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I am blessed with of the best collectors and friends, Vicki and Warren Enyeart are among them.  They always stop to visit our booth and share great stories and information.  Warren has taken his photography quite seriously as of late and sent this photo that he took in my booth last night.  I love the angle of this shot, of course it helps that Warren is tall.  This is one of the very few photos of me in my booth because I’m usually the one behind the camera.  Thanks Vicki and Warren!!!

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska Artist

In between periods of warm sun at the state fair, occasional thunder showers drench the crowd and send everyone scurrying for cover.  During cloud bursts our art booth quickly fills up with wet, dripping folks smelling of damp wool.  Crowded walkways are suddenly empty and the booth across from us removes the sun glasses display filling the entrance with umbrellas instead.  I’ve enjoyed watching the weather change and take special delight in finding colorful reflections in rain puddles.  When you prepare for your visit to the fair this year add rain gear to your backpack.  The sun comes and goes, but if you are dry it is a lot more fun.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska wilderness artist

At the Alaska state fairgrounds in Palmer we have enough room behind our booth to park our camper.  Having our rig close by makes our time at the fair comfortable and convenient, and offers a place to take a quick nap or grab a bite to eat.  The kitchen table gives us a space (out of sight) during quiet times to shuck freshly picked peas from my garden.  When customers come into the booth I quickly clean my green stained thumbs and take care of business.  So, next time you stop at my booth you know what goes on behind the scenes.  Every booth has a different story behind, it is another world very separate from the gee-gaw, gimcrackery out front.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska painter

Sunday and Monday were sunny and warm at the fair, our booth faces west and is flooded with wonderful afternoon and evening sunlight.  I love standing in the doorway and feeling the warmth, something I’ve missed this summer.  The week days are a great time to attend, crowds are less and the pace is comfortable.  Last weekend was busy and hectic and we are enjoying a reprieve from the chaos.  The new canvas giclee “Wing Dancing” is selling well and we are taking orders for a new giclee on paper with hand torn edges “Fiery Leaves”, the original was displayed in the booth last year before it was sold.  Come on down to Palmer and chat with us for awhile.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska artist

Saturday it rained buckets at the Palmer Fairgrounds, literal lakes formed along the walkways and flooded the unfortunate booths in tents without floors.  We are so thankful for our soundly built booth with a good roof and floor that keeps us high and dry.  Our booth was packed almost all day with friends, collectors and art lovers.  Several original paintings were sold along with many prints and cards.  Spirits were high among the rubber boot crowd, even those without rain gear seemed to be having a great time.  The attitude was; “it is only water and we will dry, the fair comes only once a year.”  Alaskans, a hearty tough bunch, you gotta love ‘em.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska artist

Occasional drizzle and scattered showers during the Alaska State Fair on Friday brought out a colorful array of umbrellas.  My creative mind took over and dominated my sensibility during my spare time, I began photographing the umbrella parade from the doors of our art booth.  People watching at the fair is fun, the face paint, colored spiked hair, umbrellas, balloons, all add to the festivity of the event.  Rain days can be slow days, but I find the slower pace a great time to really “see” the magic of this venue.  We were cosey and dry in our well-built booth, warmed by a small electric heater in the back.  My heart goes out to all the vendors who sit in open tents during this soggy weather.  Hopefully the weekend will bring the sunshine and crowds.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska artist

Ready for opening day at the fair with sunshine and flower pots from our yard gracing the doorway to our booth.  Many of my Facebook friends, old neighbors and collectors stopped to visit and purchase art.  Here’s hoping this wonderful weather continues.  Meanwhile the smells of junk food and sounds of music, bells, whistles, and laughter fill the air.  Nothing can equal a day at the Alaska State Fair in Palmer.  See you there, on the Purple trail two booths from Pioneer Square

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska artist

“Last Light” 22″ x 30″ watercolor/acrylic © Sold.

