Sharks and Recreation

 

I wanted to kickstart the year with a masterpiece but this took me way longer than I thought. I'd actually sketched this out about a year or two ago and never got around to finishing it. It is inspired by "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" by Georges Seurat but I, of course, had to name mine "Sharks and Recreation".

Sharktivity #17: Lemon shark does a bit of gardening [Earth day 2020]

In honor of Earth Day, I thought it would be fun to draw something green and full of life. Do not ask me what any of those plants are though. I only know the sunflower and the wildflowers. The Lemon Shark (Negaprion brevirostris) probably knows more than me.
We have been entrusted to take care of this planet. I hope we do something small in our own ways.

Remoras, Pilots and Copepods

It's good to be back. I've always enjoyed cartoons that help you put your tiny problems in perspective while also teaching you wonderful lessons about life and the world. For those of you don't know the companions to the sharks, we have:
Pilot Fish:
While these fish do prefer Oceanic whitetip sharks, I had to choose between a sucker fish on The Shark vs being followed by a striped fish and I think the latter appealed more. Here's a bit more information on pilot fish.
Remora:
These unique fish have a suction cup on top of their heads which helps them to attach themselves to sharks and other creatures. This way they can eat scraps around their host and clean their host's skin too.
 Which brings us to why the Greenland shark is annoyed. There's a tiny little parasite, a copepod (Ommatokoita elongata) that attaches itself to the EYE of these sharks!
So, when one considers all that they have to complain about for the day, do remember that at least you don't have a copepod hanging from your eye. If you do, I suggest you try and make friends since you're going to be together for a long time.

Mutual learning

I was asked to do a cartoon on what we can learn from the ocean. This one was a bit deeper and more serious than intended so I did a different one for that project (hopefully you'll see it someday soon). But I did like the message of this one so I thought I'd complete it anyway. Quite apt with teachers' day around the corner, isn't it?
I think so much about our planet can be learnt from the ocean. It should be protected and respected but we take it for granted. Ocean life can fill us with awe and wonder every time we encounter it and yet we are systematically destroying it. What an opinion they must have about us!

ps - I do love the idea of these mini-discussion groups around the reef.

Some kind of something: Earth Day 2017

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - which is why I have reused/recycled an old strip and made it a reduced version of what a good Earth Day cartoon should be.
In all seriousness, I do believe that one of Man's primary purposes was to care for this world. It is a good world. It's a beloved world. And we were entrusted with it. We had one job.
I went to an Earth day event today called the Reciprocity Fest - it was a bit enlightening. I'm not as green as I could be. My convenience comes first. That's not a good example for the next generation. I think every beverage joint in the world should offer discounts to anyone who takes in their own reusable mug/cup. Or at least not refuse them service.

Bitter about Litter!

I was asked to make some art for a beach festival (please read the post script for my take on this) to spread the message of "No littering". I made these ten.  The footprints, the "ocean-minded", "ocean sense" and "make trash extinct" lines are inspired by other posters I saw online.

The rest may seem a bit harsh, but honestly littering is just a combination of laziness, selfishness, bad manners and being aesthetically challenged. It's not that hard to find a bin. It's not too hard to take it with you. Don't litter public spaces - trash isn't pretty and it harms life around you especially marine life.

#1 - Part of your world? No, thanks.

#2 - Forget them not.

#3 - Love your neighbour

#4 - No mixed signals please!

#5 - Take it back.

#6 - Yay, us!

PS- This "festival" I went to was at a local beach and was very pretty, nicely decorated. It was mainly beach sports + music + dance + puppy pad - a bit hodgepodgey. While the environment was fabulous, I read a post about how these festivals could harm the beaches if proper care isn't taken. If such was the case, I should have known better so I apologise to my marine conservationist friends for not doing enough research or for not having a deeper conversations about these concerns (although I didn't really hear back from the conservationists). But if people love the beach so much, litter and marine life should be as much of a concern as enjoying it.

Chennai will rise again!

Some of you may not have heard much about the Chennai (Madras) Floods. I was mercifully spared from the worst of it because I had to leave the city a couple of days before the rains started. I heard from friends that the water levels were rising. Something like this happened in 2005 and we didn't have power for 2 days. But it wasn't as bad as this one. People had water levels reaching up to the first floor of their houses. Many of them didn't have power, food, medicines, transport or drinking water. There was no way to get out of their houses and soon communication devices died. This would have been a hopeless and miserable situation. Then something amazing happened. Everyone reached out to each other. Homes were opened up. Food shared. Amazing people braved the flooded roads to get people out. Stories after stories poured in about how every available resource for used for the victims. The 'victims' became volunteers themselves. When disaster strikes, the beauty of humanity gets the chance to shine through. And the people of Chennai grabbed that chance with both hands. I'm so proud of them. Chennai will rise from the waters.
I hope the cause for such destruction will be discovered and if man-made, they will fix it. I also hope that once the city is restored, the people will continue to strengthen the bonds that were built and that they will make the city even better.

Sea Scapes: Ocean Harmony

My sister asked me to paint her an "underwater" scene for her house. She gave me this rough doodle to describe what she wanted.

After much prayer that my sea creatures turn out alright, this here is my finished drawing.

I didn't add the "sea unicorns". I thought I'd save those for a less surreal drawing.

Orca rider

I was trying to teach myself how to draw and colour water and look what happened! There are orcas breaching out of it! I'm quite happy with the way this turned out.
I wanted to draw orcas ever since I watched Blackfish. My water art isn't great but hopefully I'll get better at drawing orcas - they're so amazing.

Nature... not really a quiet zone!

I always thought that my home town was a quiet, peaceful place compared to the city with all the traffic noise and other rackets. You could hear the birds chirping away. Then these birds (cuckoos, I think) starting screeching at 3am and continued screeching all the way until noon. It's as if they think they're roosters or something. They sound like banshees! So, for the sake of sleep, I can only sleep with my windows closed. Nature is like an alarm clock you cannot smash into quietness. 

Oil-free Lofoten, please?

Politicians want to drill for oil in the beautiful and important Lofoten Islands of Norway. Help us tell them no!

The Lofoten Islands is the kindergarten for 70 % of all commercial fishing stocks in the Barents Sea and the Norwegian Sea. The area has the world’s largest known cold water coral reef and the largest seabird colony on mainland-Europe. All official environmental agencies in Norway are against oil development, but the politicians don’t want to listen!

 “Oh, Dakuwaqa” and Hjelp Havets Haier are saying 'NO!' to oil in one of the most important ocean areas of the world!

Here's the Norwegian version: