New Works: Northern Lights and a Polar Bear

01 February, 2026 1 comments Leave a comment

Over the Christmas break, I had to pause painting, as many days were spent on administration of my art business. Since the turn of the year, the return to my art practice has been very intentional and all the more meaningful. Sitting at my drafting table, near a warm fireplace, I have been pouring so much love and gratitude into new work, including the four new watercolours pictured here.

These new scenes were inspired by our incredible adventure to visit Churchill, Manitoba, on the shores of Hudson Bay, in 2024. That time away left me brimming with inspiration.

I shared the enthralling magic of this trip of a lifetime, including awesome photos and videos, in a previous post Witnessing Wonder: Polar Bears and Northern Lights.

I am so thrilled to introduce you to these luminous new paintings!

Dancing With the Stars by Karen Richardson.
Painting of Aurora borealis over a snowy landscape with trees and rocks. Working with these vivid, glowing colours was an absolute joy, but I do admit, the early stages of northern lights scenes are decidedly unattractive and discouraging. It takes patience and a profound belief in my process to pursue the painting journey to completion.

In this first piece, I love the way the northern lights seem to swirl through the starry sky, so I titled the painting Dancing With the Stars, (varnished watercolour on 9 x 12 inch panel).

If you are a student of watercolour, or interested in how beautiful things are hand crafted, see the full creation story of this painting in my previous post The Making of 'Dancing With the Stars'.

Click here for more details about this artwork.

Rhythms of the Night by Karen Richardson.
Painting of northern lights over a rocky shoreline with water below. This vibrant artwork is titled Rhythms of the Night, varnished watercolour on 12 x 12 inch panel.

It was inspired loosely by the reference photos below.

I photographed the green aurora from the dome car of the train transporting us overnight from Churchill to Thompson.

I saw the rocky shoreline during our Tundra Buggy tour outside of Churchill.

This point of land is at the mouth of the Churchill River, where it flows into the salty water of Hudson Bay, after a 1600-km journey from Saskatchewan.

For more details or purchase inquiries about Rhythms of the Night, click here.

Guardian of the Sky by Karen Richardson.
Painting of aurora borealis over a silhouette of trees against a starry night sky.

The painting shown here, Guardian of the Sky, varnished watercolour on 12 x 12 inch panel, was the third painting in this collection.

Reference photos provided a jumping-off point for my painting, which evolved into an imaginary scene all its own.

I saw the band of northern lights one epic evening, displayed over Cross Lake, near Wabowden, Manitoba.

We were camped on the shore of the lake, and the rays of scarlet, pink, and green aurora danced throughout the entire dome of the sky for several hours.

Words cannot express the wonder we felt as we witnessed this natural phenomenon. It was an overwhelmingly moving experience.

The storm-sculpted white pine I photographed during a camping holiday in the Temagami region of northern Ontario years ago, and it has been featured in several of my paintings.

For purchasing details and other information about Guardian of the Sky, click here.

And finally, the polar bear painting...

Guardian of the Night by Karen Richardson
Framed artwork of a polar bear under a Northern Lights sky. The fourth painting of the series is my first watercolour featuring northern lights and a polar bear.

I titled this piece Guardian of the Night, varnished watercolour on 12 x 9 inch panel.

The title is ambiguous; it could refer to the polar bear, guarding its territory, or to the aurora, watching over a vast northern kingdom.

Either way, I created the scene to honour the memory of our incredible experiences in northern Manitoba.

The northern lights reference photo shown here I took from the Churchill train, and the bear I photographed from the safety of a Tundra Buggy, on the shores of Hudson Bay near Churchill.

If you want more information about Guardian of the Night, or if you are thinking of acquiring it, click here.

I hope you have enjoyed the personal stories of my latest paintings. It brings me profound joy to imagine and invent beautiful wild places bathed in spectacular aurora light, and then share them with you.

If you have comments you wish to share, please do so using the 'Leave a Comment' button at the top of this post.

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