Swimming in the Night. Polar bear Dreams Series. Copyright Christine Montague 2011
In my new oil painting, Swimming in the Night, a polar bear swims among the stars. The aurora borealis (northern lights) glows in the sky beyond. The wistful feelings and the ambiguity of water and sky in my Lake Dreams Series inspired this painting’s mood and story.
Recently, I made the journey to the Toronto Zoo for one last look at the elephants before they’re sent away. (Read that story here). But what’s a trip to the zoo without a visit to the polar bears? I love polar bears, an intelligent, beautiful, and mighty creature.
Only one bear was out that day. As she swam idly in the pool below me, she watched me out of the corner of her eye.
In Swimming in the Night, the water my Toronto Zoo polar bear swims in becomes the night sky. Reflected light and water ripples become the northern lights and stars. A portrait of a very real bear (Thank you, Toronto Zoo polar bear), this oil painting is also a sad testimony that this spirit in the sky may someday be all we have left of this endangered species.
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Beautiful! I think you have captured the dream we all have to be amongst the stars. Why not the polar bear? Do I imagine it, or have you also included a bit of the Northern Lights in the swirling sky? It is so awe inspiring to see the aurora directly overhead, shimmering curtains of emerald and pink waving back and forth. I lived in Aklavik for two years when I was a young girl and I’ve never forgotten the experience. Thank you for sharing your art.
Hello, Mollie. Thank you for taking the time to reply. I am glad you enjoy the painting. The swirling sky is meant to be the northern lights. You are fortunate to have had the northern experience! I have not as yet, but the north has always intrigued me. My oldest brother has lived in Iqaluit, his daughter in Cape Dorset and his son in NWT. Northern lights were a regular sighting for them, and I have listened to their stories of the north, the northern sky, and polar bears, too, with envy.