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“Basin Road” 54″x 72″ original acrylic on canvas commissioned by the Alaska Per Cent for Art program for the Juneau Pioneer Home, painted in 1991, ©Gail Niebrugge

I have to admit my learning curve with Photoshop has been long and hard mostly by trial and error, with more errors than success at times.  I’m sure I would have benefited from taking a class, but my excuse is that no one teaches a class out here in Wasilla, Alaska, for folks who use MacIntosh computers.  So, with my ancient Photoshop, a part of Creative Suite 2, I’ve stumbled through the process usually with some kind of deadline forcing me to produce a decent image to send via the web.

My love/hate relationship with Photoshop began about eight years ago when I decided I needed a website.  It required digital images of my art saved in low resolution jpg for each page.  At the time, most of my painting were photographed in 4×5 transparencies and 35mm slides.  A few were photographed digitally, but the file sizes were very small.  I stretched my brain figuring out how to scan the 4×5’s with my flat bed scanner and a film adapter, but when I opened the images in Photoshop they were extremely saturated with very high contrast.  I fiddled with different settings until the artwork looked fairly acceptable, at the time I had no idea how to use layers, and emailed 72dpi jpgs to my webmaster.  I look back on those early efforts and want to re-do all of them someday when I have the time.

Recently I’ve found a few excellent websites that post tips for using Photoshop and I’d like to share this one that explains in very good English how to optimize images for the web.  Happy Photoshopping!

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska Artist

I’m new to Twitter and FaceBook, but I can already see that this social network stuff can eat up a huge amount of time.  Thinking that the exposure would be good for my art and bring people to my website I signed on to these sites.  And, it has been a good move.  But, I’m just a small peanut in the big world of internet.  I’ve found folks who have more than 50,000 followers on Twitter and wonder how they keep up with their followers?  That kind of following boggles my mind.  I’m a johnny-come-lately to this internet stuff having grown up before home computers were invented and seem to be running way behind the learning curve, but doing my best, it seems like a small business needs at least a part-time employee to keep up with the email, posts, tweets, requests, website updates, and the like.  I have spam filters but still find 30-50 or more junk mail in my inbox every day, and thank goodness for a great spam filter on my blog where I can control “comments” or my site would be a walking billboard for pharmaceutical companies.  Here is a great article I found (on the internet) about this issue a good read, enjoy.

Gail Niebrugge, just an ordinary artist living in Alaska

Here is the finished drawing of  “Wasilla Tractor” ink 10″ x 14″ ©Gail Niebrugge.  This gem is located at the Museum of Alaska Transportation and Industry, Wasilla, Alaska, that is open to the public in the summer.  A worthwhile place to visit.  Below is a detail of part of the drawing.  It took 5-6 layers of parallel ink lines to create the darkest black.

Gail Niebrugge, Drawing and Painting Alaska

I thought the outline of distant foliage behind the tractor shape was distracting, so I began to layer crosshatch to fill in the negative spaces created in the background.  At this point two layers of parallel ink lines have been added to darken these spaces.  More to go.  This is tedious work, and takes a very steady hand.  I need to take frequent breaks to stretch my neck and arms.  I love ink drawing though, and find it hard to stop.

Gail Niebrugge, ink drawings of Alaska

At this stage I have three layers of parallel ink lines in crosshatch in the dark shadow areas and background of the drawing.  I’ve begun the fourth layer using diagonal lines.  You can see the partially completed fourth layer of crosshatch above the steering wheel.  Each layer creates a darker value, and I decided I wanted very dark (almost black) shadows and background so the tractor will stand out against the contrast.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska drawings

One of my favorite places to find old vehicles is the Museum of Alaska Transportation and Industry in Wasilla, Alaska.  I think this is such a cool place that I arranged a field trip for an art class for student research one year, that was graciously hosted by museum chief volunteer and good friend, Faye Palin ( yes, one of those Palins).  This old tractor caught my eye with the wooden spoke front wheels, complete with bucket topping the engine cowl.  I placed the tractor against a dark background to emphasize the light and shadow of the many different shapes in the drawing.  Originally I thought the background should take on the outline of distant foliage as shown at this stage, but I later changed my mind as you shall see in future posts.  This is the beginning sketch with the first layer of ink lines.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska artist

