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

 

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.

 

 

 

A Celebration of Polar Bears: New Paintings

New polar bear paintings by Canadian artist Christine Montague. (At time of post $200 ea.  plus applicable taxes + shipping) www.ChristineMontague.com

Although polar bears are solitary animals, when there is a group of them, it is known as a celebration of polar bears. Can you think of a better word to describe a gathering of these magnificent arctic animals?!

Now that the summer is over, I am back to celebrating polar bears through my oil paintings. Hot off the easel, is my version of a “celebration” of polar bears, a series of 6″ x 12″ polar bear portrait oil paintings on canvas. Although I recently made my first incredible journey to the Arctic (Cape Dorset & Iqaluit,  Nunavut), my polar bear models are the male bear Inukshuk, and twin sisters Nikita and Aurora of the Toronto Zoo.

Each painting is a tribute to these intelligent, mighty arctic mammals. There is no questioning each bear has a distinct personality. These portraits give a nod to their beauty, fuzziness, playfulness (goofy even?), but one should never forget their awesome teeth and powerful claws are ever present.

Please feel free to contact me through Guestbook at www.christinemontague.com or visit there for more polar bear art.

To learn more about polar bears, please visit Polar Bears International

Those of us in the Toronto area have had the pleasure of seeing Humphrey, the cub of  Inukshuk and Aurora,  grow up. If you need a little nudging as to why these animals are worthy of our support, see newborn polar bear videos and other info here.

Brush with Nunavut Beauty Part 4: Cape Dorset Walkabout

Hope and promise in Cape Dorset. A child stands high above the hamlet in the setting sun.                          Photo: Christine Montague www.christinemontague.com Please click for larger image

Follow the Yellow (make that ochre) Dirt Roads

I visited the Canadian Arctic for the first time in May, 2014. After a day in Iqaluit (Nunavut’s capital) I flew to Cape Dorset (pop. approx 1300) at the southern tip of Baffin Island. Visit Brush with Beauty: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 for more posts & photos.

Although the landscape surrounding Cape Dorset is stunning, it was the ochre ribbon-like roads looping through the hamlet, and the constant activity on them, that intrigued me most.  Most people walk or drive ATVs (skidoos in winter) to socialize, shop and work. There are few larger vehicles, but the school bus seems always on the go, as are the trucks that deliver fresh water and empty the septic tanks. Thus my first steps out on the town (well, hamlet) were a delightful contrast to my city experience, where the roads are hectic and the sidewalks empty.

Next to my hotel (Dorset Suites), and across from Tellik Inlet, is the world-renowned Kinngait Arts Studio, the oldest printing studio in Canada (more on this historic studio in a further post).  The studios are the distinctive red-roofed, green and yellow buildings below, and have been around since 1957. To see larger images please click on the photos below. 

Panoramic view of Kinngait Arts and Tellik Inlet, Cape Dorset, from the Dorset Suites parking lot. Photo: Christine Montague 2014

Below: Tellik Inlet by Kinngait Arts. Turn right to go to the two grocery and supply stores, and the RCMP station. Turn left to find the Wildlife Office, the municipal pier, and the gazebo on the hill.

Tellik Inlet. By Kinngait Studios. Cape Dorset, Nunavut. Photo: Christine Montague 2014

The gazebo, seen from most vantage points of the hamlet, is an unusual landmark for such a northern community, but, hey, I loved it. A sheltered bit of architecture, where I could start each day and take in the glorious landscape. In the picture below, you can spot the gazebo above the Wildlife Office (the building on the left ). Click on the picture below to see a larger image

From left. Wildlife Office, Dept. of Sustainability. The gazebo is just above it. A polar bear hide dries on a stretcher. A private home sits picturesquely by the municipal pier. Photo: www.christinemontague.com

Wildlife Dept.building. Cape Dorset. Photo:Christine Montague 2014

Polar bear hide dries on stretcher. This is the underside of the pelt.  Photo: Christine Montague

The polar bear hide seen above was huge. I mean hair-raising, goose bump inspiring big. I wish I had thought to put my hand or iPhone by a paw for reference.

