A01: Faithfully Guiding

Oil on Canvas
24" x 48" 

One of the most touching and exciting moments in the emperor penguin colony is to spot a parent and a chick waddling around together while waiting for the other parent to bring food home from foraging at sea. A hungry chick clings to their parent for dear life, asking for food by bobbing their head up and down and whistling. But, they don't always get it. It depends on whether or not they can find their parent, as well as if the parent still has food in their stomach to regurgitate.

I took this gorgeous picture of a penguin parent-chick pair on a sunny day. The sunset  created dramatic silver linings around their silhouettes and cast a long shadow on the endless ice sheets. 

To more precisely communicate this heartwarming tale and the high contrast between the warmth of their bond and the bitter cold surroundings, I created the uneven ice sheets under their feet and the ice cliffs and rocks in the background. The flowing pattern of the ice sheets guide the view to the captivating backdrop.