When I decided to paint Magellanic penguins I had hundreds of my reference photos to review. My main goal was to tell a story unique to this penguin species. The background plays a large part in the story with the mountains and the burrow. Even the dead brush on the right is integral to the story.
On our drive to the dock to catch the small boat to take us to Hammer Island (note: boat had a special permit to land), we passed trees bent by the strong prevailing winds at the tip of South America. The brush in the painting is a nod to the wind's impact on the vegetation.
photo by Linda
photo by Linda
For the penguins I wanted to draw a pair which felt like a pair.
Forming strong bonds, Magellanic penguins are known to mate for life. Many of the pairs I saw had one penguin which would be just right for a painting but the other's posture was not what I wanted. It was time to create a pair.
I started with choosing the background penguin to paint. A particular penguin's tall stance what just what I wanted. Now to find the mate. When I came across a photo of the foreground penguin the search was over. All I had to do when drawing was to adjust its size in proportion to the background penguin.
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