Meanwhile, on the same day I happily arrived in Cape Dorset,  a polar bear attacked two Arctic Bay hunters as they slept in their tent.  They survived, but only after a fight for their lives. For a dramatic account of the attack, and some equally dramatic polar bear facts, read http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/stories/article/65674nunavut_polar_bear_attack_survivors_thankful_to_be_alive/

I love polar bears, and my polar bear paintings are portraiture tributes to these great mammals whose future is of concern. But up north? One can never forget these beautiful, intelligent, powerful kings of the arctic are dangerous.

Big Bear Passing (48″ by 36″ polar bear oil painting by Christine Montague )

Big painting of a Big Bear Passing is available for sale. A portion of the sale of this polar bear art, as well as other of my polar bear paintings will now be donated to Polar Bears International & Toronto Zoo polar bear research.  Please contact me for details. www.christinemontague.com Copyright Christine Montague 2014 Please click for larger image

So, up the hill to the gazebo.

Road to the gazebo. Cape Dorset. Photo: Christine Montague 2014

The Cape Dorset gazebo. Cape Dorset, Nunavut. Photo: Christine Montague 2014

Looking down at pier on Tellik Inlet from gazebo. Photo: Christine Montague 2014

Kinngait Mountain as seen from the gazebo. Photo: Christine Montague 2014

 Below. Snowmobilers travel on frozen Tellik Inlet to get to open water beyond.

Inuit hunters head out on the land. As seen from the gazebo in Cape Dorset. Photo: Christine Montague www.christinemontague.com Please click for larger image

Zoom in on snowmobiles & qamutik (sled). Photo: Christine Montague 2014

I was forewarned to expect roads thick with mud, but they were dry and solid. Later in summer, when the roads become too dry, passing ATVs and the odd car send up clouds of pervasive dust. But for now, as it was the first week of sunny, cheery weather, children, especially boys, were out on their bikes, pedalling uphill with admirable ease.

 

Bicyclist in Cape Dorset. Photo: Christine Montague 2014

To be continued…

Note: I use a Sony A7r with 35mm Zeiss lens.  iPhone 5s was my back up. 

Port Credit Polar Bear Blues

Blue Bear (detail). Polar bear oil painting (30″ x 40″) copyright Christine Montague 2014.

Blue Bears At Arts on the Credit, Port Credit

Above is a detail of my latest large polar bear oil painting, entitled “Blue Bear”.  This is just one of the polar bear oil paintings I will have on show & for sale at the Arts on the Credit Art Fair, 11 am – 5 pm, Saturday and Sunday, April 12th & 13th, 2014, Waterside Inn, 15 Stavebank Rd S., Port Credit, Mississauga, Ontario.  See the map here

Why Blue Bears?

The model for the polar bear portrait painting above is  Inukshuk, the adult male polar bear at the Toronto Zoo. He’s a handsome guy, and this Toronto Zoo favourite is anything but “blue” in his behaviour. But Blue Bear and the other of my Polar Bear Dreams Series oil paintings that will be at Arts on the Credit April 12 & 13th, symbolize more than animal or wildlife portraiture.

Blue is a universally loved colour (it’s #1!), perfect to symbolize the wonderful ursus maritimus, a universally loved bear. Blue is a colour strongly associated with nature and dark blue symbolizes dignity, intelligence, and authority (polar bears are the top arctic mammal).  I used the dark Prussian Blue in many of these paintings to create a dreamlike, mystical night setting, one where the bear exists somewhere between this world and the next. The glowing white of the bears I paint (I know. They are not really white.) symbolizes hope against the darkness of their precarious future.

In Canada (and the U.S.A., too)  the term “blue” symbolizes depression or sadness. Now, won’t we be more than blue if the polar bear population disappears by 2050 as some predict?

Would You Like Complimentary Tickets?

