Another Polar Bear Spring Into Sunset

Here is the second new polar bear painting of the Into The Sunset – Spring Series.

If you’ve been following me on social media, you may have noticed some inconsistency in the titles of this series, as they vary from post to post. The titles for this body of polar bear oil paintings are evolving along with the theme and the work itself. (read more here)

My concept is clear enough. The polar bear, the sky, nature, the expansive vista – all are beautiful and inspiring, The arrival of spring, brings an end to the long , dark arctic winter days. Daylight returns and with it glorious big sky sunsets.

My winter has certainly been a long one, but our weather here in the Toronto, Ontario, Canada is nothing compared to the far north. I started this series in January, and it was a joy to paint bright skies, pretty colours, and of course, these beautiful polar bear faces , as the weather outside my cozy studio hovered well below zero.

We universally love a good sunset, don’t we? In art, a sunset can symbolize contracting themes – finality and the end of the story, or the promise and hope of a new day ahead.

So, no wonder I struggle with what to call the series and each painting – when the polar bear/climate change story, as well as our own, is equally “up in the air” as to a happy or sad end of the day. To see more polar bear paintings, please visit http://www.christinemontague.com/polar-bear-paintings

Spring- Into the Sunset 2. A Polar Bear Series Original 24″ x 24″ oil painting by ©Christine Montague 2019. For more information, please contact me here

Into the Sunset – A New Polar Bear Series

In this new series of polar bear portrait oil paintings on canvas, a beautiful polar bear is portrayed against the setting sun, and the arctic sea.

It is spring. The polar bear’s solitary journey in search of seals, a mate, and shelter on the sea ice is coming to an end for another year.

The darkness of the arctic winter day vanishes along with the sea ice. Sunshine returns and so do the glorious big sky sunsets. ( See another blog post about vanishing sea ice and polar bears  here)

As the day draws to an end, the sun’s glory is reflected off the open water, the remaining ice, and the polar bear‘s translucent fur – sea, ice and polar bear connected by its light, colour and warmth.

We can reflect, too. What will we lose under the threat of climate change? A setting sun offers hope with a new day ahead, but “into the sunset” can also signify the end.

This is the first polar bear painting in the new series . I’d love to know what you think.

Into the Sunset 1, A Polar Bear Series. ©Christine Montague 2019. 24″ x 24″ polar bear portrait oil painting on canvas. Contact Christine here or please visit ChristineMontague.com for this and other polar bear art about wonder (nature, our world) and warning ( climate change) .

The Suspense of Beauty

A flash of northern lights reveals a beautiful polar bear suspended beneath the surface of the sea, in my oil painting, The Suspence of Beauty.

The polar bear is a a buoyant animal, a strong swimmer, and is comfortable in this underwater space.

The Suspense of Beauty. Dark Water Series. ©Christine Montague 30″ x 30″ original polar bear oil painting. 

But the frozen sea is its true place, vital to travel, hunting, mating, denning.

Due to climate change, sea ice forms later in the fall, and melts too soon in the spring, leaving the fate of the polar bear species, in suspense.

But for the time, in this painting, we can admire the beauty, and power of the bear, envy its solitude, see the intelligence in its bright eyes. Beautiful deep blues, green, and much unlike the situation, black and white.

Please feel free to contact me here for more info about The Suspense of Beauty, or any other inquiries about my polar bear art.

Polar Bear in Dark Water

Dark Water 1 is an oil painting portrait of a beautiful polar bear swimming.  The water is dark, as daylight is diminished in the arctic fall.

Dark Water 1. © Christine Montague 30″ x 30 ” oil painting. Available at Artworld Fine Art Gallery until July 20, 2017.  Please contact the gallery here. 

But dark water has another implication. The earth’s bright white polar ice cap, which serves as a giant reflector for the sun’s heat, is being diminished by climate change from carbon emissions. The melting polar ice increases the darkness of the planet’s surface (hence “dark water”), decreases the sun reflected back into space, and increases the heat absorbed by the earth. More ice melts, which creates more dark water,  and so the loop continues.

