I painted this piece to give two sides to the same story; basically it breaks down to the "glass is half empty; the glass is half full" mentality. In the background you see a rolling cloud bank that is coming towards the Antarctic Islands to block out the sun, as all clouds do- this could signify the extinction of life BUT in the foreground you have a pair of macaroni penguins in their breeding postures which signifies the renewal of life. It's this renewal of life that gives us eternal hope; no matter how many cloud banks come towards us, if we do what's necessary to keep ALL species alive and the chance for them to renew life, this will overcome all obstacles.