My little prep paintings of Oz were but a faint echo of the original magical drawings and paintings of John R. Neill. He illustrated the vast majority of the yearly produced Oz books, giving flavor and substance to Baum's and successors' charming stories. As research for my Oz mural that never was, I read all of Baum's original books and my inner child was thoroughly entertained by his phantasies. There have been many printings, editions and variations over the years, and there is new Oz…