African Penguins at the Beach, Watercolour Painting

 

My latest latest African penguins at the beach watercolour painting is nearly done. I look forward to sharing the complete work here soon.

For now, here is the story of this painting:

"The Great Beach Debate"

It was a fine, sunny day at Boulder’s Beach, and the tide was low enough for serious penguin business to unfold. “Alright,” said Percy, the penguin in the middle, puffing his chest out. “We need to decide once and for all—are we going for a swim… or for ice cream?” Beatrice, to his left, tilted her head. “Ice cream. Obviously.” She gestured at the sun-baked rocks. “Perfect weather for it.” Gregory, standing opposite her, flapped his wings dramatically. “No, Beatrice! Swimming comes first! The waves are perfect, the fish are practically begging to be caught—”

 

From a distance, lonely Nigel stood staring at the water, ignoring them entirely. He was already in “ocean mode,” imagining himself gliding like an aquatic ballet dancer. “Look, Greg,” Beatrice said, “last time we went swimming first, you ate so much seaweed you got stuck in the kelp. And we still didn’t get ice cream.” Gregory scowled. “That was a tactical error.”

Percy rolled his eyes. “How about this—we swim to the ice cream shop.” There was a long pause.
Beatrice tapped her beak thoughtfully. “I’m in.” Gregory grinned. “That’s… actually brilliant.”

And just like that, the Great Beach Debate was settled. The four waddled toward the waves, dreams of fish and chocolate chip ice cream mingling in the salty air.

Little did they know, the ice cream shop had been closed for three days due to a very confused seagull invasion. But that’s another story.