Here is the recently completed series of four old vehicles sketched with pen and ink from my research in the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.  A very enjoyable project and walk down memory lane.  Top left “Truck near Strelna” ink drawing 10″ x 14″, top right “Coupe at Chitina” ink drawing 10″ x 14″, lower right “Nugget Creek Truck” ink drawing 10″ x 14″, bottom left “May Creek Truck” ink drawing 16″ x 20″.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska wilderness artist

“Truck near Strelna” ink drawing 10″ x 14″ ©Gail Niebrugge

This ends my series at the moment, of old vehicles found in the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.  Over the last 30 years I’ve painted and sketched a great many of these ancient autos, and enjoyed not only the research in the field, but completing the artwork.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska wilderness artist

Pencil sketch and beginning ink drawing of an abandoned truck along the McCarthy Road in the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, near Strelna, Alaska.  I found this oldie tucked away in the willows just off the road during spring break-up, it would be quite hidden once the leaves returned in the summer.  I’m beginning this drawing with parallel ink lines in the darkest areas, then building up the lines to create values in a series of layers of cross hatching as shown in the detail below.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska wilderness artist

“Coupe at Chitina” ink drawing 10″x 14″ ©Gail Niebrugge

During one of my explorations for forgotton vehicles along the backroads of the Wrangell-St. Elias region of Alaska I found this relic stashed in the willows near Town Lake, Chitina, Alaska.  During the dense vegetation of summer this old car is virtually invisible, but during spring break-up it sat proudly exposed in its nest of branches and tangled weeds.  I can only imagine how it was used during the mining days when this region was a bustling hub for miners and their families during the days of the Copper River & Northwestern Railway.

Detail of pen and ink drawing of coupe.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska wilderness artist

Here are the two pen and ink drawings I’ve completed so far, these old trucks are hidden away in the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.  The larger drawing is the truck at May Creek, a roadless wilderness outpost for the national park.  During the late 1930’s during the mining era in this region a railroad served the remote community of McCarthy, Alaska, built to haul huge quantities of copper ore from the Kennicott Copper Mine.  From McCarthy there was a road to May Creek that included a large bridge spanning the Nizina River, that served the gold mining exploration during that era.  The bridge washed out many years ago and the roads are largely overgrown, today most folks use small aircraft for access or snow machines during the winter.  I have been painting the contemporary lifestyle, landscape, wildlife and history of this remote wilderness region of Alaska for more than 30 years.  It is my passion.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska wilderness artist

Two hard working volunteers on the Mat-Su College Fine Arts Advisory Council, Sharon Allen and Janice Strong, confer on auction items during the first annual “Tie the Knot Community and College” fundraiser held at the Palmer Depot last Friday night February 12, 2010.  The proceeds of the auction will be used to support the first Artisan Festival on campus for the community and the college planned for 2011 with the goal of making this annual event for artists throughout the state.  The evening was sparked by the humor and energy of the auctioneer, radio station owner John Klapperich, and capped by the generous contributions of featured artist Shane Lamb.  This is a very worthy cause and important to the cultural growth of the Matanuska Valley.  Next year, I (your humble blog writer artist) have the honor of serving as featured artist at the second annual auction.  Plan now to attend, and start saving your money to bid high on my donation

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska landscape painter

“Nugget Creek Truck” pen and ink drawing 10″x 14″ ©Gail Niebrugge

Here is the finished ink drawing of the truck at Nugget Creek, Alaska, in the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park.  Love the bullet holes in the window glass, the rope on the front bumper tied to the rock, and the rear wheel axle propped up on another rock waiting for a tire.  I wonder how long the truck stayed there?  It looked pretty beat up, but I wouldn’t rule out that this vehicle could still be used.  I have had a fascination with old cars since my childhood,and it is quite fun and a pleasure to do these drawings.

Gail Niebrugge, pen and ink artist

Here is the partially inked drawing of the truck we found along the Nugget Creek trail in the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.  I’m using many layers of tiny parallel lines in the cross hatch technique to achieve values.  This drawing is smaller than the last one, so I’m using my #1 nib on the Rapidograph pen.  There are many, many very thin, tiny parallel lines.  Unfortunately when I shot the photo of the drawing at this stage I didn’t notice the cast shadows along the bottom portion of the white paper.  I’m a better artist than a photographer.

