This painting was inspired by my friend, Mary, owner of Clash Dayton. At the age of 38, Mary was diagnosed with breast cancer. She fought damn hard and crushed it! I wanted to create a piece that captured the emotions and her badassness. She identifies with the male peacock because of their color palette and showiness, so I knew she would be represented by one. I went with a non-anatomically correct tail because I wanted it to have the feeling of a weapon, in this case a knife. The crab, representing cancer because of the astronomical connection, is faceless, lifeless and expelling it’s toxic innards. I named the painting, Dark Sign, after reading about the Cancer constellation. It is considered the “dark sign” because it consists of just a few stars, often being described as black without eyes. This painting was being created when Circles Art Studio announced a call for glow-in-the-dark works for their Neon Wasteland exhibition (10/30 & 11/5, 2021). I had already incorporated some neon glitter into the background and decided to push this painting towards total glow by using neon and phosphorescent paints. I will add an image of the piece under black light soon.