This is the fish painting that the other fish was a study for--got the composition in the other one, but this was a gift for Eve Forward, a dear friend, and bettas are her personal totem. She had a connection to the first "Spawning Wall" painting and I had been wanting to do a gift for her in that vein for ages--she was pure, unadulterated awesome, and one of my major touchstones during my divorce and subsequent lunacy--but it was only recently that motivation, time, and madness all dovetailed and I was able to paint this.

Bettas, in her lexicon, are about being tough and beautiful in very adverse conditions, and granted that they've found bettas living in the muddle puddle left by a horse's hoofprint, I can't think of much better symbolism.

Prints of this painting are available for $10 plus shipping, but since I've a philosophical objection to profiting off gift art, proceeds will go to a local animal charity.