In this richly symbolic and visually charged landscape, Heatwole introduces us to Ish, the alter ego of his recurring character Arty. When Arty dons the gas mask—an emblem of filtered identity and emotional protection—he becomes Ish, a figure born of childhood memory and literary incantation. The name Ish is borrowed from a mantra-like stanza in Dr. Seuss’s One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, a book the artist memorized and recited as a child:
"Who am I? My name is Ish. When I wish to make a wish, I wave my hand with a big swish swish, and I say I wish for fish..."
This whimsical verse comes to life here, as Ish presents a fish in a small bowl—an offering of wishful thinking, imagination, or perhaps fragile hope.

Set against a dramatic Southwestern landscape of sandstone spires and adobe dwellings, the painting is alive with contrasts: ancient and modern, playful and foreboding. A hand reaches down from the sky holding a paintbrush like a divining rod or lightning bolt, pointing toward a crowd of box-headed figures—each expressing emotion through minimalist faces, caught in various states of confusion, frustration, or blank detachment. The juxtaposition of traditional Indigenous iconography, masked identity, cartoon abstraction, and surreal intervention challenges viewers to reflect on themes of cultural inheritance, conformity, authority, and the transformative power of art and story.

This is not just a scene—it's a myth in motion.