Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Dolphins Jumping out of the Waves

As a tourist guide, I often travel by boat when I accompany my guests. We usually enjoy snorkeling in Raja Ampat, Numfor island or Mansinam island. Sometimes, during the trip, I and the tourists see dolphins when we are in the middle of the sea. They like to swim very close to the boat particularly when it moves at faster speed at sea. Dolphins like to jump beside and in front of the hull. It is a great attraction when watching these beautiful fish.
Click the picture below to see my portfolio in Redbubble store.
Dolphins Jumping out of the Water
Dolphins Jumping out of the Water

Actually I made this drawing above long ago. I used charcoal pencil and drew the Dolphins Jumping out of the Waves on my Sketchbook. The sketch is still a black and white artwork. But I was thinking of enhancing its look by giving colors. Since the sketch was done on thin paper, adding colors using watercolor media may cause some damages on the paper. So, I decided to process the drawing in digital format. After taking picture of the sketch, I opened it in Adobe Photoshop where I added some dark and light blue on the waves. I also added more lines that depict the contour of the waves. Now the drawing looks better than the original black and white sketch.


Thursday, May 26, 2016

Papuan Hornbills

I often make a drawing study about birds, flowers and human figures. The following picture is a sketch of Papuan hornbills (Rhyticeros plicatus) that I saw when I visited District Kais in the southern region of Sorong. These big birds were considered by local people as the Symbol of True Love.
a sketch of Papuan Hornbills (Rhyticeros plicatus) - charcoal on paper

To make this drawing I used charcoal pencil. It gave me darker color. But later before uploading it into this blog, I did some processing in Adobe Photoshop to add some colors on the heads of the birds. Blyth's hornbills can be seen not only in New Guinea but also in the surrounding region and islands in the South Pacific.
If you are interested in taking birdwatching tour in Klasow valley of Sorong regency of West Papua province - Indonesia, just contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com
The above sketch is now available as t-shirt and many other products in zazzle store:

Papuan Hornbill Birds T-shirt
Papuan Hornbill Birds T-shirt by tropicalart

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

The Silky Owl Butterfly (Taenaris catops)

Here is the vector graphic illustration of The Silky Owl butterfly (Taenaris catops) that I made using Macromedia Freehand MX. It was the time when I was learning how to create vector drawing digitally. Macromedia Freehand MX is a powerful software. Unfortunately, after Adobe bought it from Macromedia it has not been updated. The latest Mac operating system cannot run it. Fortunately, the latest Windows can run the application.
I often see the butterfly and other beautiful insects when I guide tourists on a rainforest trekking and camping tour in the jungle of West Papua.

2-Eyed Butterfly T-shirt
2-Eyed Butterfly T-shirt by tropicalart

Now the digital drawing is available as prints on various products in my zazzle tropical store including t-shirts, cell phone cases, and mugs.

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Pink Orchid Flowers

This is the watercolor painting of orchid flowers that I saw in Raja Ampat. I don't know its species name. I just enjoy drawing the flowers.
tropical flower
Orchid Flower
There are a lot of flowers in the jungle of West Papua. Some of them are Glory Vine (Faradaya Splendida), Terrestrial Orchids (Spathoglottis plicata), and Cananga or Ylang-ylang.
When I guide tourists on a trekking trip in the jungle of Arfak mountains or Klasow valley, I often see flowers in tall trees. Birds and butterflies like to gather in those trees to eat or collect the nectar.
Besides making the watercolor artwork above, I also made the vector graphic version of the pink orchids using Inkscape. Creating a vector illustration is not as intuitive as drawing on a paper or painting on a canvas. However, the advantages of having a transparent background and the ability to export to png file in any size are two things which digital printing companies such as zazzle or redbubble need from our artworks.
As a matter of fact, it was my first experience using Inkscape. Now, it is available in my Tropical Art store on various products from T-shirts, to mugs and spiral notebook.

White Terrestrial Orchid Shirt
White Terrestrial Orchid

Harvest Time

Here is a drawing of a traditional farmer in Java island of Indonesia. He was working in his garden harvesting agricultural produce one afternoon. I made this drawing several years ago when I was still living in Malang city of East Java. The city had a cool atmosphere with productive farmlands around it. I used colored pencils to make it. I forgot the name of the manufacturer. Perhaps it was Faber-Castell. I still make figure drawing but not as frequent as before.

The drawing has been kept inside a carton box, together with my other drawings, for years. I am happy to see that it is still in good condition. So, I feel that I should share it in this blog.
Please, support this blog by buying some of my artworks below:

Yellow Bush Flowers T-Shirt
Yellow Bush Flowers T-Shirt
by tropicalart

Birdwing Butterfly Notebook
Birdwing Butterfly Notebook
by tropicalart


Monday, May 23, 2016

Carrying a Cement

After guiding a German tourist named Katja in Raimuti island where we enjoyed snorkeling over coral reef, I accompanied her back to Manokwari city. It was approximately 2 p.m. We took a chance to visit Niko Asaribab - a Papuan artist who lived near Anggrem harbor. Most of his works were wooden carvings. There was a painting of underwater world that showed coral reef and tropical fish.
After spending half an hour with the artist, we continued our trip to the harbor. There were several wooden boats parking at the jetty. There were a pile of Cement Tonasa not far from where we were standing. The sun was shining fully with clear sky. The surrounding atmosphere was really hot. And I saw a porter was carrying cement on his back walking towards a boat. There was a sack of cement on the wooden jetty. Perhaps it fell while being carried by one of the porters.