Arts on The Credit is a juried, invitational fine art and fine crafts show, successfully in its third year. It is the only art fair in the Western Greater Toronto Area!  It is held in the ballroom of the pristine Waterside Inn in Port Credit, Mississauga.  Admission is $5.  However, if you would like complimentary tickets to the show, please contact me through my Guestbook at www.ChristineMontague.com   or contact me through the comment box below. I will gladly email you a complimentary ticket that you can print out. Enjoy the show, and be sure to drop by and say hello!

You may also enjoy these other links about some of the polar bear paintings I will have in the show. Also, if you would like to learn more about polar bears, please visit the links in Curious about Polar Bears?  in the column the right.

• New Bear Painting for International Polar Bear Day
• New Painting: Premonition: Ophelia and the Polar Bear
• New Painting Spirit of the Polar Bear
• A Timbit Paints Another Polar Bear Portrait

New Painting: Premonition: Ophelia and the Polar Bear

Premonition: Ophelia and the Polar Bear. Polar Bear Dreams Series. Copyright Christine Montague 2014

Drying on the easel in my studio is “Premonition: Ophelia and the Polar Bear“, a 36″ x 48” oil painting on canvas, and another work in the Polar Bear Dreams Series.  Like the other polar bear paintings in this series (here)  this art work is a blue, white and black dream-like tribute to the mighty bear.  This painting, however, has a mystery to it, a hint of tragedy, and possibly, foreboding.

The light of the aurora borealis (northern lights) reveals a young woman trapped in the ice to a passing polar bear. Who is she, and what is her connection to the polar bear and the north?

Artist Notes:

In 2011,  Canada’s Environment Minister declared the polar bear as a species of special concern under the Species at Risk Act.

The woman in this painting is after “Ophelia” by Sir Henry Millais (Tate Gallery, London, England). See the famous Pre-Raphaelite painting that depicts the death of Ophelia and innocence lost in Shakespeare’s tragedy “Hamlet” here. 

Flowers representing the Canadian provinces and territories replace those found in the garland in the Millais  painting.

Polar Bears in Orangeville

No danger though, the seven polar bears in question are the 8″ x 8″ polar bear portrait oil paintings I completed earlier this year. This is their first excursion out of my Williams Mill studio, and you can see them at the Dragonfly Arts on Broadway Gallery in Orangeville, Ontario.

Joan Hope, the very personable gallery owner, and a great lover of original art, and supporter of Canadian art & Canadian artists, saw them online and asked that I bring them in. Done!

These Ursus maritimus portrait oil paintings, inspired by Inukshuk, the Toronto Zoo’s male polar bear, are studies for future larger artworks. Thus I have priced them similarly to my little portrait painting series (here) . They are 8″ x 8″ gallery mount canvases,  framed in black floater frames, and are easily shipped.

If you would like to see these polar bear portraits in person or would like more information. Here is Dragonfly Arts contact information: 189 Broadway, Orangeville, ON L9W 1K2 (519) 941-5249 ‎ · dragonflyarts.ca

Here’s the google map http://goo.gl/maps/fwP4

Well, I realize not quite like the remarkable story of the British Columbia man who can swim with the polar bears, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7rZTZBOrqQ&noredirect=1 but I hope you enjoy perusing these works online, or at Dragonfly Arts.

P.S. Orangeville has a delightful main street, Broadway, with Dragonfly Arts, home design shops, Orangeville Theatre, an art supply store and a myriad of restaurants for every taste.  Plenty of free parking, too. I can’t tell you how great it is to find parking almost in front of the gallery so I can unload my work with ease!

Polar Bear Portrait 1. “Inukshuk” 8″ x 8″ oil painting copyright Christine Montague

Polar Bear 5. 8″ x 8″ polar bear portrait oil painting. Copyright Christine Montague 2012

Polar Bear Profile Portrait (detail. )8″ x 8″ oil painting on canvas. Copyright Christine Montague

And for a great story about encounters with a polar besr listen to cbc radios The Wild Side with Grant Lawrence. It’s great. http://www.cbc.ca/thewildside/

For some great reading about polar bears in Canadian north, and the effect of changes in snow on reproduction, read this related article

• Changing climate threatens to disrupt the denning habits of polar bears (vancouversun.com)