Driving along the Edgerton Road near Kenny Lake, Alaska, late one summer evening the road curved and aligned itself perfectly with the setting sun, instantly blinding me.  I slowly pulled onto the shoulder and stopped the engine to wait for the moment to pass, and as I looked out the side windows I saw the magic that the last low light of the sun created on the landscape.  It was stunning, the colors dazzled and glowed golden bathed in late evening light.  I spent all day seeking subject matter for paintings, hiking and driving all around Chitina, the Copper River and beyond, and here it was a gift of light right along the road to home.  “Last Light” was painted in 1989 and later made into a limited edition print that is now sold out.  A few Artist Proofs remain and can be purchased through Niebrugge Studio.  When people ask how I choose subject matter my reply is that it is all about the light.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska wilderness artist

“Magenta Marsh” 16″ x 20″ acrylic on Masonite © Sold.

One of the last paintings in my Denali Highway series, “Magenta Marsh” was completed in 1992 and depicts the Tangle Lakes region during a serious cloud cover.  This was one of those moments during a storm when the rain takes a pause, the air is calm and heavy, silver water motionless and the tundra intensely vivid, richly colored enhanced by dampness, each leaf holding a pearl of water, stunning and awesome.  A moment in time, suspended, and painted to remember.  A limited edition print of “Magenta Marsh” was made in 1993 and given to preferred customers by the National Bank of Alaska as a Christmas gift.  All 2,500 copies are signed my myself and the president of the bank, and are a collectors item today.  After reviewing my early work of the Denali Highway I’m inspired and ready to jump into the truck and camper and visit this exquisite part of interior of Alaska again, it has been awhile since my last trip.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska wilderness artist

Ned and Cookie Hales with Bob at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco.  We spent the afternoon touring shops along the wharf and ended up with a collection of San Diego Padres hats.  These were a rare find in Giants country, but we had to stay true to our childhood roots in San Diego and show support for the home team.  The Padres and Giants were tied after two games in a three game series held at the spectacular AT&T Park.  We planned to attend the third game the next day, wearing our hats of course.

The AT&T Park is an amazing place, pictured above are Bob and I standing in front of a bronze of Willie Mays Jr., one of many statues of legendary baseball players (Giants) to grace the exterior of the building.  The stadium itself is magnificent, perched on the edge of the San Francisco bay with sweeping views, it is a major landmark.

We arrived at our incredible box seats early before the sold-out crowd so that we could tour the facility in leisure.  Over 42,000 people soon filled every seat in the house.  Bob and I were but two tiny voices cheering for the Padres among the roar of boos and hisses of Giants fans as the Padres won this game 8-2.  Our trip to visit our friends ended far too soon, the next day we were winging our way back to rain-soaked Alaska to prepare our booth for the Alaska State Fair at Palmer.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska artist

After a day of hiking and wine tasting we spent a wonderful evening at the home of Michele and Chris Cameron in Hollister, CA.  Michele, the daughter of Ned and Cookie Hales, is an attorney and her husband Chris is a high school football coach and local super star.  Pictured with the coffee cup is my God-daughter Jennifer Hales Turk, Chris and Michele, and Cookie Hales on the far right chatting with Gretchen Coelho.  We had a wonderful evening catching up with the Hales offspring and their grandchildren.  All are expected to visit Alaska very soon, yes indeed, very soon

Gail Niebrugge, artist

After a lovely stay at Seascape Beach Resort in Aptos, California, our hosts, Ned and Cookie Hales enlisted the services of their son, Gregg, as a travel guide.  An outdoor exercise enthusiast, Gregg led us to a series of gorgeous trails and turned us loose in the Nisene Marks Forest State Park an area of giant Sequoias and babbling brooks a hidden gem within two blocks of downtown Aptos.  A wonderful surprise for all of us.  Thank you Gregg!

