A10: Miraculous Beauty

Oil on Canvas
18" x 24" 

Although it was an overcast day, I was very excited about the first hike to the famous Gould Bay emperor penguin colony on the Weddell Sea coast. I was geared up with polar outfit, packed the hot lentil soup that the camp chef had just prepared for our expedition, cameras and pee bottle in the sled. 

From the campsite, I could see a long black line in the distance...it was the emperor colony. As the black line got more pronounced and thicker, I could hear the trumpeting calls from thousands of emperors that I was about to see in person.

After trekking about an hour and a half on uneven ice and snow, I was finally surrounded by thousands of emperor penguin families. They either chill together, or waddle around with their parents or chicks.

I felt like I was in a dream as pure white snow gently landed onto the chick's grayish fluffy down.

As they turned their heads, the stunningly bright orange color on their necks and light-yellow gradient tone on their breasts danced in harmony with the pitch black color on their heads, one of the most beautiful embellishments in Antarctica.