his MFA. In that first semester he was hired to be the… more