This loop of sea ice loss and increased dark water endangers the polar bear. Although this magnificent bear is a highly intelligent (think great ape), top-of-the-arctic-food-chain marine mammal (the only bear that is such), and is a powerful swimmer (slightly webbed front paws, highly insulated and buoyant body), it is dependant on the frozen sea for hunting (only seal fat sustains them, not berries or birds’ eggs), resting, feeding (can’t nurse in water) and denning (necessary for mother bears with cubs, semi-hibernation, and to ride out storms).  The increase of the period of open water from spring to fall, and the distance between ice tops in winter, leaves the polar bear and its cubs vulnerable to starvation, attack, and drowning.

The polar bear in Dark Water 1 gazes back upon her path, her body twisted as if in question.

It is up to the viewer to imagine how far outside the picture frame the next ice floe waits, and whether or not, until this moment, her journey was a solitary one.

New Polar Bear Painting – Benediction

Benediction. New polar bear painting. ©ChristineMontague.com

Fresh Off the Easel

Benediction, a 36″ x 12″ polar bear oil painting on canvas is the latest painting off my easel.  This polar bear, suspended upright under blue free water,  seems to be giving a blessing. Who would be the recipient of such a gift, do you think?

As with other paintings in the polar bear  Sink/Swim Series, we are at that tipping point of loosing much that is wonderful in this world. We need all the blessings we can get, and we should not only count them, but protect and nurture them, too.

I’m very blessed I can take the risk to follow my polar bear muse and look forward to where this polar bear art will take me.  Are you enjoying these polar bear paintings?  Let me know as I enjoy and appreciate your comments!

If you would like to purchase a polar bear painting or some of my other representational art, simply visit ChristineMontague.com for perusal and contact links.

New Polar Bear Cub Painting Study 4

Polar bear cub 4. Sink/Swim series study. Original painting © Christine Montague 2015

New Oil Painting Study in the Sink/ Swim Series

The polar bear cub in Polar Bear Cub 4 , a 6″ x 12″ oil painting study on canvas, is the latest study off my easel  for the Sink/Swim Series.  Once again, as with the oil paintings posted in  New Painting – Shrodinger’s Cat, er, Bear and Polar Bear Cub Painting for International Polar Bear Day , a polar bear cub is depicted mid-swim, beneath the water’s surface. This polar bear cub, is a solid little bear, isn’t he?

The Sink/Swim Series

My polar bear Sink/Swim series of oil paintings offers commentry on the effect vanishing polar ice has on the survival of the polar bears. The delay in the formation of the sea ice, leaves the baby polar bear more vulnerable to attack by hungry male polar bears. The increased open water means the distance a mother polar bear must travel, polar bear cub(s) on back, before ice is found to rest on or hunt seal from,  increases the odds the polar bear bear cub(s), and even the mother, will make it safely ice top.

The sink or swim aspect can apply to the bigger picture of our planet as well. The decrease in the polar bear population is but one of the many consequences of increased global warming, and the resulting polar and glacial ice loss. Less ice means more dark water. Read more about that cycle on my previous post. As polar caps melt, sea water rises, and as a good part of our population lives near the water’s edge, well, we could all be swimming for it.

Anecdotal stories state that human babies will sometimes play as they drown, not realizing they are in danger.  With this chilling fact in mind, I wondered if polar bear cubs are aware they are in danger as they drown. I hope not.

Some may think of these polar bear cub paintings as “cute“, not exactly a word a fine artist loves to hear. But, the fact is, it is difficult to paint around and escape the cute factor of a polar bear cub. I hope that the affection, admiration and concern I feel for these wonderful bears is evident, and that they evoke similar emotions in you, too. The thought that in the next 50 years these polar bears may cease to exist, is the furthest from polar bear cute I can imagine.

To sign up for my blog & newsletter, or for more info on my polar bear paintings or to buy a painting, please visit Christine Montague Polar Bear Art.

New Painting – Shrodinger’s Cat, er, Bear

New polar bear cub oil painting. Sink or Swim Series. ©ChristineMontague.com

New Polar Bear Cub Painting

The polar bear cub painting above,  is the second study for my new series of polar bear oil paintings, commenting on sea ice loss and its effect on polar bears. To see the first polar bear cub painting, launched on International Polar Bear Day, click here.

Sinking or Swimming?

 

The working title of this polar bear cub series of oil paintings is Sink or Swim.  

As mentioned in my last blog post,  mother polar bears, polar bear cub(s) atop their back, must swim greater distances in search of land and food due to the vanishing sea ice.  These trips  are not always successful. Polar bear cubs just simply vanish along the route, and sometimes the mothers do, too.

