Well I haven't managed to take a trip to the Falkland Islands to get some Rockhopper reference, but I did find a photo I took at London Zoo of their resident male, Ricky. I think these penguins are one of the most comical looking creatures on the planet. This guy has a haircut plucked straight out of the 80's. He reminds me of David Bowie in the film 'Labyrinth'! (If you haven't seen this fim already I highly recommend it!)
I may have overdone the yellow head feathers a bit, but I think it adds even more character to this penguin. He was pretty easy to paint, but I spent an absolute age trying to get his beak correct. It's quite an unusual, razor-like beak with lots of grooves and angles.
One of the reasons this image was so quick to execute is the monochrome colours. Although the blacks in my paintings are never pure black. Rockhopper feathers have a lovely blue sheen which I had to re-create with blue ink blobbed over the top of the black watercolour. The red eye stands out like a mini fire, so I used 'mars red' and a crisp highlight of white acrylic to make it shine.
I am tempted to get this fella framed and entered in the SWLA exhibition in August. I think he would prove to be a popular and certainly an alternative looking addition!
