As if on cue, “Junior” arrived to meet guests at Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge. Painting by Peg Gerrity.
Artist In Residence Peg Gerrity couldn’t believe it when she was greeted by a real polar bear shortly after arriving at Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge last fall. She’d been on a previous trip to Svalbard and had only seen bears from a long distance. Her initial meeting with a polar bear at Nanuk set the tone for her entire stay.
Lunch had barely begun after her arrival, when a collective intake of breath swept through the dining room. Outside the window, striding confidently toward the lodge, was a huge white polar bear.
“That was the very first day and we had just gotten off the plane,” said Gerrity, a 64-year-old Scientific Illustrator from Texas who was at Nanuk for four days. “We got inside, hadn’t even finished unpacking, and next thing you know, this beautiful big polar bear walks right up to the lodge.
“That encounter was so impressive. And I swear to God, that bear looked like he came right out of central casting. I couldn’t believe it. It was such a beautiful polar bear. I thought, surely, they’ve got somebody in a bear suit who just did this.”
“Junior” on the woodpile. Watercolour by Peg Gerrity.
“But of course, ‘Junior’ was an actual polar bear, and he continued to walk around the lodge. And then he goes all the way to the back, and he gets on top of the wood pile,” said Gerrity, who named all the bears she encountered to keep track of them for her paintings. “I thought, ‘Oh, Heavens,’ these are going to make for the most wonderful sketches.”
For Gerrity, a certified medical illustrator with nearly four decades of experience, this moment marked the beginning of an extraordinary adventure that would yield dozens of stunning wildlife sketches and paintings.
Wildlife Spectacle: A Symphony of Bears, Foxes, and a Black Wolf
Black wolf at Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge. Painting by Peg Gerrity.
The proximity of wildlife at Nanuk stood in stark contrast to Gerrity’s previous polar bear expedition to Svalbard, where regulations kept visitors at a frustrating distance. At Nanuk, the barriers between artist and subject melted away, allowing Gerrity to observe subtle details that would inform her artwork.
Her second day brought three polar bears out on the ice, greeting one another and playfully sparring. That night, during another walk, the group encountered what guides called “the old man in the bushes,” a scarred, mature male polar bear resting in the willows.
Day three expanded beyond bears. “Outside the breakfast window was a silver fox,” said Gerrity. “While everyone rushed for cameras, I spotted what looked like a black animal the size of a Bernese mountain dog running across the landscape, jet black like the fur lining in our hood coats.”
Gerrity’s guide later confirmed they had seen a rare black wolf. These unexpected moments inspired Gerrity to sketch not just the animals but their interactions with the landscape and guides. “That night is when I decided somebody had to paint Karla (Churchill Wild guide Karla Kuharic) in the tundra rhino breaking through the river ice,” she said.
Karla and red fox at Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge. Painting by Peg Gerrity.
The wildlife crescendo came on day four, when Gerrity’s group encountered seven different polar bears. The morning began with an assertive young bear nicknamed “Skippy” who approached within 100 yards. “He wouldn’t take no for an answer,” said Gerrity. “I was thinking of all the middle school boys at my Catholic school that wouldn’t take no for an answer. Our guide said, ‘Who here has teenagers?’ And that really calmed everybody down.”
The guides’ skillful management impressed Gerrity, as they maintained safety while respecting the bear’s natural behaviour. When necessary, the guides used a deterrent flare to encourage the bear to maintain a safe distance, and he did. “Seeing that behaviour made a real impact,” said Gerrity.
The evening delivered the most dramatic scene when the group found themselves surrounded by six different polar bears. “We were in the tundra rhino, but then got off and walked on land for a bit,” said Gerrity. “After a while, we realized we were surrounded by six bears, so we returned to the vehicles.”
