"A permanent billboard in the best location of the universe to advertise my art," says Dunn about his paintings in the Society for Neuroscience's (SfN) D.C. headquarters. He had contacted the group to inquire about exhibiting his work at the SfN's annual meeting, a who's-who of the neuroscience world. Marty Saggesse, now the executive director of the SfN, replied by commissioning Dunn to create two new pieces for the organization's lobby.

This painting of neurons in the cerebellum, a classic neuroscience image, is one in the original commission. "When you're first starting out as an artist, the idea that someone would pay a couple hundred bucks for something that you completely materialized out of thing air is surprising," says Dunn, "So at the time, it was pretty overwhelming to get this commission."