96 x 72 in | oil finger painting on canvas

A patchwork ocean of quilted waves and towering swells rolls off into the nighttime horizon. The cosmic brilliance of the Northern lights illuminates the sky. An androgynous sorceress in a feathered masked with long black hair and metallo-organic clothing stands astride a sentient canoe. The oar-less canoe is driven by a fire-breathing armored horse whose neck merges into the scales of the dragon boat. Two narwhals, an Arctic salmon, a young orca whale, and a sail-finned rainbow fish are chaperoned by a benevolent sea serpent. This scene transcends culture and history—it is from the future.

What we are seeing is a historical event, a ceremonial movement happening roughly 600 years from today: the Exodus of Pisces. It is when the vernal equinox point will move past the constellation of Pisces, marking the start of the Age of Aquarius. The serpents, by that time, will have returned to inhabiting the earth, and humans will be able to metamorphose their conciousness into animals.

This is not a war scene. All the beings here are working together, communicating telepathically, for a shared goal. They’re all going to the central gathering point of a major festival to celebrate the new coming. The scene of the festival, which I have not painted yet, is a massive welcoming of the Age of Aquarius.

In terms of technique, this piece is mostly finger painting, but in the glassy water I used a mixing knife to slice sharp demarcations where my fingers could not make the hard edges of the collage piece which fit together tightly.

This painting has a very unusual origin story involving something like time travel. I was going through childhood drawings at my mom’s house when I came across a colored-pencil drawing I had made in third grade, in 1994. Attached to the drawing was a legend I had written on a typewriter. I was struck by the fearless, outrageous creativity with which my younger self had tackled the subject matter. I could see that young girl making unapologetic decisions: Oh we need an orca here, a salmon, a serpent, a fire breathing boat, of course, a winged sorceress…

I was so impressed with the composition narrative, and the incredibly rich treatment of the drawing. I couldn’t believe that this was my sketch, my idea, my vision. It dawned on me that I could use my 35-year-old skills to finger paint into existence the pencil drawing conjured by my ten-year-old mind. I am so grateful that my mother laminated and saved this drawing…maybe every parent laminates their kid’s drawings in hopes that they will one day have a solo show in New York?

Rediscovering the artist I was as a child has been a huge reminder that my instinctual inner artist wishes to express new mythologies and invent future rituals. At first, these were just games to play with my sister, but now they are visions of humanity’s future. This drawing has helped me unlock a new understanding of what kind of art-making raises my vibration. The Exodus of Pisces represents an invitation to go back to your own childhood drawings or notes and remember who you really are: remember who you were before you were bombarded with society’s demands. It’s time to use your adult skills to express your childhood truths.