This is my daughter's beloved pet fish, Fatty. He's an Oranda - a type of decorative goldfish bred in China about four hundred years ago. Yesterday evening I found him floating upside down in his tank. I though he was dead, so I was mildly surprised when he flipped over and swam away. I soon discovered that Fatty's inverted posture was caused by something less serious than death- he was constipated. Fish bred into funny shapes have digestive problems. They get constipated it they aren't fed a varied diet - go ahead, Google it and see. Fatty's fine now, but I'm still not clear what constitutes a varied diet for a goldfish.
A portrait of Fatty is my next assignment. I've never painted a fish before, but as a friend pointed out, goldfish were probably the best thing that ever happened to Matisse. Soutine also did some okay paintings of fish. I imagine my picture won't be quite as nice as the one my daughter did (below), but I'm still learning.
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