One particularly bold bear decided to investigate the vehicles, providing a heart-pounding finale to Gerrity’s wildlife experiences. “One of them decided to approach us and the rhino, and Emri (Churchill Wild guide Emri Canvin) was just fantastic,” said Gerrity. “Emri said to the bear, ‘That’s enough. That’s it. Tell your story walking.’ And off he went.”
By the end of her four-night stay, Gerrity had encountered 14 different polar bears, a black wolf, and numerous foxes, a wildlife bounty far exceeding her expectations.
From Disappointment to Discovery
Peg Gerrity was able to see polar bears at close range at Nanuk. Painting by Peg Gerrity.
Gerrity’s journey to Churchill Wild began with a disappointing expedition to Svalbard, Norway. Contracted to paint polar bears, she encountered strict regulations preventing close observation.
“Every time we were anywhere near a polar bear, we had to retreat at least 1,000 metres,” said Gerrity. “In the landing areas, there was absolutely no vegetation and no animals. It was completely barren and not what I expected.”
The experience left her searching for alternatives. Through Instagram, she discovered photographer Ruth Elwell-Steck’s beautiful polar bear photos from Churchill Wild. “When I saw so many images from Churchill Wild and Wapusk National Park, I thought, that’s where I’ve got to go,” said Gerrity.
She chose the Polar Bear Photo Safari at Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge, arriving on October 31, 2023, for a four-night stay.
The Science of Art: A Medical Illustrator’s Perspective
Polar bears sparring at Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge. Painting by Peg Gerrity.
Gerrity’s unique perspective on these polar bear encounters stemmed from her unusual career path, combining artistic talent with scientific precision. Growing up in the midwestern USA with a family that travelled extensively, she developed a deep connection to nature from an early age.
“I was drawing all the time, from when I was a little kid,” said Gerrity. “It was all about wanting to learn how the natural world works and how it’s all connected. I can remember finding bugs, flowers, everything, and sitting down to sketch them.
“I was a big tomboy, too, so I was definitely outside a lot. We travelled all over the USA. We would go camping everywhere.”
Though clearly talented, Gerrity initially resisted an artistic career path. “I really thought that I was going to go to medical school or vet school, because I just figured you couldn’t make money as an artist,” she said. “And I remember my dad saying, ‘Really, really?’ He said, ‘I always thought you’d go into art.’ And now when I look back I think, wow, that is probably the opposite of what any parent would say to their kids.”
Gerrity pursued a biomedical science degree at Texas A&M with plans to enter veterinary school. While working as a teaching assistant, her talent for drawing intricate life cycles caught her professor’s attention.
“I was drawing the life cycle of animals and plants on the board in different coloured chalks,” said Gerrity. “And my professor suggested I should look into scientific illustration, which I’d never heard of.”
This led Gerrity to discover that just four U.S. schools offered graduate programs in medical illustration. Undeterred, she earned her art degree at the University of Alaska before completing her master’s at the University of Illinois, Chicago. (Insta: @UIC_bvis)
“Being a certified medical illustrator for almost 40 years gives you knowledge of anatomy,” said Gerrity. “It’s easier to draw and paint wildlife when you understand how their anatomy works from the inside.”
Capturing the Moment: Artistic Process in the Wild
Skippy would not take no for an answer. Painting by Peg Gerrity.
For Gerrity, her close encounters at Churchill Wild provided invaluable artistic inspiration. “I do quick sketches in the field to capture the energy of the moment,” said Gerrity. “Later, when I have more time or my hands aren’t frozen, I’ll start a real watercolour.”
Her process always begins with the eyes: “I always start with the animal or the person’s eyes,” said Gerrity. “If I don’t get the eyes correct, I throw out the painting. The eyes are everything. I have trash cans filled with paintings with just the eye, because if it’s not right, you’re sunk.”
The unique landscapes at Nanuk provided rich visual material, and the weather cooperated perfectly, offering the clear light that artists crave. “We only had a little bit of snow,” said Gerrity. “The morning that it snowed was when we saw the silver fox. For the most part, the weather was beautiful. We had a lot of sunshine. The day Skippy decided to come to us, that blue that I’ve got behind him and the reflections, that was what I was seeing. It was very, very pretty.”