The bear cub above, does not seem distressed. Like with the experiment Schrodinger’s Cat, it is up to the viewer’s thoughts about what this bear’s state of being is.

For my online gallery of polar bear art – paintings and portraits, please visit ChristineMontague.com

To subscribe to my newsletter and blog hosted on my new polar bear art website (1 – 4x /month) Subscribe

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Polar Bear Cub Painting for International Polar Bear Day

 

 

New polar bear cub painting by Christine Montague

New Polar Bear Cub Painting Series

The polar bear cub painting above,  is the very first study for my new series of polar bear oil paintings, commenting on sea ice loss and its effect on polar bears. I am launching this series today, as it is  International Polar Bear Day, a day to celebrate, learn, and raise awareness about these magnificent bears.

You may have heard the stories of mother polar bears, polar bear cub(s) atop their back, must swim greater distances in search of land and food, thanks to the increase of sea ice loss due to global warming. The greater distances, and greater sea ice loss, means these trips, are not always successful, as determined and powerful as these great bears are. Polar bear cubs just simply vanish along the route, and sometimes the mothers do, too.

Apparently,  some human babies continue to play as they sink to the bottom of the swimming pool, unaware of the danger. With this in mind,in this series of oil paintings,  I show the polar bear cub at eye level, under water, but not necessarily in distress. It is up to you to decide the innocence or tragedy of the scene. Who is the viewer? The mother bear, another bear cub or undersea animal, or one of us?  What happens next?

For my online gallery of  polar bear art – paintings and portraits, please visit ChristineMontague.com

For everything polar bear, please visit Polar Bears International, the not for profit organization noted for their research and advocacy roles re: sea ice loss and effect on polar bear life.

Here There Be Polar Bears

Crossroads. Fantasy Sketch. ©Christine Montague CRAM: Polar Bear World.  ChristineMontague.com

Polar Bear Goodness: a New Polar Bear Art Website & Art Blog at ChristineMontague.com

In case you are new to this art blog Camera & Canvas, I  am a visual artist who, until recently, created representational art i.e. realism oil paintings of figurative landscapes, commissioned portraiture, giant cat paintings, canoes, lakes & more.  After the polar bears were put on the animals “of concern” list, I painted the polar bear painting  With the Northern Lights in tribute.  I continued to have polar bears on the brain when shortly after that I created CRAM, a Polar Bear World for 2013 The Sketchbook Project. Increasingly, I found myself thinking about polar bear art, polar bear graphic novels, polar bear vacations…,you get the picture, all the while continuing with my portraiture practice & creating other representational art.

One Big, Giant, Scary, Polar Bear Step Forward

Onward into a polar bear world of my own!  Polar bear art, polar bear blog, and yes, a trip to Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, polar bear capital of the world, is in the works for the fall.

My new website ChristineMontague.com is all about my new POLAR BEAR ART.

My new art blog? I hope you will visit www.christinemontague.com/blog 

I have a new newsletter for the freshest painting off my easel, why I have painted it, art & polar bear news, art tips, Subscribe

Whatever the new year will bring, one thing is certain, in my part of the realm… Here there be polar bears. I hope that here there be you, too. 

13 Art Gift Stocking Stuffers for The Artist in Your Life

13 art gifts , stocking stuffers or otherwise, for the artist in your life from fellow artist Christine Montague www.ChristineMontague.com

Here are some last-minute stocking stuffer Christmas gift ideas for the visual artist in your life. Artists often are very particular about what art supplies, etc., they use  but I think these art related items, will be both enjoyable and creatively practical.

