Swimming with Manta

Manta is a very big fish. It looks like a bird. I saw it a few months ago when I was guiding some Czech tourists in Raja Ampat. There is a place in the open sea where manta fish like to gather to clean their bodies. People call the place Manta Point.  When we were at the point, we could feel sea current in the area. So, we had to swim continuously to keep our position above it.
If you have never seen manta in its natural habitat, please, look at the following sketch of the Manta Fish with a women freediver.

Cleaning Station
Manta "glide" or "fly" around the place while their bodies are being cleaned from tiny marine creatures that attach to them by small fish that live in the nearby rocks. The small fish eat the "dirts" whereas the mantas get free cleaning service.
It is a kind of mutualism symbiosis between the giant fish and the small fish.

Watercolored version of the Manta sketch

I work as tourist guide in West Papua, I often accompany tourists in the jungle to do wildlife watching and at sea to enjoy snorkeling. That's why you will see that most of my drawings or sketches in this blog are derived from nature as the source of my art inspiration.
Ecotourism
Ecotourism that I promote helps local people generate some income by working as cooks, porters, rangers and boat drivers and at the same time preserve the marine and rainforest environment.
Vector Graphic
I also like to make vector drawing that I develop from my sketches. The drawing below is not exactly the same as my sketch above but it reflects the same idea about how big the mantas are compared to human as represented by the freediver.

This vector drawing is now available as printed materials in zazzle. One of them is the t-shirt below:

Swimming with Manta Ray T-shirt by tropicalart

Two Dolphins in Open Sea

Today, most people travel to distant places by airplanes. I live in a region where there are a lot of islands. So, I prefer to visit the islands by ship or boat. When I walk along the outer aisle of the main deck I seldom see dolphins. They swim in groups. Passengers are happy when they see the fish jumping or swimming very close to the bow of the ship. Dolphins like to "escort" fast moving ship.
I used to see dolphins at surf spot in Cape Bakaro of Manokwari city. They are still considered as the best wavesurfers compared to human.

Because I like drawing, I consider dolphins as a good inspiration for my artwork. To make the drawing, I first make a sketch using a graphite pencil. After that, I color it using Derwent Watercolour Pencils.
Now the drawing is available online as printed artworks on various zazzle products from iPhone and iPad Dolphin cases to high quality canvas print which you could see below:

Two Dolphins in the Open Sea Canvas Print by tropicalart

Whaleshark Watching

In my previous post, I said that whaleshark watching has become a popular tourist attraction. As a tourist guide I can give some information about where to go to see whaleshark. There are to sites in West Papua where you can see or swim with whaleshark. The famous one is in Cendrawasih bay whereas the second on is in Triton bay. Both area located in West Papua. So, if you have time and money, you can fly to Jakarta city (the capital of Indonesia) and then by domestic airline go to Nabire where you can continue your trip to Kwatisore to swim with whaleshark.

Swimming with whalesharks in Cendrawasih bay of West Papua

If you have already seen it and need a souvenir or gift, I can recommend some products that are printed with whaleshark illustration. I created that illustration using inkscape and uploaded the file into zazzle online store. Now you can buy it printed on various products from t-shirts to iphone cases. Here is the link: whaleshark watching.
To give you an idea of how it will look like when you buy it printed on t-shirt, please, have a look at the following picture:

Whaleshark Tank Top
by tropicalart

I hope that you will be interested in buying the tank top or other products with the same vector graphic.

Swimming with Whaleshark

Most people think that sharks are dangerous animals. Yes, it is true. But, there are sharks that are not dangerous such as walking shark (also called wobbegong). Well, I personally used to swim in the coral reef area of Raja Ampat where I saw black tip sharks. They are not dangerous as long as we don't provoke an attack to the fish.
Whaleshark Watching
There is also another species of fish called whaleshark (Rhincodon typus). This fish is not dangerous to human being because it eats small bait fish called ikan puri. In recent years, swimming or snorkeling with whaleshark has been a favorite tourist attraction particularly in Cendrawasih bay and Bitsyari bay of West Papua. Unfortunately, tourists swim too close to the fish. To respect this marine animal, tourists should not swim in front of its mouth. Whaleshark needs free movement in the water so that it can feed on the fish.
If you are curious about how big the fish is, please, have a look at the following vector illustration which I made using Inkscape.

Vector Art
This vector graphic drawing is available on various products manufactured by zazzle at this link: whaleshark products.
I also created the drawing to raise awareness among all of us about the importance of preserving marine environment by reducing the use of plastics. When we are at sea, we often see used plastic totebag, diapers, and bottles floating on the surface of the water. A lot of fish have died after eating them which they thought as fish or jellyfish.

Swimming with Whaleshark T Shirt by tropicalart

You could support this art blog by buying my drawing at the following link:
Red T-Shirt Swimming with Whaleshark

Flying Fish the Real Exocet

I like traveling by ship and boat. I often walk along the outer aisle of the main deck to see the beautiful scenery of the islands, the beach and the sea. Sometimes dolphins in a group of ten to twenty swim near the boats and jump out of the water.
There are also small fish that fly low above the surface of the water. They are called flying fish. They think the big ship is their predator. So, they try to avoid it by flying away from it.
Name of Missile
Flying fish in French language is called Exocet. But it is not only give to fish but also to an anti-ship missile. The missile became famous after it successfuly used by Argentine navy to sank British warship HMS Sheffield during Falklands/ Malvinas war.
Now Exocet as a missile is more famous than as the name for flying fish.
Flying Fish
If you have never seen flying fish in its natural habitat, just look at the following drawing:

Flying Fish

The illustration above can be purchased printed on various products from my portfolio of artworks in my zazzle store
Among the products that have got the Exocet printed on it, my favorite one is: the coffee mug. The blue color of the sea and the dark color of the fish is a perfect combination for the white color of the mug. Please, buy one below at Zazzle online if you also like it.

T-Shirt

Flying Fish (Exocet) medium Teapot
by tropicalart

Terrestrial Orchid from the jungle of Papua

This is my drawing of a terrestrial orchid flower which I saw when I was hiking with some tourists in the jungle near Manokwari city. In nature they grow in places where there is enough sunlight such as along the forest edges, the logging road or the sides of rivers.

I saw them in three colors: red, pink and white. They were very common in the area whose soil does not have a lot of humus and mostly contains limestones. The height of this Spathoglottis plicata flower plant is around 1 meter. It is taller in area that receives lower sunlight. Perhaps, the plant tries to get more sunlight by growing taller.
If you like the art, you can buy it online printed on various products at this link: terrestrial orchid products. One of them that has become my favorite item is the teapot.

Terrestrial Orchid Teapot
by tropicalart

In addition to this flower, you can also see other artworks offered in the website.