Swimming with Joy Painting

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.