The most visually striking moment came during her final evening excursion. “The day that we saw the six bears, the colours were fantastic,” said Gerrity. “As the sun was setting on the water, the colours of the ice in the river, those beautiful pinks and purples and blues. And up on the shore, you’ve got this beautiful white bear. And you’ve got the contrast colours of the willows and the straw. It was absolutely gorgeous. And then having the green trees behind all that. It was stunning.”
One particular painting held a special place in Gerrity’s heart: a portrait of “Tundra” resting atop the lodge’s wood pile. “It’s one of my favourite paintings of all the animals I’ve ever done,” she said. “The contrast in colours made it really special.”
Indigenous Collaborations: Ethical Art Across Cultures
Tlingit Mary Peterson (left) with Artist in Residence Peg Gerrity.
Gerrity has served as an Artist in Residence in Rwanda working with highland gorillas, and her wildlife portfolio includes elephants, cheetahs, zebras, and giraffes from Botswana, Kenya, and Tanzania. But perhaps her most meaningful work has been with Indigenous communities, particularly the Tlingit people of Alaska, where what began as a straightforward artistic engagement evolved into a deeper collaboration built on mutual respect.
“It’s been a two or three-year project,” said Gerrity. “What I’m doing now is turning this over to local talent, because that’s the idea of an Artist in Residence. You want the money and commissions to stay within the community. I started working with a local Tlingit photographer; he takes photos, I do sketches, and all commission goes to him. And now there’s another group also, Tlingit, Haida and Tsimsian, who are talking about wanting me to come back to Juneau to do some work.”
“I’m still getting a free trip to Alaska, and they let me stay with them at people’s homes. So it’s not like I’m being completely altruistic. But I’m teaching at the schools, showing the kids and the adults who want to learn how to paint my watercolour techniques. It’s more about service to the community.”
Gerrity is also giving a presentation in Michigan about earning trust as an outsider in Indigenous communities. “It’s about how you gain trust when you’re an outsider,” she said. “As a white woman entering their community, there are certain things you must do to gain that trust, and the importance of not breaking it.”
Her collaborative approach extends to intellectual property rights. “One thing I’ve done with the Tlingit is give them the rights to license those paintings,” said Gerrity. “If they want to sell prints in their shop or make them into cards, they can do that, whatever they want to do that will help the community.”
The experience has been profoundly rewarding. “Just meeting these people and seeing hundred-year-old regalia and things like that,” said Gerrity. “It was really special.”
Recently, Gerrity has expanded this cultural bridge-building to include portraits of Greenland Inuit people. “I’ve been doing my own personal public service announcement of the Greenland Inuit because of what’s happening in America right now,” said Gerrity. “I think a lot of Americans don’t realize that about 90% of the population of Greenland is Indigenous. The Inuit have been there since 2500 BC.”
The Churchill Wild Experience: Beyond the Bears
A gentle rock toss can sometimes be enough to keep a polar bear at bay. Painting by Peg Gerrity.
Beyond wildlife encounters, Gerrity was equally impressed with Churchill Wild’s accommodations, service, and particularly the food. “It was incredible,” said Gerrity. “Especially the food and the pastries.”
The professionalism of the guides stood out. “Everything was so well done,” said Gerrity. “And what was nice was having three guides with us. We’d have this long train of people walking on the tundra, and the guides were spread apart so that they could whisper little things about the animal behaviour, the ecosystem, etc. That was so important and appreciated. I just felt like the guides really did an amazing job. Unbelievable.”
The guides’ explanation of bear behaviour patterns proved valuable. “The guides coached us on what to expect from the younger bears,” Gerrity noted. “The juveniles are the ones who aren’t quite sure who we are, or what we are. The older ones know.”
