Line art and finding patterns in nature
Line art has become a beautiful way for me to explore the use of patterns to depict and understand the biodiversity of rich ecosystems like oceans and mangroves, to understand the anatomical details of wildlife.
Here are a few of the illustrations I made using the theme for oceans, mangroves, turtles, owls and viper. Looking forward to making more.
The beautiful biodiversity of oceans
Oceans are home to beautiful biodiversity, ranging from planktons to giant whale sharks, with everyone living interconnected and helping sustain live within and outside oceans. This diversity is currently under threat; the reefs that are home to many species are dying with the warming seas and affecting those who seek shelter and sustenance from it. The oceans are also filling up with pollutants from land and vessels treading in it and degrading the habitats of many species.
The oceans are connected to the lands in many ways and the survival of life depends on healthy and diverse oceans and we should all do our part to ensure they stay healthy.
The making........
The complexity of Mangroves
One of the most majestic wetlands for me are the Sundarbans. These coastal wetlands have too many credits to their name when it comes to supporting rich biodiversity, protecting coasts, sustaining livelihood and resources, and resisting impacts of climate change. The Sunderbans are also home to unique wildlife including tigers that have adapted themselves to the working of this complex land.
This year of the tiger, saving tigers mean saving the places they call home and in doing so we also save wildlife and people whose futures are interlinked with the survival of wetlands like mangrove forests.
The making.......
Mangroves are one of most unique ecosystem in the world. They play important ecological roles, support a range of biodiversity and sustain livelihood of communities around the world. Mangroves belonging to the genus Rhizophora are called 'True mangroves'. They are species that occur only in mangrove forests, play significant role in the structure of mangrove community and have morphological specialization to adapt to the mangrove environment (Tomlinson, 2016) Red mangrove, belonging to the genus Rhizophora is the most common mangrove species in the world. They have unique propagule that are live plants that stay on the tree and when they drop off, they undergo rooting and producing a new tree.
Russell's Viper
Russell's Viper is one of the venomous snakes found in India and is among the "big four", a group of snakes classified so because of the number of medically significant human snake bite cases attributed to them in the country. Snakes usually attack as a last measure of self defense and mostly prefer to escape and be left alone. Snakebite still is a significant concern in the country impacting communities living alongside the various venomous snake species. However, mitigation measures have been advocated and awareness raised to prevent and manage such incidents and reduce wildlife conflict and promote peaceful coexistence.
An important factor brought to light in managing snakebite cases is the lack of variety of antivenoms. Improving and making accessible the treatment measures would be an important step to solve the issue for both human and wildlife.
An important factor brought to light in managing snakebite cases is the lack of variety of antivenoms. Improving and making accessible the treatment measures would be an important step to solve the issue for both human and wildlife.
Owls
India is home to more than 30 species of owls. They have important environmental roles as well as ecological services in keeping pest control. Despite these benefits owls are the unfortunate victims of superstitious practices in the country which leads to the poaching and mortality of many species to meet the demand. There is a need to generate awareness about the exploitation of these species and the existence of such occult practices to ensure the safety and survival of these beautiful species.
