Life of Richard Parker

For years I taught the novel 'Life of Pi' to undergraduates.

 I have always been fascinated by the book and its setting in India and the Pacific Ocean.
Pi's leap for survival into the lifeboat lands him in the company of a bengal tiger, Richard Parker with whom he spends nearly 227 days at sea!

 In a letter to the author Yann Martel, Barack Obama described the novel as, "an elegant proof of God, and the power of storytelling." 

Adventure, spirituality, exploration of various religions and perseverance find voice in this novel.
I agree with Martel that the power of imagination can transcend “dry, yeastless factuality.”

Martel says,  “That's what fiction is about, isn't it, the selective transforming of reality? The twisting of it to bring out its essence?” 

Richard Parker is both fiction and reality. The reality of human will to survive and overcome fears. The symbol of Pi himself in his humanity and savagery.

I have always loved the various book covers of this novel! The tiger and the boy in the confines of the lifeboat thrilled me!

pic from google

Richard Parker is a character I will never forget.

 “It is true that those we meet can change us, sometimes so profoundly that we are not the same afterwards, even unto our names.” 

Interestingly, it is through journaling that Pi keeps himself sane through the tough period in his life.

When little Ay, a second grader who lives on the seventeenth floor of my apartment, wanted to know about animals, we looked at his encyclopedia and seeing the picture of the tiger excited him!
He wanted me to draw a tiger for him!

It is the national animal of India.

Inspired by the little one's eagerness, I set out to draw and here it is...

I used watercolor, ink, liners.

Linking to PPF, Creative Everyday, Art Journal Everyday, Artists In Blogland, Sunday Sketches.
Have a great week, everyone!