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“Gakona School” 36″ x 48″ original acrylic painting by Gail Niebrugge, commissioned by the Alaska Per Cent for Art program for the new Gakona Elementary school in the Copper River School District.

This tiny K-6 elementary school is located in a scenic valley along the Copper River, in the Wrangell-St. Elias, Alaska. The faculty wanted the painting to show the original school house, the landscape, the new school, and student activities. I spent several days during school hours watching, observing, sketching and taking photographs to use as reference material to help formulate a composition. It became clear that the painting had to be a montage (a composite of different images in one painting). I included the historic bridge over the Gakona River near the school, and the landscape with the Copper River and the Wrangell Mountains from the top of the bluffs overlooking the school. It was a fun project and I gained a great deal of respect for rural teachers who teach multiple grades. The students were happy and kept busy with a variety of activities. My painting captured a moment in time in this small wilderness community.

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Gail Niebrugge, Alaska wilderness painter

“Saving Lives in the Wilderness” 24″ x 36″ original acrylic painting by Gail Niebrugge.  Alaska Per Cent for Art program commission for the Command Center of Elmendorf Air Force Base Medical Center, Alaska.

This commission was a challenge. My first thoughts were to paint a familiar landscape capturing the beauty of Alaska, but the art selection committee had other ideas. They wanted a painting showing a medical evacuation using military aircraft. To assist with my research, I attended the war games at the Anchorage Air Force Base, and documented the entire evacuation training using the giant C130’s and support helicopters. It was overwhelming, I took rolls and rolls of film and accompanied a mock-medical evacuation flight as a passenger inside a C130. My head was spinning, how could I show this important part of the Air Force mission in a pleasing, interesting, yet authentic way?

I reviewed of all the airports that were large enough to handle a C130, and realized that I had several problems. One, I didn’t have any decent reference material of the major Alaska airstrips, and second I wanted something in a beautiful setting, something that represented the true Alaska. It occurred to me that the airstrip at McCarthy was certainly large enough, and I just happened to have some photo research of the airstrip during the fall season. The background mountains were beautifully lit by the evening sun creating a gorgeous light. Combining the military camouflage uniforms and the fall landscape made the composition interesting and I was able to use pleasing colors. In the end, everyone was satisfied, and I was greatly relieved!

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Gail Niebrugge, painter of the Wrangell-St. Elias wilderness

“The Kennicotts; Copper and Ice” 15″ x 28″ original acrylic painting by Gail Niebrugge commissioned for the Alaska State Ferry M/V Kennicott by Susan Knowles for the Governors Gift.

The wife of Alaska Governor Tony Knowles, Susan, commissioned a painting to become part of the permanent collection of the new state ferry that was named M/V Kennicott in honor of the historic Kennicott region of the Wrangell-St. Elias. I wanted to show both the Kennicott Glacier and the historic Kennicott copper mill, so I created a montage and combined both images.

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Gail Niebrugge, Kennicott artist of Alaska

“Spirit of Flight” original acrylic painting in pointillism by Gail Niebrugge. Original painting sold, Giclee prints available.

One day while sorting through my Trumpeter Swan research file, it occurred to me that I had been given a gift that I was not acknowledging. Instead of searching in vain for the perfect shots of swans in repose to use in a composition, I had tons of great information on the giant birds in motion! At last, a use for all those miserable shots of swans flying away from me. Since that revelation I have completed two paintings using this subject matter, and they have been very successful. The first one, “Departure” was small and quite conservative, many years later I was commissioned to do this very large version with changes to the colors and arrangement of the birds and it was an instant success. The lesson learned; don’t seek subject matter with a preconceived idea. Keep an open mind and stay flexible.

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Gail Niebrugge, Alaska Art

Making Coffee original acrylic painting by Gail Niebrugge. Sold.

Back to my series about living and painting in the Wrangell-St. Elias, Alaska. One cold winter day a well-known pilot and hunting guide commissioned me to do a painting of “Moose Camp”, a cabin located in a remote area of the Wrangell mountains. Dressed in warm clothes we climbed into his tiny super-cub, a fabric covered single-engine aircraft where the pilot fills the front seat and the passenger seat is directly behind the pilot. We flew over miles of snow covered wilderness to the base of Mt. Drum where I spotted a little cabin nestled in the trees below. The pilot guided the ski equipped plane to a smooth landing on very deep, punchy snow. Unfortunately the pilot forgot a second pair of snowshoes, only one pair were strapped to the wing struts and he graciously offered them to me. Undaunted by our situation he reached the cabin by laying on his belly, flat on the snow, and propeled himself forward using arms and legs in butterfly motions. The afternoon passed quickly as I busily sketched and photographed the subject from every perspective, my guide melted snow on the wood stove and made the best tasting cup of coffee I can remember. Just another day at the office for me!
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Gail Niebrugge, Artist of Alaska

My client is delighted with the painting. After a little discussion about adding more color to the planter rocks she agreed. So, I added more color and definition to the rocks, punched up detail and contrast in the flowers, softened the tree shadows on the driveway and checked that all vertical lines on the house were straight. I am finally satisfied and the painting is finished!
Gail Niebrugge, Alaska Artist

