Ricardo Breceda

He made a metal sculpture of a Tyrannosaurus rex for his daughter Lianna after she asked for a dinosaur for Christmas following a viewing of Jurassic Park III.

He continued work on sculptures, and was eventually discovered by a philanthropist named Dennis Avery who paid him to construct one piece.

Notable statues made by Breceda include a stagecoach pulled by horses, a large serpent, and a Tyrannosaurus rex.

Avery asked Breceda to create statues on his property based on beasts featured in a book he financed about now-fossilized creatures once found in the Anza-Borrego Desert.

[1] One of Breceda's most notable sculptures is a 350-foot serpent found in Borrego Springs whose head and body pops out of the sand.

[1] Other notable examples of Breceda's work includes fighting dinosaur statues and a series of wild horse sculptures as seen from Highway 79.

[6] Breceda hosted an Open House Art and Music Festival at his studio in the Vail Lake Resort RV Park.

[3] Breceda's sculptures were featured in a list of the 11 best art spots in Southern California outside of Los Angeles written by Priscilla Frank for The Huffington Post.

[8] The Anza-Borrego Desert was named as The San Diego Union-Tribune's fifth favorite state park, and used a picture of Breceda's serpent sculpture.

[9] Another article written by Carolina Gusman for The San Diego Union-Tribune recommended the Anza-Borrego Desert for people looking for a vacation that's low budget due in part to Breceda's sculptures.