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The oil paintings of my "Dark Water" series depict a solitary polar bear at night in the arctic fall. The lone bear (sometimes a cub) swims in a still, dark sea, a dramatic backdrop for its dense white fur and highly intelligent face. The polar bear is the only bear that is a marine mammal. The bear’s size and strength combine with its slightly webbed front paws and highly insulated and buoyant body to make it a powerful swimmer. The polar bear in each of these paintings is fully at home, whether shown above or below the water’s surface. However, the term "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. It is the frozen sea, that the polar bear is dependant upon 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 portraits in "Dark Water" are painted in wonder and warning. They offer a connection to a face, that although is not human, is as beautiful and intelligent as our own, that to protect it is to save ourselves.
Print:Giclee on Fine Art Paper
Size:10 W x 10 H x 0.1 D in
Size with Frame:15.25 W x 15.25 H x 1.2 D in
Frame:White
Ready to Hang:Yes
Packaging:Ships in a Box
Delivery Time:Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.
Handling:Ships in a box. Art prints are packaged and shipped by our printing partner.
Ships From:Printing facility in California.
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Christine Montague is an award-winning realism painter known for beautiful, emotional, & sometimes haunting polar bear oil paintings. Through her polar bear portraiture she creates a connection to the wonder of the bears, nature, and climate change. July 2023, is "Polar Bear Wonder & Warning" a solo exhibit of polar bear portraits, Christine accepts commissions. She is based in Burlington, Ontario, Canada. When polar bears were listed on the Species At Risk Act, Montague began her passionate journey of painting polar bears. She uses her portraiture and realism oil painting skills, to document and celebrate the polar bear's character and spirit, its high intelligence (think great ape), and its survival in a world of vanishing sea ice. Through her travels to the Canadian arctic (Iqaluit & Cape Dorset, Nunavut) and subarctic (Churchill,Manitoba, Canada - polar bear capital of the world), Montague has furthered her knowledge on polar bears and climate change. In September 2017, "Dark Water 1", a painting of a polar bear in an unfrozen sea, took top award at the Canada wide Canadian National Exhibition Juried Show. “Dark Water”, Montague’s solo show of polar bears and climate change was exhibited at Toronto's Artworld Fine Art Gallery March - April 2018. "on thin ice" is the name of Montague's solo show (Jan. 2 - March 1, 2020) at the Montgomery's Inn Museum, in Toronto, Ontario. In 2023, her 3rd polar bear solo show "Polar Bear Wonder and Warning" took place at the Fireside Gallery at Art Gallery of Burlington, Burlington, ON. Montague’s painting’s have been in over 80 art shows, and are award winning. Her work can be found in collections in Canada, U.S.A., the Netherlands, Denmark, Great Britain, New Zealand, and Australia.
Artist featured by Saatchi Art in a collection
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