Thursday, December 8, 2016

Bush Flowers from the Jungle of West Papua

Here are small flowers that I saw in the bush while walking with some European tourists in the jungle. As a tourist guide, I often run rainforest tours for visitors who are interested in seeing flowers, butterflies, birds, beetles, and unique plants.
terrestrial orchid from West Papua
Bush Flowers from in the forest of West Papua
The duration of the rainforest tours is between 3 to 4 days with visitors staying in tents or huts in the jungle. The most favorite destination for tourists is Klasow valley located in the east of Sorong regency. There are wild flowers in the jungle, especially orchids, but there are also flowers that were planted by the villagers.
Visitors can watch birds such as sulphur crested cockatoo, Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaea minor), Pinon Imperial Pigeon (Ducula pinon) hornbills (Rhyticeros plicatus), Large Fig Parrot, and a lot more.
At night, visitors can join with me on a night walk to see wallaby. It is a kind of kangaroo but has got smaller body.
framed art print of flower drawing
Rainforest Flower Framed Art Print

In addition to birds and wallaby, the tropical rainforest of Klasow valley is the natural habitat of a lot of species of butterflies, some that I know are Blue Mountain Swallowtail (Papilio ulysses), Meadow Argus (Junonia villida), and Cruiser Butterfly (Vindula arsinoe) and Birdwing butterfly (Ornithoptera priamus).
If you are interested in taking rainforest tour in Klasow valley and need me as your guide, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com.
I will be happy to organize your trip and guide you into the jungle.

Sunday, December 4, 2016

Digital Illustration of Rainforest Flower

I often go to the rainforest in West Papua to guide tourists for 3 to 5 days to watch birds and other wild animals. I also saw various species tropical rainforest flowers which I could not identify their species names. One of them is shown below.
I created the digital illustration of the flower using Freehand MX, a vector drawing software from Macromedia which is now in the hands of Adobe. Unfortunately, it not updated anymore.
I use Inkscape to create my vector illustration. It is powerful and free. But now I prefer to create digital artworks on my Samsung Galaxy Tab A with Sketchbook Pro as choice for drawing application.
You could by my artwork above in the form of silver plated necklace, teapot, keychain, t-shirt or mugs by clicking the following product links:

Tropical Rainforest Flower Silver Plated Necklace
Tropical Rainforest Flower Silver Plated Necklace
by tropicalart


Tropical Rainforest Flower
Tropical Rainforest Flower
by tropicalart

Friday, December 2, 2016

Purple Flower

I have just finished my newest drawing tonight about two purple flowers that I often saw while walking around my neighborhood. Because their sizes are small, they are not considered as important as roses whose plants are higher.
People here may also consider this flower plant as grass.
However, I believe that they are so beautiful especially if I make a drawing of the flowers using my Samsung Tab A with S-pen. I used Autodesk Sketchbook to make it. I am happy to see the result. I hope that you also like this digital artwork.
Well, I often see the flowers when I guide European and American tourists in the jungle of Tambrauw mountains. During the tour, we see birds such as sulphur crested cockatoo, hornbills, frigate birds, eclectus parrot. We see unique bush flowers, orchids and plants of the tropical forest. We also swim in the fresh water river and build tents deep in the jungle.
I still do not know the species name of this flower plant. If you know it, please, contact me by e-mail to: peace4wp@gmail.com. Or if you are interested in taking rainforest tour in West Papua, particularly in Arfak mountains, Tambrauw mountains or Klasow valley, you can also send email me.
If you like the flowers, you could buy them in my zazzle store as a T-shirt by clicking the following link:

Purple Grass Flowers T-Shirt
Purple Grass Flowers T-Shirt
by tropicalart

Saturday, November 26, 2016

Drinking Nectar

Drinking Nectar
Here is a sketch of butterfly and hibiscus flower that I have just created while waiting for boarding time at Rendani Airport of Manokwari city. I was going to Sorong city by Sriwijaya Air. According to the schedule, the plane would leave at 9.30. So, I pulled the stylus pen of my tablet and started to draw.
I had not finished when the call for boarding came out of the loudspeaker in the waiting room.
When I was inside the plane, I still continued drawing this sketch but as the stewardesses started to demonstrate how to use lifejacket, I turned off my tablet and fastened my seat belt.
The flight duration between Manokwari and Sorong was 40 minutes. Shortly after I came out of the passenger terminal in Sorong city, I did not leave the airport. I decided to continue my drawing at a seat outside the building.
Now, it is ready as you can see the Butterfly (perhaps Ornitopthera priamus) and Red Hibiscus Flower on this post.
I saw the butterfly when I was guiding a British tourist who wanted to see tropical flowers in the rainforest of Manokwari. I guided her into the jungle of Arfak mountains to see orchids, and rhododendron flowers. She took a lot of pictures of the flowers for one week before flying back to her country - the United Kingdom.
Well, if you are interested in traveling to Manokwari to see flowers in the coastal areas and in Arfak mountains, and need me as your guide, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com