Gerrity’s trust in the guides stems from her previous wildlife experiences. “My go-to is always do exactly what the guides tell you to do,” said Gerrity. “If you do that, you’re going to be fine.”
Conservation Through Creation: Art as Environmental Advocacy
Gerrity sees art and nature as fundamentally connected. “The connection is so strong between art and the natural world,” she said. “Especially when you think about the history of scientific and medical illustration. The first medical illustrator was Leonardo da Vinci, and it was all of the natural world around him. It was every bit of dissection he ever did, whether it was a human or an animal. It was all wanting to learn about how the natural world works.”
This perspective shapes Gerrity’s approach to conservation. She hopes to return to Churchill Wild’s Seal River Heritage Lodge, where polar bears sometimes leap into water to catch beluga whales. For Gerrity, capturing such moments through art helps people understand wildlife adaptation.
“I feel like that is something that I would really like for people, especially in America, to understand,” said Gerrity, “That the polar bears are evolving. They’re going to be okay. It’s people who have to worry. The polar bears are going to adapt.”
An Artistic Legacy: From Medical Illustration to Wildlife Art
Skippy’s reactions at Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge. Painting by Peg Gerrity.
Gerrity’s business model gives her unusual freedom to pursue her passion for wildlife art. She maintains copyright on thousands of medical illustrations, which she licences repeatedly to clients including BabyCenter.com and the U.S. Department of Health.
“I kept the copyright to all of my medical illustrations over the years, and I have thousands of medical illustrations,” said Gerrity. “Those, I license over and over. I did the whole fetal development series for BabyCenter.com and pregnancy groups and the U.S. Department of Health. So I have all these things, and I just lease them over and over, which allows me to travel.
“Medical illustrators tend to collaborate with our students because there are so few of us. There’s only maybe 600 of us in the USA, but we really work with the students to teach them how to register and manage their copyrights. It keeps us from being the starving artists.”
Her Churchill Wild experience continues to inspire her artistic evolution. “I feel like the art gets better and better, because when I saw certain colours in the water or the river, or when I saw certain colours on the ice or in the skin tones of an animal, I can immediately go in my head and try to imprint,” said Gerrity.
Her upcoming travels include trips to Portugal to learn perspective painting and to Sri Lanka for underwater wildlife photography and more sketching.
The Final Canvas: Reflections on Nanuk
“Junior” under the Churchill Wild sign at Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge. Painting by Peg Gerrity.
When asked for advice about Churchill Wild safaris, Gerrity doesn’t hesitate: “I would say do it early and do it often.”
She recounted her initial skepticism: “I must have called Dana (Churchill Wild Sales Associate Dana MacDonald) three times just to say, ‘Okay, so are you sure that we’ll see a bear?'” said Gerrity. “Finally she said, ‘Peg, there’s a reason people come here.'”
The fact that her group saw 14 different bears during a four-night stay proved this correct. “What I would say is go ahead and roll the dice on this trip,” said Gerrity.
For Gerrity, the experience yielded not just wildlife sightings but enduring artistic inspiration. “It was so beautiful, and I really felt this serenity, too,” said Gerrity. “I really appreciated it when I was in the tundra rhino with the other guests, who were also in awe of the surroundings. At one point, we had stopped for the hot chocolate cookie break, and everybody gets out, and the sun is setting over the river, and I just went up to several of the couples and asked them if they would like their photograph taken with this gorgeous sunset. And they did.”
Through her sketches and paintings, the spirit of Churchill Wild’s polar bears will continue to captivate audiences far beyond Hudson Bay, bringing conservation awareness to galleries worldwide. Like the polar bears themselves, adaptive, resilient, and majestic, Gerrity’s art reminds us of our connection to the natural world and our responsibility to protect it.
In her eyes, and in the eyes of the wild creatures, we glimpse our shared future on a changing planet…
Hudson Bay Odyssey