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska artist

Left to right, Bob with Cookie and Ned Hales, front Boom and Gregg Hales, some of our oldest and best friends walking the beach front in Santa Cruz, California, on a wonderfully sunny day.  At Ned and Cookies house in San Jose, wild deer, geese, ducks and turkey browse along the yards and golf course at their lovely home in the villages along the eastern hillsides of San Jose.  Gregg and Boom live in the charming coastal town of Santa Cruz.  It was such fun to be together again with our good friends.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska artist

“Storm” 24″ x 36″ acrylic on canvas ©1986 collection of the artist.

This is my painting style before the accident that led to bed rest and the development of the unique technique of pointillism I use today.  “Storm” is painted from a research trip to one of my favorite places, the Denali Highway, a 135 mile gravel road connecting the Richardson Highway to the Parks Highway in the Copper River Basin of Alaska.  As an artist, I am partial to this area during the fall when colors are at their peak and incredible, majestic storms sweep across the vast, wide open tundra.  This highway closed during winter, although it is a great area to explore by snowmachine I still prefer fall.  Sometime in mid 1980’s I grew tired of experimenting with watercolor and dug out my old tubes of acrylic and began spreading thin layers of luscious paint on canvas with large brushes.  I enjoyed painting this way, it was a treat to use brushes in acrylic after my forced exclusion for years and years of palette knife only.  “Storm” remains in my private collection as an example of this period in my career, and brings wonderful memories of time spent exploring the Denali Highway Alaska wilderness.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska wilderness artist

Each Hosta plant in the perennial garden has at least six blooms, they are quite showy this year.  The cool wet summer seems to help them thrive.  The front walk to the studio has been ablaze in color since late May when the Bergenia bloomed.  I’m still waiting for the last six Asiatic Lily plants to show their stuff.  I love summer gardens in Alaska.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska flower artist

My perennials are slow to bloom this year due to the constant clouds and rain, but once blooming they are spectacular!  These lilies grace the front walk to the studio, and at least half my plants haven’t bloomed yet.  When they all open their petals it should be an awesome sight.  This has been a good year for my perennials, I still have a few Himalayan Poppies with flowers.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska flower painter

Slogging through the rain soaked yard I found dozens of wild mushrooms of different varieties emerging through the soil.  I call this one the “orange shroom” due to my ignorance of these fungus fruits.

I’ve named these “prickly mushrooms”.

“Domed shrooms”, I’m sure someone will set me straight and tell me if they are poisonous.  They quickly get old and mushy and are a nuisance in the garden and the lawn.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska artist

This has been such a cloudy, wet summer that most of the zucchini has rotted before it matured.  I’m hoping this crop will make it to the table.  These vegetables can double in size overnight so it pays to check them every day.  These grow outside the fence along with potatoes because the moose don’t seem to like them, although they are at risk of being trampled if the moose spend any time trying to get inside the fence.  Such are the perils of gardening in Alaska.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska artist

Cabbage heads are beginning to form in the vegetable garden.  Last year we didn’t get to eat any of our cabbage because the moose got to them first.  Here’s hoping that our new 7′ tall fence will keep those selfish ungulates out!!

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska painter

“Termination Dust” 10″ x 24″ acrylic painting © Sold.

Another in my Denali Highway series, “Termination Dust” was painted in 1992 using  pointillism and was made into a limited edition print that is now sold out.  A few artist proofs are still available.  The scene depicts the last vestige of fall when colors are deep rust, red and umber fading quickly and the first significant snowfall on the Alaska range.  Alaskans call this event termination dust because it causes tourists to pause and then scatter quickly to the lower 48 states, as if running for their lives.  In actuality, we have often seen fabulous warm weather in October, often referred to as an indian summer, but it is not something to be counted on.  It can be 20º below just a quick as 60º above at this time of year.  During the early 1990’s my pointillism consisted of very, very tiny dots, my work was tight and oriented to perfection.  Today I’m loose, loose, and looser and let the painting speak for itself.  It is interesting to study the evolution of an artists style, and fun to analyze my own.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska wilderness painter