I have always been amused when I see on TV or in the movies a group of penguins dressed in “tuxedos” waddling along in the Antarctic.
As a young boy I made my first penguin out of paper pulp (papier-mâché). My mother dried it above the woodstove in our apartment and when it was dry I painted it black and white. For years this 20 cm high penguin lived on top of the cupboard in my childhood home. Unfortunately my apartment was destroyed in the 40’s during the bombing of Helsinki and the penguin was lost in the mayhem of war.
Penguin chicks are covered in grey soft feathers and will turn black and white when adults, but I have used the liberties of an artist and allowed this particular penguin chick to have black and white feathers.
The shape of the head and the profile with the cute beak have the right proportions and the eyes have the realistic almond shape characteristic to penguin chicks. This little penguin has perhaps had a little too much to eat and therefore has the round belly, but this particular rotund shape allows it to mimic the realistic waddling movement, which makes it so lovable and cute. ( Eero Aarnio)