1. Winsor & Newton Watercolour Markers. Perfect for the watercolour enthusiast, the plein air painter, the sketcher, the student and the experimenter. This is a brand new product, at least to Canadian stores.  They come in 6 and 12 pack sets, as well as a score of other colours. From comments I have read they blend best on the Winsor & Newton Watercolour Marker pads. DeSerres, er, Santa hasn’t delivered mine yet, so I can’t speak personally to their use, but excitement over this product is all over the net. Even a small W&N watercolour marker pad & a black marker or favourite colour or two would make a nice little surprise gift in the Christmas stocking, don’t you think?
2. Sakura Koi Watercolour Field Sketch Set This watercolour set comes in a variety of sizes, but the smallest has 12 little pans of colour. The plastic brush that comes with the set holds water in it’s shaft.  Darn it Jim, I’m an oil painter, not a watercolorist (for you Trekkers) , but I have really enjoyed how easy it is to just get going painting with this portable little set. Perfect gift for all those mentioned above, and for the young artist in your life, too. Not so perfect for the advanced, professional artist in your life, who has a set product brand they prefer to use. 
3. Attractive Sketch & watercolour pads of all shapes, sizes & price points.  There are so many gorgeous ones out there! You like purple? They have them! Leather, they’re there! Useful for everyone. 
4. Sensu Artist Brush & Stylus for the iPad, tablet, smartphone & other touch screen devices.  I don’t do a lot of painting on my iPad, but I have owned one of these amazing brushes for about a year. It really feels like a brush, perfect for those used to painting, but new to the digital paint scene. An idea? Give this brush and iTunes gift card  to buy a painting app.  Note: Not for use with real paint!! This is a two in one tool. It also has a rubber stylus.
5. iPad for Artists by Dani Jones, Pixiq This book is great for those who like the feel of a book in hand while they learn. About the size of an iPad, this helpful instruction book has larger print (hmm, who is that for), and is highly illustrated.  Perfect for wannabe digital artists, both new and experienced. 
6. Acrylic Paint Markers These markers come in a variety of makes, colours, and pen nibs. Although I am an oil painter (Christine Montague Fine Art: Portraits and Polar Bears) I bought a fine black one to fool  around, er, experiment with. I loved it for its versatility, the ” blackness” and flow of it.  Just plain handy for anyone.
7. Brushes. Sneak into the studio and check out what brand and sizes the artist in your life uses.  I miss the days when one of my sons worked full-time for a local art store and gift giving times always meant a really nice brush came my way.  Warning though, protect that tip at all costs! No stuffing into that stocking unless protected with cardboard. Another tip? If you have bought paints for your beginner artist, buy one or two nice brushes, rather than the 20-brushes-in-a-case-for-$20-set.  Brushes are an important tool, and a brush that goes mushy or splayed after a use or two is frustrating for your new artist. You already bought that set? Don’t worry, and bless you for encouraging your new artist!
8. Is your artist a mystery lover?  Then the Inspector Gamache Series by Louise Penny will be addictive.  Although these books are usually about Montreal Police Chief Inspector, Armand Gamache solving a murder in the fictional village of Three Pines, visual artists also figure predominately.  I almost wept by book five, because of Penny’s  insights on the aspirations and fears of the visual artist.  Still Life is book 1 in the series. It’s good, and the rest of the series is better. Note: Amazingly our local libraries don’t carry these books. Yet Penny is recipient of top mystery awards, and the most recent book began at #1 on the best seller list. Bonus: you’ll know what to buy your artist for the next 10 gift giving occasions are as date there are 11 books in the series.
9. Is your artist a sci-fi lover? Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (Harper Avenue Press),  is  a post-apocalyptic story in which civilization as we know it falls swiftly and mercilessly, and culture – art, music, and theatre – is an anchor for community, kindness and purpose.  Prepare for some binge reading by the artist you give it to (they may say they are working in the studio….).
10. 33 Artists in 3 Acts. A non- fiction book by Sarah Thorton (Norton Press). Thorton is the best-selling author of Seven Days in the Art World (See # 11). Her experience as chief writer on contemporary art for The Economist, a BA Art History and a PhD in Sociology contribute to her thorough research and insight into the elitist art world. Easily read, and witty, her books are fascinating to any one trying to navigate the visual art world.
11. Art Business Books. There are a piles, piles! of them but I am going to send you to one of my earlier blog posts to read the list of visual art business books I own and find invaluable.  Click 5 Helpful Art Business Books for Visual Artists 
12. Art Magazines I love magazines, but they are a luxury, so I tend to buy the ones that have information I need, or feature an artist I love. So for me, the gift of any art magazine is always welcome. I enjoy magazines thick with a variety of art- in Canada, Arabella is a good example. You can do some spy work and check out what magazines your artist prefers.
13. An art supply store gift card attached to a box of chocolates will help satisfy any starving artist!

