"Baby Emperor Penguins" (watercolor on paper; 6" x 6")

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Whenever I work on an animal series in watercolor, emperor penguins are always one of the first animals I paint.  How can you resist their quirky beauty and resilient life story in the Antarctica?  Have you ever seen "March of the Penguins," the 2005 French feature-length nature documentary, narrated by Morgan Freeman?  If not, you must!

Here a couple of baby emperor penguins huddle together for warmth. Instead of fussing over the fuzzy texture of the fur, I used granulating paints, such as Holbein mineral violet.  For the black head and feet, I used ivory black, which may sound natural to you, but it is a major breakthrough for me.  There are many "stupid" rules in the world of watercolors; one of them is NEVER use black.  Why not?  I think it looks rather punchy, don't you agree?