Gail Niebrugge, pen and ink artist

Here is another old truck from my reference material on ancient vehicles in the Copper River Basin, Alaska.  We found this beauty during a week exploring the Nugget Creek Trail on our ATV’s.  It was an amazing trip, we had the keys to an astounding cabin that was perched on a narrow ridge with sheer drops on three sides.  If you stepped off the porch on the wrong side you would literally fall 200 feet off a cliff to the river below.  No late night trips to the outhouse without a good flashlight.  What I liked the most about this old truck was the rope from the bumper tied to the rock.

Gail Niebrugge, pen and ink artist

“May Creek Truck” 16″x20″ ink drawing ©Gail Niebrugge

After a few days of inking parallel lines, cross hatch and a few dots of stipple I proclaim the drawing “May Creek Truck” is finished!  This was great fun.  I love the bullet holes in the windshields and noticed the absence of any headlights.  The #1 nib worked well to darken the spaces behind the bear proof mesh grate screening the window of the log building.

Below is a close-up detail of the front bumper and grille of the old truck showing the detail of cross hatch and parallel ink lines layered to build various values.

My mind wandered way back in time to the first visit to May Creek with my family in 1978.  I’d just become a licensed pilot and the proud owner of a four passenger single engine Cessna 170B.  It was a perfect family trip, the May Creek gravel strip is long and wide and our friends were there to meet and generously host us for the weekend.  We traveled, exploring all over the abandoned mining roads of the region in this wonderful truck.  A trip down memory lane for me and one of the joys of being an artist!

Above photo shows my son, daughter and husband in the back of the truck and our friends, Fran and Al Gagnon, during the summer of 1978, note the extra batteries tied on the top of the front left fender.

Gail Niebrugge, wilderness Alaska artist

At this stage I begin drawing hundreds of free-hand parallel lines crossing them with more lines to create values in black and white.  I’m working from the darkest shadows and will leave the paper white for the lightest values.  I was disappointed when resurrecting my ancient Rapidograph pens to find my favorite nib, #2, was clogged beyond saving.  They have to be thoroughly cleaned after each use or the India ink will dry inside and freeze the moving parts and stop the flow.  Sometimes while working on a drawing I’ll be interrupted and not return for several days and if I’ve not taken the time to clean the pens, they are ruined.

So, this drawing is being inked with the fatter #3, which is o.k. for now because it is rather large (16″x20″).  The #1 is quite slim, but will work for some detail.  I must remember to order a new #2 as soon as possible.  Once I begin an ink drawing I’m obsessed and find it hard to stop.  I enjoy ink drawing, it is a nice break from the slow tedious pointillism painting, I can complete a drawing in several days compared to many weeks for a painting of the same size.  The May Creek Truck is coming to life!

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska artist

Lots of really good stuff going on with the Palmer Arts Council this month.  Be sure to check out the Poetry Anthology.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska painter

I’m in the mood to break out the old Rapidograph ink pens and do some drawing.  I have accumulated a thick file of research on the ancient vehicles scattered about the Copper River Basin in the Wrangell-St. Elias wilderness Alaska.  Few roads exist in this area and through the years folks kept using trucks and cars way beyond their life expectancy, robbing parts from one wreck to keep the other running.  Some of these vehicles have a long, colorful history.  I am fascinated with all of them.

One year after break-up in early May I took a scouting mission along the backroads to find as many old abandoned autos as possible.  Hidden by foliage during summer I found many rusting treasures ensconced by alders and willow, denuded branches entwining  themselves through any possible opening, sprouting through bent grills, missing floorboards, and shattered windows.  Each a treasure once upon a time, their useful lives ended to erode someday back to dust.  I’ve painted and sketched a great many of these jewels, and searching through my reference file has stimulated my imagination to begin another.  This sketch is of the work-horse truck that has survived many lives at the wilderness retreat of May Creek, deep in the heart of the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park.  I’ve pictured it against the hand hewn workshop, carefully built many years ago by an old friend of mine.  Our family traveled to the abandoned Chittitu gold mine in the back of this truck in 1978.  I was honored to see this vehicle live and well, thirty years later, during my artist-in residence for the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park in 2008.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska wilderness artist

The other day we had a short period of freezing rain that covered the ground with tiny white hail.  With my camera in hand I began to take photos of the landscape sprinkled with these frozen rain drops when I suddenly realized that they were shaped like miniature stars!  Tiny white stars fell to the ground as a gift from the heavens!  What an awesome sight!  Nature never fails to amaze and hold me in awe of its beauty and power.

Gail Niebrugge, Landscape artist