(aa) AFRICAN PENGUINS – AN ORIGINAL WATERCOLOUR PAINTING

This painting was inspired by a series of photographs I took at the African Penguin colony in Betty’s Bay – a short distance from my home studio in Hermanus. There are only two colonies of African Penguins on the mainland, the one at Betty’s Bay and the other at Simon’s Town in Cape Town. All the other colonies are on islands just offshore. The population of African Penguins is in serious decline as a result of commercial over-fishing and it’s shocking to think that these beautiful animals may disappear entirely from the wild. They are such endearing creatures; on land they waddle about, stumbling clumsily over the rocks, arguing amongst themselves, braying like donkeys (hence their previous unflattering name – Jackass Penguins!) But the moment they enter the water, everything changes and suddenly they become sleek and powerful. My favourite time to visit the colony is late in the afternoon, that is when the birds that have been out to sea fishing return to shore. You see them at a distance, a small group of black and white torpedoes, darting through the surf as though water should be the natural environment for all birds. They almost seem to fly through the waves and at times it can be difficult to follow their movements. And then all at once they shoot out of the water and on to the rocks, leaving their strong, graceful, stream-lined attributes behind and turning once again into noisy, comical, ungainly creatures. An original watercolour painting. This painting is delivered rolled into a tube, ready for framing. Size: 420mm x 570mm