El Gordo

White pencil - black Fabriano paper

23” x 13”

Hammer

White pencil - Black Fabriano paper

26 x 16"

Lagoon Manta

White pencil - Black Fabriano paper 26" x 16"

Purchase Print Information

This image came from a wonderful afternoon’s snorkelling in South Ari Atoll, Maldives. After a full day’s diving, our guests were treated to a fantastic interaction with a group of six mantas feeding in the shallow water of Dhigurah lagoon. With no other groups around the Mantas were happy to continue cruising up and down the lagoon feeding on the plankton that had been trapped by the fall of the tide. The manta’s amazing cephalic lobes are uncoiled and used like scoops to funnel the plankton into their mouths.

Scumbag

White pencil - Black Canford paper 300gsm - 30" x 22"

Purchase print information

Hawksbill Turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata)are the most common turtle species to be found across the Indian Ocean. The name ‘Scumbag’ comes from the dive briefs I used to give onboard Sea Spirit in the Maldives to aid the less experienced divers in telling Hawksbill from Green turtles. Hawksbills don’t really care about our presence underwater, they carry on their day munching on sponges and climbing all over the reef. They are obviously not bothered by their own appearance with shells covered in algae, whereas Greens are aloof and will swim off if divers get too close for too long. They have immaculate shells which they spend hours cleaning.

Hence with great affection Hawksbills are scumbags :-)

Manta Cleaning

White pencil - Black Canford paper 300gsm - 26" x 15"

Purchase print information

There are many cleaning stations throughout the Maldives visited regularly by Manta Rays. These cleaning stations offer some of the best possible diver encounters with these wonderful creatures. For me, by far the best was ‘Donkalo’ in the NE monsoon season, At 20m down this stark strip of sand between two low lying reefs gave a beautiful back drop to (if you are lucky) waves of Mantas coming in to be cleaned. This image was based on one such lucky day. With just enough current to require no effort, this Manta hung suspended in the water whilst an army of cleaner wrasse went about their work. A dozen more were lined up behind ready to take their turn. 

Guadalupe Queen

White pencil - Black Canford paper 300gsm - 25" x 16"

Purchase print information

As Apex predators, Great White or White pointer sharks are common across all major coastal oceans. Notable for their size, females can reach 6 metres in length and nearly 2000kg. 

There are several places in the world where they can be seen by cage diving. Good friends of mine Lisa and Dave Allison asked me to produce a drawing from a photograph Lisa took whilst on a trip to Guadalupe Island off the coast of Mexico. 

I hope one day I will get so see these amazing predators for myself.

Bannerfish

White pencil - Black Canford paper 300gsm - 30" x 22"

Purchase print information

In the Maldivian Atoll of South Male there is a well-known dive site called Lhosfushi, also one of the best surf points in the Maldives. During my time as a liveaboard dive guide, my wife and i regularly took our guests from Sea Spirit to dive there. For several years I could brief divers on a list of marine life they would definitely encounter, including white tip reef sharks, leaf fish and porcelain crabs, but my favourite was always the large school of long finned bannerfish ‘Heniochus acuminatus’ 

Numbering in the thousands this school of fish was like a beautiful, constantly moving 3D sculpture, which I spent many dives filming and photographing. As predominantly black and white in colour, they made a great subject for a drawing and a classic image from the Maldives

Batfish

White pencil - Black Canford paper 300gsm - 30" x 22"

Purchase print information

Longfin Batfish (Platax teira) are found throughout the tropical seas, on reefs, under jetty’s and hanging around wrecks. But by far the best encounters are at the end of a dive when groups of them are known to follow divers to their safety stop and onto the surface. Apparently they are attracted to the colour yellow, which would account for the numerous times I have had extra buddies at the end of a dive. As residents on so many Maldivian dive sites these beautiful schooling fish were worthy of a drawing.

Eagle

White pencil - Black Canford paper 300gsm - 30" x 22"

Purchase print information

Spotted Eagle Rays (Aetobatus ocellatus) are a reasonably common sighting throughout the Maldives whether singularly or in schools but even still are a highlight to any dive as they cruise by. Rare is to witness their feeding behaviour. Eagle Rays feed on small crustaceans and molluscs, which they hunt by burrowing with their flat snout through the sandy sea floor. I have been lucky to film this on several occasions, particularly one individual at the dive site Rasdhoo Madivaru, from which this drawing was based.

Lion

White pencil  - Black Canford paper 300gsm - 30" x 22"

Purchase print information 

Anyone who has dived the Indian Ocean or the Red Sea they will have definitely seen Lionfish, they really are common, so common in fact, they are often overlooked or ignored. Unless of course it’s a night dive where it’s very difficult to not feel a little uncomfortable with their presence as they use your torch beam to hunt in.  For me they really are an incredible fish, especially in full display, not unlike a bird of paradise showing off its plumage. For years I tried to get the quintessential head on display photo, unfortunately I never did….. but I could draw it!