Xyrichtys

I got a new watercolor sketchbook, and to initiate it I decided to paint my old standby: the betta fish.

This is Xyrichtys, who lives in a bowl on my desk and has kept me company through many an all-nighter.



He was named by my good friends Nikki and Natalie, who gifted him to me after the betta I bought for my birthday passed away, tragically, a mere three days after his purchase. Ric, however, I've kept alive for nearly ten months. He's a survivor.

Did you know? I love painting fish.I was excited to get a betta so I could paint him from life. An idea that works much better in theory than practice, I've found. Every time I'm think, "Hey Ric, I'm going to paint your picture!" He's like, "Umm, no thanks," and swims behind his decorative greek columns. And then I use the internet.