The #SundayFishSketch started out as a Twitter (now X) hashtag that encouraged like-minded individuals to incorporate art and fish into their weekly lives. Since then, this community has expanded to other social-media platforms, like instagram, Facebook, and BlueSky. It is a great community to join for beginning sketchers and is also a way for seasoned artists to continue to practice and for everyone to promote their artwork and love of fishes. Many of the #SundayFishSketch themes can be fun getaways from your current life while others touch on relevant and current holidays or world topics. Continue reading for highlights from two of the most recent #SundayFishSketch themes, facts, and art that occurred over the last few months.
#25DaysOfFishmas
Scientists, like our own Dr. Katherine O’Reilly, have increasingly turned to social media platforms for public outreach and education on every topic under the sun. In this case, the #25DaysofFishmas hashtag aims to showcase North American Great Lakes fish diversity in a fun and engaging way. Beginning in 2016, each year 25 fish species are highlighted, Advent calendar-like, with Dr O’Reilly expounding numerous morphological, ecological, and historical facts about each. Starting in 2018, the #25DaysofFishmas teamed up with the #SundayFishSketch. During December, each Friday #FishyTheme posts include clues as to what species will be highlighted on Sunday. Our artists are told to draw what fish species they believe will be highlighted and post their drawings on Sunday when Dr. O’Reilly unveils that day’s fish. If you would like to learn more about the #25DaysofFishmas, check out our previous blog post and interview with its creator.
Currently, we have started off this year with two sets of clues for the first two Sundays. Can you guess the first fish species?
If you guessed Threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus), you’re correct!
A small species that can tolerate a wide range of salinities and with populations that change their morphology based on their environment, being more armored in more marine systems. The males of this species even create a nest prior to mating, that they glue together with their own ‘spiggin.’
During week two, Dr. O’Reilly provided this set of clues.
If you guessed Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus), fantastic job!
These fish are in the family Salmonidae closely related to salmon and trout. They are generally a cold-water fish and unlike most other salmonids, they have a large sail-like dorsal fin. Additionally, individuals are known to live up to 30+ years.
Make sure to follow along for all 25 days to learn fun and interesting facts about many Great Lakes fish species!
#GARWEEK
What is #GARWEEK you may ask? It is a yearly social media movement aiming to educate and spread appreciation for the historically unloved ‘gar.’ What are gar? They are a very old lineage of fishes that possess long armored bodies covered in ganoid scales, long faces full of pointed teeth, toxic eggs, and a face only a mother could love. This fish is not considered a ‘game’ fish, and for a long time anglers, state, and federal authorities believed them to be ‘trash fish’ and ‘nuisance species.’ There have been numerous movements by scientists, conservationists, and fisheries biologists to try to change this opinion, one of which comes in the form of the #GARWEEK hashtag. Although this hashtag has become more popularized in recent years, its message has been around for a while. Biologists the the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) started the #GARWEEK campaign as early as 2018 and this effort has now been picked up by Parks Departments in multiple states. The most recent boom in this social-media endeavor occurred when Oklahoma joined the fight and their posts in 2022 rocketed the hashtag. This boom in information has informed followers about gar and has helped researchers gain a better understanding of the public’s perception of gar and garnered a strong following. One particularly special advocate for gar, and one of our own fisheries blog authors, is Dr. Solomon David of the Gar Lab.
Regardless of if you love gar or not, respecting them, their right to continue to live, exist, and thrive in their native habitat, and understanding the benefits the offer to the ecology of their systems is extremely important in protecting them.
Many of our artists provided sketches of gar to support this campaign. Whether it is tiny and on tea bags
or a masterfully detailed piece of gartwork.
The gargantuan support for gar was witnessed in all of the art created by our #sundayfishsketch artists.
ARTIST OF THE MONTH
What is it like to participate in the #SundayFishSketch? Just ask our artist of the month, Olivier (@OMorissette), one of our longtime artists, professor, and ichthyologist.
How long have you been participating in the #SundayFishSketch?
My first participation in #SundayFishSketch was on October 15, of 2017. I don’t remember the theme, but I remember the drawing, a bowfin, done using ink micropen. So, for me this is a roughly 6-year engagement with the challenge, which I consider not too bad!
Why did you decide to participate and has it been difficult to sketch on a semi-regular basis?
Since as long as I can remember, drawing was one of my things. I drew using many mediums, but generally in a cartoon style (reading my dad’s Tintin and Astérix books is probably what drove me into drawing as a kid). When I saw the hashtag on twitter, I figured it could be a good way to improve, especially in a more “realistic” style. I don’t consider I succeeded on the “regular basis,” as I produced roughly 100 drawing on a 6-year period (a 32% rate!). It could be difficult to produce a weekly drawing, but they don’t all need to be super detailed to be interesting. I once drew an Atlantic tarpon with some kids markers that I am overall proud of for my choice of colour and iridescent feeling.
Do you believe your art has improved since joining the hashtag?
Yes! I have most of my Twitter archived, and when I look back at my early contributions and the later ones, I see the improvements. Morphological features are more accurate, colour and composition are better, and my style (which is still more cartoony than realistic, honestly) is much more recognizable and consistent. This is greatly due to #SundayFishSketch regular contributions. Art is improving by practicing, and the hashtag gives me a reason to squeeze art into my busy schedule.
What has been your favorite theme thus far and why?
There are many, of course, wacky and creative ones are interesting. I liked drawing Pokémon-style fish, close-up of a fish part, and firecrackers pack. One of the themes I remember is the one where we had to draw a fish opening its mouth on a folded paper. I did a paddlefish, I filmed it and did a boomerang gif. It turned out nice and was greatly appreciated. Those are fun, because they explore other ways of doing our art. Overall, I have a great time with #SundayFishSketch, a couple of art pieces I did for the hashtag are now sitting in someone’s living room, on a field crew t-shirt, and even on a book cover! https://fisheries.org/bookstore/all-titles/professional-and-trade/freshwater-fisheries-in-canada/
Check out Olivier’s instagram and BlueSky for additional art. He is a fantastic artist and photographer of all things fishy.
START SKETCHING
Interested in participating in the #SundayFishSketch? Join us by posting your fish art on Twitter, and Instagram using the hashtag, or on BlueSky! Are you are interested in learning how to draw fishes but are unsure of where to start? Check out my previous post on ‘How to draw a fish’ as a place to begin. We look forward to seeing your fishy creations!
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