ArtFire

Penguin pendant featuring a mother penguin and her young chick in their arctic habitat has been hand painted on a bamboo tile. The background is painted in pale blues, white and gray to evoke the feeling of the bitter cold these creatures thrive in. Brrrrrrr...can you feel the icy winter wind of Antarctica?

When I painted this pendant, my original intent was to turn the chick's head a bit to the left, but his fuzzy little butt was so cute, that I decided to leave him be. I used acrylic paint on a bamboo tile which has had several coats of sealer applied to achieve a high gloss finish and to protect the painting.

Standing nearly four feet tall and weighing up to 90 pounds, Emperor penguins are the largest members of the penguin family. They live on and around Antarctica which is the coldest place on earth with temperatures dropping as low as minus 140 degrees Fahrenheit.

Females lay a single egg at the beginning of winter and then turn the task of caring for the egg over to the male, while the females return to sea to feed. The males remain behind to incubate the egg by keeping it on top of their feed where it is kept warm by a thick fold of skin that hangs from the male's belly. During this time, the males do not eat and can lose up to half their body weight.

Nine weeks later when the eggs start to hatch, the females return to tend to the chicks and the males leave for the open sea to feed. After a few weeks, the males return and both parents care for the chicks. The chicks are full grown in about six months at which time the families head for sea.

Emperor penguins begin to breed at the age of four years and mate for life. When they return to their breeding grounds from the ocean, the males and females reunite with their partners. Only if one of the pair does not return, does the Emperor penguin find another mate.

Aquamarine and black onyx beads dangle from the bottom of the pendant to further bring home the feel of the cold and to add a pleasing design element.

The back of the pendant is signed and dated by me and as a delightful surprise a tiny, penguin leaping off of ice and into the frigid waves of the ocean has been painted on the back side. People admiring this beautiful creation will not know it's there, but the one wearing the necklace will and turning it over to share with others will bring gasps of amazement and awe at the detail that has gone into this miniature miniature. Truly, the back brings an entirely new meaning to the term "miniature painting"!

The pendant is suspended on black leather cord and the ends of the cord have been finished with coiled wire components of my own original design. This is a very secure way to end cord and you can be assured that the cord will not come loose. The wire used for the ends is silver colored wire that is tarnish resistant. A silver plated large lobster claw clasp completes this stunning piece of jewelry.

The necklace measures 20 inches / 50.8 cm in length and the pendant is 1.5 inches / 3.8 cm in height and .75 inches / 1.9 cm in width. Including the dangling bead cluster total length of the pendant is 2.5inches / 6.35 cm.

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Like many, I find penguins to be delightful, entertaining creatures that seem to have a great sense of humor. It's been my desire to paint a penguin mother and chick for quite some time. I really enjoyed producing this little painting.

Bamboo, Acrylic Paint, Aquamarine and Black Onyx Beads, Black Leather Cord, Tarnish Resistant Silver Colored Wire