I made a colored pencil drawing about the mid-day scene of the Anggrem harbor. It was a modest harbor. Several years later, the people's harbor has been changed into a concrete jetty with concrete construction and paving block floor. I heard that it was inaugurated by Jokowi - President of Indonesia last year.
Now the modest look of the people's harbor has disappeared. At least, I did a small drawing of the old harbor as a souvenir.
Please, support this blog by buying my artworks below:
Paradise Birds in Watercolor Dart Board
Paradise Birds in Watercolor Dart Board
by tropicalart

Manta Ray T-Shirt
Manta Ray T-Shirt
by tropicalart

Saturday, May 21, 2016

Bird Knitting Nest

I have just uploaded my old watercolor painting into my Redbubble online store. It is a bird that was knitting a nest. I made this painting when I was still learning watercolor. I was not experienced enough in controlling the wash techniques of this wet media. So, I used watercolor pencils to do the artwork.
a bird was weaving a nest
There are certain species of birds that weave their nests like pockets or socks that are hanging in twigs of trees or in thin vine in the jungle. Birds make this kind of nest to avoid predator. Usually a a female bird weaves a nest from dry grass and fallen twigs after mating season as a preparation to lay eggs.

Thursday, May 19, 2016

Watercolor Painting of male Lesser Birds of Paradise

As a tourist guide, I often organize birdwatching tour to the forest of Klasow valley in Sorong regency - West Papua province of Indonesia for birdwatchers who want to see birds of paradise and other tropical birds. If you are interested in taking a hiking and birding tour, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com
Here is the watercolor painting male Lesser Birds of Paradise which I have drawn and painted since three days ago. First, I created its sketch after studying the anatomy of the birds based on some photographs, drawings and videos. I also have seen the bird a lot of times when I guide birdwatchers in Arfak mountains of Manokwari, Klasow valley of Sorong regency and in Tambrauw mountains.
After making the sketch, I added colors on to it using Derwent watercolourpencils. For his yellow head and neck, I used Deep Cadmium 6. For his dark brown chest, stomach and tail, I washed it with Burnt Yellow Ochre 60 in combination with Sepia 53 for the feather lines. I gave Kingfisher Blue 38 for the bill and Mineral Green 45 for the his throat.
The branch of a tree where the paradise bird was perching consisted of 2 main colors, i.e. Emeral Green 46 for the leaves and Bottle Green 43 for their lines. The wooden branch was colored with Burnt Yellow Ochre 60 and Copper Beech 61 for the bark lines. The legs of the bird were colored with Kingfisher Blue 38.
 Colored pencil drawing of Lesser Birds of Paradise
Male Lesser Birds of Paradise
Because I used the picture for my Tropical Art Shop in Zazzle, I had to import the artwork into Adobe Photoshop and removed its background. So, it can be printed on a lot of products such as t-shirts, mugs, and towel.
I hope that all of you like this watercolor painting and are interested in ordering some products in my Redbubble Paradise Bird artworks too. Just click the drawing above to see my portfolios.

Monday, May 16, 2016

Lesser Bird of Paradise - a pencil sketch

I have just created a pencil sketch of a male Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaea minor). This is not a final drawing of the bird. I used Staedtler 2B graphite pencil to do the drawing.
I still have to refine it and add some colors using my Derwent Watercolour Pencils. I also plan to make the digital version of the sketch using Inkscape. I don't know how long it will take to finish the artwork. It can be 3 days or even 1 week. I cannot stay for a whole day coloring the sketch.
My pencil sketch of male Lesser Birds of Paradise 

In the previous article about Paradise Birds, I said that most of them live in tropical rainforest of New Guinea. They like to dance in the mornings and in the afternoon. They mate with many partners. Because of their beautiful feather, they have been hunted by human for centuries.
Paradise birds, together with other birds, disperse seeds of the fruits which they eat to all corners of the forest. This is a very important role in preserving rainforest.
Rainforest absorbs CO2 gases that we emit from our cars, motorcycles, stoves and cigarettes and at the same time releases Oxygen that we breathe every second. Therefore we must preserve rainforest, protect paradise birds and other wild animals in the jungle.

Thursday, May 12, 2016

Birdwing Butterfly Ornitopthera priamus

Here is the watercolor painting of the birdwing butterfly Ornitopthera priamus that I saw when I was guiding a British tourist in the north coast area of Manokwari regency. The insect was collecting nectar from hibiscus flower. It did not stay still when hanging on the flower. Actualy it was 'floating' in the air with its wings continue to flutter. The butterfly needed a few seconds to collect the nectar before moving to another flower.
There are two versions of the artworks, i.e. the watercolor and the vector drawing which I made using Inkscape. I usually make manual drawing and add some colors with my Derwent watercolour pencils as a study before continuing the process to digital illustration.
Birdwing Butterfly

In the past, I used Macromedia Freehand MX but now I use Inkscape.
This butterfly illustration is now available as printed products in the form of t-shirts, hats, cell phone case, travel mug, and even pendant necklaces in my zazzle butterfy goods.
You could support my art creation works by ordering some of them.
Birdwing Butterfly Teapot
Birdwing Butterfly Teapot by tropicalart

The above product is a teapot that is made of bright white porcelain. I hope that you like it.