Design of New Guesthouse in Arfak range

by Charles Roring
Last week I finished the design of a guesthouse for tourists who want to go trekking in Arfak range. I drew it using Google Sketchup 8. I got the software before it was bought by Trimble. It took around one week to make the basic drawings of the house. Most parts of the house will be built using wood that is abundant in the region. Only the door handles, roof and windows that are from manufactured goods. The house will be constructed around 1 meters above the ground. Local builders will do most of the construction works. After finishing the design works, I am now trying to raise some money to help local people build it.
The followings are the design of the guesthouse as seen from several directions:

Traveling in the jungle of West Papua is not the same as traveling in the tropical Caribbean islands. To reach the place where birds of paradise dance in the morning and in the afternoons, visitors need to walk up steep slopes for nearly one hour. Spending one or two nights in the jungle of Warmarway exploring the rainforest with its rich eco-system will only be interesting for nature lovers. The guesthouse that I design will become a comfortable accommodation for anybody who is planning to go trekking in the forest of Arfak range. If you are interested in donating your money for this project or visiting Arfak range, please, contact me by email to peace4wp@gmail.com. 

Boys and their Canoes

Numfor is an island in the southern region of Pacific Ocean. It is between Biak island and Manokwari regency (in the mainland of New Guinea). I went there several times with foreign visitors who wanted to go there to enjoy snorkeling, and birdwatching. These visitors came from the Netherlands and Czech Republic. While I was in Numfor, I saw that most of the villages were located along the coastal areas. The children liked to paddle their boats to the sea where they could catch fish or just swim in the warm tropical waters.
It was sunset and the boys were returning from the sea. They rowed two outrigger canoes. In Indonesian language these small boats are called perahu. They spend most of their times at sea.

Numfor is a beautiful island that is surrounded by coral reef. The tropical rainforest that covers the island is also the natural habitat of various kingfishers, Blyth's hornbill, sulphur crested cockatoos and birds that like to eat fish. Birdwatchers should consider this island as their birding destination. by Charles Roring

White objects sketching

To improve his or her sketching skills, an artist must perform life drawing exercises regularly. I also do the same. Last night I gathered some white things that I found in the kitchen and put them on the cover of Canon Pixma - my desktop printer. Then I took my A4 size sketchbook and Maries C7300-6 charcoal pencil to draw them. I feel that doing still life drawing is more challenging than drawing from photograph. An artist needs to create an imaginary boundaries for the subjects that he wants to "move" onto a paper. This can easily be done using a view finder but I don't use it. I prefer to set the boundaries using my own eyes and fingers. 

The first appliance that I drew was a Philips incandescent lamp.  Then I drew an emergency lamp behind it. The Philips water heater that I sketched on the top right was added as the third last object on the paper. There were some sentences around the heater symbol but I didn't draw them. The letters were too small for my charcoal pencil that had been blunt already.
In addition to drawing with charcoal and graphite pencils, I also like watercolor painting. However, the accuracy of pencils and the spontaneity of watercolor are the media that I most prefer. So, I use Derwent watercolor pencils to drawing and paint human figures, landscapes and animals for my artworks. I plan to showcase my works in etsy.com this year so that viewers who are interested in the artworks can order them from the website.

A Mother and Her Children in Arfak range

Arfak range is located in the south of Manokwari city. I often visit the mountains while guiding tourists. Most of them go there to watch birds of paradise, or do some trekking in the jungle. I still arrange trips for foreign visitors to the mountains every month.

The villagers who live in the mountains work as farmers. They work hard to make money. The agricultural produce that they harvest from their farmland is sold in the market of Manokwari. Mothers are the ones who work hard. They work in their vegetable patches, and also sell them  in the market. They also have to raise their children. Every family on the average has got 2 to 3 children.
Because the cost of transportation from Manokwari city to Arfak range is very expensive, the profit which the mothers get from selling their sweet potatoes, carrots, cabbage and passion fruits is just enough to buy some clothes, rice, instant noodles, salt and a few school supplies.
The above picture is a charcoal drawing of a mother and her two children from Arfak range. I made the drawing based on a photograph. I can do life drawing to with a model sitting or lying on a couch or mattress in front of me in certain reclined position.