Happy Holidays, Everyone. And be sure to comment with any art ideas you have!

Please note: These are items I have purchased for myself over the past year, and greatly enjoy.  I have absolutely no connection to any of the companies mentioned above. 

10 Canadian Landscape Artists

Centre of Attention. Scottsdale Farm oil painting ©Christine Montague www.ChristineMontague.com

Recently, I was a guest artist for a beginner’s class where the students were learning landscape painting in acrylics and water-soluble oils.  I thought they would enjoy a quick look at some of our present day Canadian landscape painters and at the variety of landscape painting available.  I thought you might enjoy these artists and their work, too. Do you have a landscape artist you love? Let me know and I will create a new list withe the results.

1. KIm Dorland Toronto, Ontario. Canadian Art writes “Synonymous in Canada with the idea of “extreme painting,” Kim Dorland rose to the forefront of the contemporary painting scene with his sculptural approach to impasto painting and his art is very much in demand.
2. David Lidbetter Ottawa, Ontario.  “Contemporary feeling Group of Seven scenes pared down to their essentials. [Where] mood seems more important than the actual details of forests, rivers and skies.” – Algonquin Art Centre
3. John Hartman Penetanguishene, Ontario. Vivid, large-scale landscapes “straddle the line between abstraction and representation” – Studio 21
4. Gregory Hardy Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Landscapes abstracted. Strong colour, bold, painterly. One of Canada’s top landscape artists.
5. Rebecca Last Rice Lake, Ontario.  Of interest, Rebacca paints the same view of Rice Lake exploring its “turbulent chaotic swings of nature”.
6. Cesan d’Ornellas Levine Richmond Hill, Ontario. Cesan is an abstract expressionist painter who uses brilliant colour and thick impasto of acrylic gels, mediums, pastes etc. for her trees and topography on panel. Landscape painting is not Cesan’s only subject matter.
7.  Georgina Hunt Crescent Beach, B.C. Canadian wilderness, particularly the Rockies
8. Gerald Squires St. John’s, Newfoundland. A member of the Order of Canada for his contribution to the Arts
9. Doug Purdon Toronto, Ontario. Proficient in watercolour, acrylic and oil painting, and a Winsor & Newton rep for many years, this artist is         a fount of information.
10. Robert Genn Vancouver, B.C. A prolific and popular painter who travelled the world painting en plein air (as well as the studio) and writing about the experience for Painters Keys. Painters Keys is a website Robert created to offer information, inspiration, advice, friendship and connectivity for artists worldwide. Robert Genn passed away in May 2014. His art and free Painters Key Newletter continues to managed by his daughter, Sara Genn.

New Polar Bear Painting Mauja

New polar bear painting. Mauja. ©Christine Montague 2014 For more polar paintings in this series www.ChristineMontague.com

New Polar Bear Painting

Today’s fresh off the easel and available polar bear oil painting is Mauja. Mauja is a 6″ x 12″ portrait of a polar bear taking it easy in the mauja, Inuktitut for soft snow. Inuktitut is the language of the Inuit from Nunavut, an arctic territory in Canada.

The painting above is just one the polar bear oil paintings available in my series A Celebration of Polar Bears, my way of creatively celebrating a celebration  of bears (what a group of bears is known as).

A few more paintings from A Celebration of Polar Bears

• Grace
• Silatuyok

New Painting Inerkonartok the Polar bear

Here’s the Latest Painting in A Celebration of Polar Bears

New polar bear painting. Inerkonartok. 6″ x 12″ oil painting ©Christine Montague 2014  For more portraits of polar bears, people, pets & nature please visit http://www.ChristineMontague.com

New Polar Bear Painting

Fresh off the easel and available is Inerkartok, a 6″ x 12″ portrait oil painting on canvas of a polar bear sitting in the snow.  “Inerkartok” means pretty in Inuktitut, the language of the Inuit in Nunavut, an arctic territory in Canada.  The polar bear in this oil painting is a pretty one, and I would like to believe she is sitting pretty, too.  Sitting pretty is an old idiom that means in a good place or a in a good situation. However, this recent Polar Bears International video on the retreating sea ice and the 40% decline in the polar bear population is far from pretty.

Inerkartok is just one of the paintings in my series A Celebration of Polar Bears.

