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Yupic children sledding on the frozen river at Atmautluak photo.

The Yupic eskimo children of Atmautluak village were fun loving and playful. The bitter cold and wind did not seem to bother them as they created toys from “found” objects. Here a group of children use outboard motor engine covers as sleds on the frozen river. As I pondered ideas for subject matter for the painting, I thought that it might be nice to show children participating in their very unique play. Ideas churned inside my head. None seemed quite right yet. I still had plenty of time to do my research for the painting for the school, by being patient, watching and observing, I hoped the right subject would emerge.
More tomorrow.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska Artist

“Denali Two” 4″x6″ acrylic on Sintra.

Another minature original painting in pointillism of Mt. McKinley, Denali National Park, Alaska. The vertical format of this original painting is excellent for a small wall space or as an element of a group for a larger wall. Elaborately framed it is perfect together with the miniature “Denali One” shown on my previous Blog entry yesterday. Call for availability and price.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska Artist

“Denali One” 4″x6″ acrylic on Sintra.

Fresh off the easel a tiny new original painting in pointillism of Mt. McKinley, Denali National Park, Alaska! My miniatures are in very short supply and sell quickly. Elaborately framed, this original painting is a perfect accent for that small wall space, or small enough to be included a group arrangement on a larger wall. Call Niebrugge Studio for price and availability (907) 746-3256.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska Artist

Yupic Eskimo boy, Atmautluak, Alaska, photo.

Before long I became aware that I had a little Yupic eskimo friend who silently shadowed my every move. He never spoke, and always had a sweet smile. I became very attached to my little buddy while I photographed the village of Atmautluak, searching for reference material to use as subject matter for a painting commissioned for the school. My thoughts rambled through many ideas, what about a painting of childrens faces, or a composite of places in the village in a montage, or perhaps an activity? Without a specific direction I continued searching for the perfect subject to paint.

More tomorrow.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska Artist

Atmautluak village graveyard photo.
The wind continued to blow for three days in the village of Atmautluak, Alaska, and the chill factor was often minus 50 degrees below zero. Although I wore a parka with a fur ruff on the hood, my glasses iced over and I often shot photos not knowing if the focus was accurate. I am a trained professional artist, but a very amateur photographer. Even so, my photos have always served me well as research for paintings. This project was done before the days of digital cameras, I used 35mm film and had to wait until the film came back from the processor before I knew if the images were exposed correctly.

More tomorrow.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska Artist

Russian Orthodox church in Atmautluak.

As soon as I settled my gear into a locker at the Atmautluak school I began to photograph as much of this remote Alaska Yupik eskimo village as possible. My photographs and sketches will serve as subject matter research for the proposed commissioned painting to be installed in the school. I need to know as much about this village and Yupik eskimo life as possible so that I can create an authentic and revelant painting. I will not rely on photographs taken by other people, only my own. The above photo is of an Atmautluak village church.

More tomorrow.

Gail Niebrugge, Artist

Atmautluak airstrip in the wind photo.

It was a short flight from Bethel to the Yupic eskimo village of Atmautluak, the flat white snow covered terrain extended as far as the eye could see. Not a tree in sight. The wind howled, blowing snow sideways across the landing strip, before I knew it I found myself standing alone next to my strange shaped pile of luggage in the middle of a whiteout wondering what on earth I was doing here. The pilots reassurance of “don’t worry, someone will come for you soon” did little to quell my concerns. (more…)

Bethel airport in the fog photo.

In the early 1980’s I was selected to create a piece of art to be installed in a new school in the village of Atmautluak, located in the Lower Kuskowim Delta School District, Bethel, Alaska. This seemed like a great opportunity to learn more about Alaska, but I had some concerns about the logistics.  I lived in the the remote settlement of Copper Center, Alaska, over two hundred miles from Anchorage, and could not find Atmautluak on any map, anywhere. Nevertheless, I approached the project with a spirit of adventure and prepared for a one week visit to the Yupik village during the dark, cold month of February. (more…)

Here is the finished painting, I have titled it “Kennicott-Stabilized.” It represents all of the work that the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park has done to protect this historic monument todate. I am pleased with the painting. It is made up of thousands and thousands of tiny dots, a technique called pointillism. Next, the painting will be delivered to Chris Arend Photography in Anchorage to be documented, after that I will do the final gel medium varnish that will intensify the color. I wait until the photography is complete before I paint the finish gel medium because it can cause unnecessary reflections. After the gel medium dries, I will select a suitable frame.

Thank you for watching my progress on this major work, you can see how time consuming my technique of pointillism is, and how detail oriented I am as an artist. I am proud of this painting, it has been a labor of love.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska Artist

A close up detail of the foreground foliage on the lower right side of the Kennicott original painting. (more…)

A detail of the foreground foliage in the Kennicott original painting. It is time for me to tackle the foreground, here is how it looked at the beginning. (more…)

A close up section of the Kennicott original painting showing the top of the ore crushing mill. This area is fairly complete with the exception of the distant mountains and some of the glacier moraine. (more…)

This is an overview of the last three or four blog entries that featured close up details of the Kennicott original painting showing some of the mill buildings, the glacier moraine and the distant mountains. Extensive pointillism has been used on the buildings, the moraine is nearly complete, but the distant mountains are just roughed-in with one layer of dots and the snow of Mt. Blackburn is the white of the canvas at this point. (more…)

A section of the Kennicott original painting showing Mt. Blackburn, no paint has been added yet to the white areas of snow. The pointillism in the sky is partially complete, the purple ridge is underpainted only, and the green ridge in front is partially finished. (more…)

A section of the distant mountains in the Kennicott original painting showing several layers of pointillism on the ridge to the left, and mostly underpainting on the purple ridge. (more…)

A section of the glacier moraine on the Kennicott original painting with partially completed pointillism. (more…)

I find myself wanting to do more work to the top of the mill in the Kennicott original painting. This close-up shows most of the building painted in extensive pointillism without detail. (more…)

A detail of the glacier moraine and the chimneys on the Kennicott original painting. In this view I will focus on the development of pointillism in the background glacier moraine. The buildings are painted in extensive pointillism at this point.

(more…)

Above is a section of the Kennicott original. I’ve chosen this detail to illustrate the progress of pointillism in the underpainted glacier moraine area of the background. The foreground has a fair amount of pointillism at this stage, and a few dots begin to define some of the crevices on the moraine. (more…)

I have been blessed with one of the nicest neighbors in the world, Dennis Eby. The other day he volunteered to help us change the large painting on the very tall wall in my studio. Always practical and creative, Dennis used two Little Giant ladder systems and a plank between them with a three legged step ladder serving as a safe, easy access to the scaffold. Dennis is shown here adjusting my original painting titled “Parting Clouds.” This original painting in pointillism depicts part of the peak of Mt. Mc Kinley, Denali National Park, as it is bathed in alpenglow with lenticular clouds breaking-up and scattering in the sky.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska Artist