13 Reasons Why (I Love Sharks)

I probably cannot tell you how many times I've been asked the question "Why Sharks?". I usually tell them it's because they ask such a question.
And then I thought about it and decided that I should give them a bunch of real reasons why I love sharks. So I came up with these. Don't worry, I do have a few sarcastic replies as well which will hopefully be another comic strip at some point.

For those of you who don't know, Port Jackson sharks are a type of Bullhead shark species (Heterodontiformes).

If you have a particular reason why you love sharks, do let me know and hopefully I can turn it into a cartoon for the next set of reasons.


I'll get a poster done at some point and it'll probably look like this. So let me know if you'd like one.

ps - I have not watched "13 Reasons Why" nor am I a fan of "Game of Thrones" so my apologies to those shows.

Sharkin' on the dock of the bay

SharkFest UK is coming out with a calendar with images to change the perspective of sharks.

A lot of us have a perception of them as scary and creepy. I try to portray them as beautiful, relatable animals that play an important role in the environment. My shark art is usually inspired by human activities that are fun and inclusive.

Please go vote here everyday http://wshe.es/iLvtyZlF if you want to see this in the SharkFest UK calendar!

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.

World Oceans Day 2016

Yes, Sharks are that important. There are many ways in which Sharks keep the ecosystem in a balance. Being top predator of the oceans, they keep prey in check which in turn keeps reefs etc healthy and therefore the oceans stay healthy. Overfishing of sharks will affect everything. If the sharks go, the oceans will get affected and so will the Earth.
We have been put on this planet to take care of it. All of creation was given to us to protect and nurture and use as we needed. We have abused that privilege and our future generations will have to reap the consequences unless we change things today.

World Oceans Day

No Limits? No Future! "Blues Band"

Limited Edition 'Blues Band' cartoon for The Shark Trust's "No Limits?" crowdfunder campaign - Please pledge and help them reach their goal! http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/sharktrust

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.

#Penguinplunge

My friend at Sharktopia motivated me to draw one for the #Penguinplunge - an initiative by The Antarctic Ocean Alliance.  You're supposed to get a photo of yourself jumping into water but I thought Sharktopia's drawing idea was rather cool. So here are my characters dressed up as penguins taking the plunge.
Help protect the Antarctic wilderness!

Jurasshark World!

I've been waiting for the Jurassic World movie ever since I saw a hint of it last year. I love all the previous movies and must have watched them over a dozen times. The trailer for the new one looks so amazing - even though the poor shark gets chomped. Even if it turns out to be not as good as I expect, it will still be so much fun.

Happy World Oceans Day 2015!

I hadn't read the theme for this year's World Oceans Day (Healthy Oceans, Healthy Planet) when I started drawing this. It ended up to be quite fitting. I wanted to draw the alternative scenario of a despondent ocean but for now, I'll leave us with happy thoughts. It's a colourful, mysterious, beautiful world down there and we seem to take it for granted and assume we have the right to control or trespass or violate it as we wish. Respect the Oceans and allow all the creatures to play their roles in nature. Not just today but everyday.
Happy Oceans, Healthy Oceans, Healthy Planet, Happy Planet.

ps - The Manatee is playing a guitarfish, okay?

Frilled to be a Shark! - Deep Sea Sharks #1

I've been working with Fin Fighters on their new campaign to raise awareness about deep sea sharks. Here's a sneak preview of what is to come.
I must admit that I didn't particularly fancy several of these species and thought a lot of them looked similar (especially when I try to draw them) but once I started finding them interesting and needing to be recognised as sharks too. They add to the amazing tapestry of shark varieties and what makes them so fascinating.
The Frilled Shark is one of them. I found it a bit tricky to draw but when I finished the drawing, the caption happened quite easily.

Tope o' the morning!

I did a few drawings for The Shark Trust and one of them happened to be this Tope Shark. As luck o' the Irish would have it, they responded today (on St.Patrick's day) asking if we could post this on our pages. How exciting!
Here's more information on the Tope Shark.

Shout out to "Sharktopia"!

I came across some amazing shark art the other day and sent an email to the artist saying how much I liked it. The website was "Sharktopia" with the tagline "Awareness through art" (which I love and agree with). Almost immediately I got the most enthusiastic and encouraging reply from the extremely talented Caitlin Cove saying that we shark artists need to unite and proposed we do a bit of a cross over awareness. This is me giving "Sharktopia" a shout out and here's to many more collaborations and hoping many more shark artists will join hands (pens/ pencils/ paintbrushes/ wacoms/ whatever) to create a greater awareness for sharks.  

You can also find Sharktopia on Facebook and Instagram.

Jaw size does matter.

I wanted to do a little something to celebrate the 40th anniversary of "Jaws". It is the movie that started it all. It may have created some unwarranted and unnecessary fear but it also created intrigue and fascination in some people. We've come a long way and there haven't been very many shark movies that are as good. So here's to you, Steven Spielberg and Peter Benchley - thanks again! 

A Shark AND a Pencil! Now that's scary, right?

I was really saddened by the Charlie Hedbo shooting. I can't believe that cartoonists were shot to death because of something they drew. People seem to get offended all the time these days. Since when did it become okay to end human lives over that? I mean, isn't everyone else expected to turn the other cheek if they are offended?

Nice article here.

Sharkartoons: Art on display

These are the pieces on display at my art exhibit.

"Everyday is an Abbey Road" - 8"x8"

"Beach Buds" - 8"x8"

"Blues Band" - 11"x17" approx.

"Shark! The Herald Angels Sing" (also available as Christmas cards) - 8"x8"

"Country Girl, Shark it for me!" - 11.5"x17.5" approx.

"Sharks at Central Perk" 11.5x"x17.5" approx.

"Lunch atop a skyscraper with the Sharks" - 11.5"x17.x5" approx.

"Leopard Tree Dream" (Get the reference?) - 8"x8"

"Nightsharks"  - 11.5"x17.5" approx.

"Sea scapes" - 11"x17" approx.

"Shark du Soleil" - 17"x11" approx.

"Sharkin' in the rain" - 17.5"x11.5"

"Not-so-lone Shark" - 8"x8"

"Orca Rider" - 8"x8"