You could order the following jacket or mug with above drawing by pressing the following images:

Red Hibiscus and Ornitopthera Butterfly Jacket
Red Hibiscus and Ornitopthera Butterfly Jacket
by tropicalart

Ornitopthera Butterfly and Hibiscus Flower Coffee Mug
Ornitopthera Butterfly and Hibiscus Flower Coffee Mug
by tropicalart


Friday, November 25, 2016

Anggi Lakes of Arfak Mountains

Lake Anggi Giji
In my previous sketch about the Traditional House of Arfak Tribes, I said that I visited Anggi Lakes. They were very beautiful. Perhaps, you want to know they look like. Well, Google could help you find them.
I have just finished a sketch of one of the two lakes. Its name is Lake Anggi Giji or Lake Man. I stayed there for a few nights in the traditional houses of Sougb tribe. They were very friendly to me and my friends. It was very cold over there. And there were a lot of colorful flowers along the shores of the lakes as well as on top of the mountains that surround the lakes.
If you are interested in visiting the lakes and need me as your guide, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com

Thursday, November 24, 2016

A Nearly Empty Bottle of Chilli Sauce

Chilli Sauce
I visited a cafe in the downtown this afternoon. I did not have a cup of coffee though. I had a place of rice and a bowl of chicken soup locally called soto. It was delicious especially if it was added with some chilli sauce. Soto is famous in Indonesia. The chicken soup is cooked with turmeric. That's why the soup has got yellow colour.
The focus of my drawing that lunch time was not the soto but the chilli sauce. If you visit most of Indonesian eating houses, you will see a bottle or a small bowl of chilli sauce on every table. Indonesian people like chilli sauce.
When the worker of the cafe brought my soto chicken soup, he also brought a very small plate of freshly fried chilly sauce.
There was one bottle of chilli sauce on the table (it was nearly empty but was more than enough additional ingredients for 5 to 7 people's lunch). Still the waiter of the cafe gave me a small saucer of chilly sauce.
While my soto was being prepared in the kitchen of the cafe, I spent my time drawing the nearly empty bottle of the chilli sauce. Every body knows that it is hot. Well, there was the word "delicious" printed on it.
Well, the soto was getting colder.  Bon Appetit.

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Traditional House of tribes from Arfak Range

Rumah Kaki Seribu
I spent 5 days in Arfak mountains last week visiting some villages around Anggi lakes. The scenery was very beautiful. I also went hiking in the tops of Mount Kobrey and Mount Sensenemes. There were a lot of species of high altitude flowers including Anggi gladiol, nepenthes, rhododendrons, orchids, ants nests. During the tour, I stayed in the houses of the indigenous people called Rumah Kaki Seribu. Local people burned firewood to keep the room warm. Unfortunately, their houses did not have chimneys. I could not stand the smokes that filled in the whole spaces of the house.
I like the trip in Arfak mountains. It was a nice adventure. I hope to be back soon.

Monday, November 21, 2016

Male Lesser Birds of Paradise

Male Lesser Birds of Paradise
I bought a Samsung Galaxy Tab A last week. It has got an S-Pen which I could use for drawing or digital painting. After making some sketches of basic shapes, I decided to draw a bird. I used Autodesk Sketchbook free edition to create the drawing.
I haven't bought the professional version of the application but I feel that the free edition is powerful enough to create complex drawings. The bird that you see in this post is called male Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaea minor). It lives in the jungle of New Guinea particularly in the lowland and lower montane forests. Local people call it Burung Cendrawasih or Burung Kuning. Male birds are usually active in the mornings and in the afternoons. They compete one another to attract female birds for mating.
Paradise birds have been hunted since hundreds of years ago for their beautiful feather. It is important for us to protect them so that they will not extinct from their natural habitat. 

Friday, July 1, 2016

Sand Castle

Here is another drawing that I made in 2004. I shows how a boy was building a sand castle by the beach. He concentrated all this intelligent to build the castle. Playing with sand at the beach is fun. I used to do the same thing as the boy. I still go to the beach to swim and to enjoy free diving. I used watercolor and an A4 size white paper to make the painting.
Building Sandcastle
It is important to keep our sea clean so that no more plastic bottles will land at the beach. Let our children play at the beach that is free from wastes. Also, fishermen will be able to catch more healthy fish.
I also have created a lot of artworks that are available for anybody to purchase in zazzle store. Some of them are listed below:
Bird Knitting Nest Adult Apron
Bird Knitting Nest Adult Apron
by tropicalart

Paradise Bird T-Shirt
Paradise Bird T-Shirt
by tropicalart

Arm Wrestling

This is an old drawing of mine that depicts a father and a son were playing Arm Wrestling. Actually its real title is "David Against Dad." I made this drawing in 2004 when I was still living in Malang city of East Java. I think I used colored pencil manufactured by Faber Castell and created the artwork on an A4 size drawing paper.

I still have the original drawing. So, if you are interested in buying it, you can send me an email.