Extinct in the Wild
I have officially done daily paintings for over half a year, so back to 4"x6" paintings again.
This is another of the species that while extinct in the wild, is available to people as a pet. They were endemic to a small area of Mexico in freshwater. They were last seen in 1997. People wanted the water that the fish wanted to keep living in, and as usual, people won. I could not find much about what had been their life in the wild. Essentially all I found was that they aren't demanding and are rather peaceful fish, which seemed funny since I am always looking for more scientific information. The fact that they are almost entirely kept by hobby breeders is why that was considered important information about these fish. The only place they are kept, other than in personal aquariums, is the Xiphophorus Genetic Stock Center in Texas. They have 24 of the 26 different species of Xiphophorus, this one is the Xiphophorus meyeri.
We had Christmas with my in-laws via zoom today. I think they all liked what we made and got for them. My sister-in-law's dog certainly likes the stuffed octopus. I also gave my best friend and her family their presents. This is almost what I made for my bff, but the eye is different and it isn't on a candle. This is an eye I just quickly sketched in photoshop. The real eye is her full name written in a circle around the pupil. It took several tries, but I finally managed to write this all out. The whole thing is quotes about friendship and it is a single line you have to follow the whole way around. It starts in the diagonal line that bisects the large blank space below the eye and ends on the top of the beak. I photographed the "drawing", printed it out onto waterslide paper, and put it onto one of those candles that is made of wax, but is battery operated. I can't be trusted with real candles but I love them. My best friend is so much more responsible than I am. We are exact opposites on the Meyers-Briggs personality test, but get along great because she is wonderful.