More more polar bear info –

• Polar Bears International for scientific info, the latest news, polar bear cam, school resource, and lots of photos.
• Tundra Connections Webcasts
• Toronto Zoo Polar Bear Conservation
• Polar Bear Habitat , Cochrane, Ontario

 

New Polar Bear Painting Anana

New! Anana, a polar bear portrait oil painting copyright Christine Montague 2014. For more polar bear art, portrait oil painting & scenic figurative oil paintings please visit www.ChristineMontague.com

New Polar Bear Painting

Fresh off the easel and available is Anana, a 6″ x 12″ portrait oil painting on canvas of a beautiful polar bear.  And that is what “Anana” means, beautiful in Inuktitut, the language of the Inuit in Nunavut, Canada’s arctic. This painting is another of the polar bear oil paintings available in my series A Celebration of Polar Bears.  This painting is not framed, but the painting carries around the edges and is ready for hanging.

You may also enjoy

• 10 panoramic views of the Cape Dorset landscape where these magnificent polar bears roam.
• A large polar bear narrative painting that comments on the threat to the polar bear

Remembrance, The Response & The National War Memorial

The 24th. © Christine Montague www.ChristineMontague.com  In the oil painting I painted above, a little boy  (he is the 24th figure on the monument – I’m including the war-horse)  attempts to climb The Response , The National War Memorial in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. He does so in the shadow of the soldiers memorialized for the sacrifices they made to make sure of days of freedom such as this.

In October 2014,  the sudden, violent, and unprovoked attack on two young army reservist soldiers standing ceremonial guard by The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in front of  The National War Memorial in Ottawa shocked Canadians.  That one of these soldiers, Corporal Nathan Cirillo of The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise’s), was mortally wounded at the foot of this monument, was heartbreakingly poignant.

The National War Memorial  or The Response was commissioned in response to Canadians’ demand  for a national monument that would pay tribute to the tens of thousands killed in World War I.  It was to honour the spirit of heroism, self-sacrifice, and all that was noble and great exemplified by the Canadians who served overseas.  

In 1926, Vernon March (United Kingdom) won the competition to create this memorial with his vision of a granite and bronze cenotaph The Response.  The Response commemorates the enormous response of the citizens of the young and struggling Canada to the call of a war in which sacrifice was on a scale previously unknown.

Armed conflict is deliberately not glorified  in The Response.  Instead, the monument’s twenty-two bronze figures, clad in historically accurate uniforms representative of all the services involved,  push forth unto duty. They pass under a giant granite Arch with allegories of peace and freedom atop it.

Ironically, The Response was not unveiled until May 1939, less than 4 months before the start of World War 2.  It has since been rededicated to include those killed in World War 2 and the Korean War.  The dates of Canada’s participation in the War in Afghanistan (2003 – 2013)  will also be added.

The Response is now the nation’s preeminent war memorial. The attack on the soldiers that stood respectfully and unarmed before it on that recent October day, has tragically strengthened this symbolism. A Canadian soldier went forth and died in his call to duty as an army reservist. The response of Canadians to the events at our nation’s heart included examples of  bravery, honour, and duty. But compassion was there, too.

The Remembrance Day ceremony at The National War Memorial is broadcast nationally. Like the granite and bronze the monument is made of,  memories of the events that unfolded are hard, heavy and long-lasting.

At the November 11, 2014 Remembrance Day Ceremony on Parliament Hill in Ottawa , the National War Memorial was rededicated to all those who died  and who will die in service to Canada. A constant reminder that peace and freedom come with great sacrifice. The very least those of us who don’t serve can do is to remeber those who fought for us in the past,  support our present day veterans and pray for those of the future. 

There’s a Bear Model in My Studio

Fresh off the easel – three 12″ x 12″ portrait oil paintings of a polar bear. . ©Christine Montague 2014 www.ChristineMontague.com

As fascinating as it would be to actually have a polar bear in my artist studio to paint “live” from, I realize the “live” part probably wouldn’t apply to one of us for long.

So to simulate this experience I brought up one of my photos of the wonderful Inukshuk (the adult male bear at the Toronto Zoo) on my laptop.  I positioned my laptop at a distance and height a human model would sit in front of the easel.  Imagining the model before me was 3D,  I blocked in the shapes, values and colours I observed on the blank canvas. There was nothing drawn up before hand.