After contemplating the nearly finished painting for a few days, I’ve made some subtle changes; darkening the shadows on the garage, highlighting the rock trim on the house, and defining details throughout. I refined the gradation in the sky from light to dark, emphasized shadows in the gardens, perfected shading on the figure, and gave three dimensional values to the rocks around foreground planter. The planter rocks could use more work, but at this point need to show my client and involve her in the final decisions.
Gail Niebrugge, Alaska pointillism artist

At this stage in the development of a painting I let it rest for awhile, and think. It looks almost finished, but it is not. This is the time for some serious evaluation. I will turn the painting upside down and sideways, looking for compositional flaws. I haven’t added finished detail yet and save that for the very last. My first quick impression is that the seated figure needs some work, as does the garage door area of the house where the tree shadows seem weak. I’ll think on this while the painting is upside down. I’ll probably do some more work on the rock trim of the house as well, it looks a little strange at the moment. It is a little bland and does not read as rocks but more like multi-colored paint. Odd. I can become too familiar with what I’m painting and not see objectively. Let it rest, and think. I remind myself not to get caught up in the rush to finish.
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Gail Niebrugge, Alaska Pointillism Artist

At this stage of the painting the house and background are partially finished, the foreground flower garden is barely roughed in. I’m establishing depth in the scene with color, and carefully choosing values. The seated figure is not painted at this time, and the rock borders are unpainted. I will work on those areas next, and further develop the foreground flowers.
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Gail Niebrugge, Pointillism Artist

Again, I like to save time while painting. So, instead of taking down all of my photo references so that I can have an uncluttered background to evaluate the painting, I keep a bunch of empty mats in a variety of sizes handy to create a temporary mat around the artwork. This working mat helps separate the artwork from the busyness of the surroundings and makes it easier to evaluate the composition.

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Gail Niebrugge, Pointillism Artist

Through the years I’ve used many, many different kinds of palettes.  Some are made from molded plastic, wood, and glass, I’ve even tried using pie plates, and muffin tins. Acrylic paint dries fast.  In order to eliminate the job of cleaning the surface of the palette each time it is used I’ve settled into using disposable palettes.  I just peel the used sheet from the pad and toss it in the trash.  The same goes for brushes.  Acrylic paint destroys brushes, so I purchase cheap white sable by the dozen and throw them away when they quit holding a point and begin to resemble a fan. Cheap and easy, that’s my style. I hate wasting time setting up and cleaning up, I just want to paint. So, the easier the better for me. I have, however, used the same jar for water for nearly 30 years. It is like an old friend. I just rinse it out at the end of the day and let it air dry.  You will not find any special magic painting tools in my kit, just hard work!
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Gail Niebrugge, Pointillism Artist

Last summer a client commissioned me to create an original painting featuring her house and flower gardens. Here are the steps I use to create a painting with specific subject matter. (more…)

“Ultima Thule Experience” original acrylic painting in pointillism by Gail Niebrugge. Sold.

Many years ago we became friends with a young couple, Paul & Donna Claus, who operate an adventure guide service and lodge, Ultima Thule Outfitters, in a very remote part of the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. Located 100 miles from the Chitina Airport with no road access, visiting this lodge is indeed a wilderness experience. (more…)

“After School” 22″x30″ acrylic painting on rag paper ©Gail Niebrugge

This original painting was inspired by my stay in the village of Atmautluak, Alaska. Unfortunately I was not satisfied with the image and after a year of working on it and fussing with it I painted another image over the top. I’m so glad that I had the foresight to photograph this artwork before it was destroyed. Today I find the painting charming.  I learned a valuable lesson from this experience; Don’t be too quick to judge your work, let it rest awhile, sometimes it takes a few years before the true value of a painting can be determined.

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Gail Niebrugge, Alaska Artist

“Atmautluak Village” 3′x 8′ acrylic painting on four joined masonite panels.
Several years after this project was complete I heard that the Atmautluak school burned to the ground and was a total loss, so I do not know if this painting still exists. Unfortunately this is the best photo I have of the finished work. This project was commissioned by the Alaska State Council on the Arts Per-Cent for Art Program.
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Gail Niebrugge, Alaska Artist

A close-up detail of the fourth panel of “Atmautluak Village” painting for the Atmautluak, Alaska, school.

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Gail Niebrugge, Alaska Artist

Close up detail in the “Atmautluak Village” painting for the Atmautluak, Alaska, school. Look closely and you can see the seam connecting panels together.

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Gail Niebrugge, Alaska Artist

A close up detail of the “Atmautluak Village” painting for the Yupic eskimo school in Atmautluak, Alaska. (more…)

Here is a photo of my work space in the Atmautluak, Alaska, school library with the nearly finished painting of race day in the village.

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Gail Niebrugge, Alaskan Artist

This photo shows me (on the left) and an employee at the Atmautluak school, Alaska, standing on the library coat rack inspecting the wall painted by the students to be used as a dark frame for the original artwork.

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Gail Niebrugge, Alaska Artist