In this style of painting, the background is more than a backdrop of colour to hide the white canvas. The paint helps carve out  and define the outer edge of the head, helping it to stand out from the canvas. Only at the end of the portrait painting are the fine details, and pure blacks and whites added.

Of course, for me, whether the portrait subject is human or otherwise, the big reward is always when I get to finish the eyes. Thanks to the magic of oils, the polar bear eyes in these portrait paintings, as well as in my imagination, are very much alive.

P.S. There is another male bear at the Toronto Zoo, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Humphrey, the polar bear cub of Inukshuk and Aurora, turned one year old this past week. He’s a charmer, who got off to a rough start, but thanks to the Toronto Zookeepers round-the-clock dedication, he survived.

 

New Art – Bright Light Names for Northern Stars

 

Aurora. New polar bear oil painting 6″ x 12″ ©Christine Montague 2014 (available)

Polar Bear Paintings Aurora & Borealis

Here are two new oil paintings in my Celebration of Polar Bear Series. I’ve named the polar bears (and the paintings as well) Aurora and Borealis for the aurora borealis, the northern lights that dance so brilliantly in the arctic sky. The size, beauty, and intelligence of the polar bear, makes this bear as magically magnetic as the northern lights.

Polar Bear Painting Aurora

Aurora (above) is the name of the polar bear portrayed in the oil painting at the start of the post. I’ve read that some Inuit communities believe that the aurora borealis are animal spirits,  but this Aurora has her paws firmly planted on the ground.

Polar Bear Painting Borealis

Borealis (Boris) . New polar bear oil painting. 6″ x 12″ ©Christine Montague 2014  (available)

Borealis is a latin word that originates from the Greek personification of the north wind boreas.

Canada’s arctic is home to over 60% of the world’s polar bears but they also live in the arctic areas of Alaska (U.S.A.), Greenland, Norway and Russia (that’s it, folks).

The word Boreas reminded me of Boris. They are not pronounced the same , but close enough, and so I often think of this painting as Boris, a popular Russian name that is fun to say, and is a nod to all the Russian polar bears, too.

A group of polar bears is known as a celebration of polar bears.  That is exactly what my new (there are 14 so far this fall) polar bear oil paintings are, happy, heartfelt celebratory tributes to these magnificent arctic animals.

Meet polar bear Ursa

Meet polar bear  Silatuyok

Meet polar bear Grace

Please visit Christine Montague Portrait Oil Paintings & Polar Bear Art for more information about these and other paintings.

 

 

 

New Polar Bear Painting Silatuyok

Silatuyok Polar bear painting ©Christine Montague 2014
www.christinemontague.com

Meet a Polar Bear Named Silatuyok

Silatuyok is the Inuit word for cute and intelligent,  and so the perfect name for the lovely polar bear in the oil painting above. But as adorable as the big guy in this polar bear painting may seem, I have given a nod to his real nature –  an intelligent, playful, but deadly predator –  by making sure his giant claws are clear. I actually love painting those big paws with the claws almost as much as those thickly insulated ears, and coal-black nose. 

Silatuyok is just one of the recently created paintings available in my new A Celebration of Polar Bears Series. 

New Polar Bear Painting Ursa

Polar bear oil painting copyright Christine Montague 2014 http://www.christinemontague.com

Here is another new polar bear portrait oil painting from my A Celebration of Bears Series. I have named the little bear in this painting Ursa, for the northern sky constellation Ursa Minor or Little Bear. This is second in a series of 6″ x 12′ oil painting tribute to this magnificent arctic animal. Please feel free to contact me or comment about any of these little bear artworks.

New Polar Bear Painting Grace

Polar bear portrait oil painting “Saimarnerk” (the Inuit word for grace) ©Christine Montague

New Painting in A Celebration of Polar Bears Series

Polar bear portrait oil painting “Saimarnerk” (the Inuit word for grace.) The largest predator in the Canadian north, this big bear moves with grace and ease across the frozen land. A group of polar bears is known as a celebration, and Saimarnek, or Grace is the first painting in my “A Celebration of Polar Bears” series of 6″ x 12″ oil paintings depiciting these magnificent arctic animals. Inspired by my recent journey to Cape Dorset, a remote Arctic community, most of these bears will have Inuit names. To see more polar bear paintings visit ChristineMontague.com