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“Departure” 12.5″ x 30″ acrylic/watercolor painting ©1987 Sold.

This painting represents a significant change in my style, a departure if you will, and the beginning of my use of the technique of pointillism (tiny dots of color).  In 1987 I was confined to bed rest for a myriad of back, neck and shoulder injuries so painful that I could not raise my right arm and was ordered to spend time flat on my back.  During the long, slow recovery my husband set up a jerry rigged easel propped over my body so that I could reach a painting surface without raising my upper arm.  We resolved the how-to-see-the-palette issue by placing it on my chest with a mirror attached to the easel overhead.  I mixed paint watching in the mirror and applied acrylic with a tiny brush using small dot like strokes, I was able to work for short periods without fatiguing my shoulder, neck, and back.  “Departure” was painted entirely with this method and took about six weeks to complete.  After that I could stand on my feet or sit for a few minutes at a time, I set a timer for very short intervals to paint at my easel between bed rest.  I had no idea I was painting pointillism, I was just trying to survive and figured once healed I’d go back to my regular watercolor technique.  Well, it has been 22 years and I’m still painting dots.  Styles emerge, we can’t force them.  Evidently I needed an accident to find mine.  “Departure” depicts the magnificent Trumpeter Swan as they splash their seven foot wing spans across the water during take off.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska wildlife artist

I’m ready to let this painting rest for awhile, it might be finished, it might not.  I’ve been too close to it for too many days to be objective anymore.  This is the point where propping it up inside a studio mat and sitting it on the easel for a few days serves as a chance to digest what might or might not need to be done.  Right now, I think it is finished but I haven’t signed it yet.  When I deem it is done, I will add my signature.  I like the painting, it has a light, lively feel and the colors seem to work together quite well.  “Mc Kinley Trail” 22″ x 30″ acrylic/watercolor on rag paper ©Gail Niebrugge.

Mt. McKinley artist, Gail Niebrugge

After a little touching up to the mid ground I’ve started adding pointillism (many small colorful dots) to develop the moss and grasses in the foreground.  One of the interesting aspects of this part of the Mc Kinley Bar Trail is the orange/red/gold mossy covering on the ground near the water.  Combined with the green grasses, the scene takes on a lively, intense, brilliant appearance.  Painting pointillism at this stage consists of layering many shades and hues of dots, carefully working the area to keep it fresh and spontaneous looking, yet allowing it to take on the true character of the subject.  This is a good beginning, but needs a little more detail.

Gail Niebrugge, Mc Kinley Alaska, artist

I don’t usually go into detail at this stage of the painting, the bottom half remains untouched but for the under painted watercolor wash.  But something tells me that I won’t have a whole lot to do on the bottom half, it has a nice feel already, I’ll just pull it together with some darks, lights and detail.  The top third is essentially finished, the middle third is partially ready, I’ve just got to define some of the green grassy areas on the right and left and some of the earth shapes that break up the water.  I’m really enjoying the light, airy impression of this image.  It strongly brings me back to my hike on the McKinley Bar Trail, in Denali National Park, Alaska, during the summer of 2009, and the joy I felt when the mountain appeared all day long.  The “McKinley Trail” painting is nearing the finish line.

Gail Niebrugge, Denali artist

The sky and distant mountains are not finished, but their values are well enough established that I can move into the middle ground and plant trees.  I’ve defined the light and dark shapes of the middle ground but the foreground grasses have not been touched.  They remain as the original under painting at this stage.  Hmm…..it is taking shape and has a nice feel.  Hope I don’t screw it up.

Gail Niebrugge, Denali artist

I had forgotten how much fun it is to paint over the watercolor wash coated with acrylic gel, using acrylic paint in dots!  I love it and wonder why I quit.  The photo of the early phase of the painting “McKinley Trail” above shows that I’ve begun to fill in the sky using gradation from light to dark, left to right.  I’ve also started to define the shadows on the mountain, leaving the white of the paper for the highlights.  I work flat using my drafting table for watercolor, but to view the composition from a distance on the easel I slip it into one of my ancient “studio mats”, this way I can study it without background distractions.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska painter

It is an artists paradise in Wasilla right now, the hoar frost is exquisite! Every time I look outside the windows of my studio I see another landscape that takes my breath away. The fog bank that has caused this is predicted to dissipate, soon another weather phenomena will dominate. Will we have more snow or wind, or will it warm up and rain, or get clear and very cold? The shortest day of the year (equinox) is soon, who knows what will happen next. For an artist, it is all wonderful!

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska landscape painter

Details are complete, the painting is finished.  “Wing Dancing” 48″ x 60″ acrylic on canvas in pointillism showing Sandhill Cranes in the courtship dance.  It was fun and satisfying to paint something large, and took approximately nine weeks to complete. More bird paintings can be found on my website; wildlife.

Gail Niebrugge, wildlife artist

Another day of painting and I’m still concentrating on the background around the cranes, whenever I think I’m ready to paint details on the birds I am distracted by the negative space around them.  Above is a close up showing the many dots and colors in the foreground grasses.

I think the upper third of the canvas negative space looks stronger now.  It is hard to see in this photo, but I’ve added many, many dots of hues, tints, and shades to the gradation of values and incorporated blue violet, purple and red violet to the original blues that previously dominated.  The next step is to paint detail.

Gail Niebrugge, Wildlife paintings

At this point unless you can study each stage carefully and compare, the changes I’m making are subtle and may not be obvious.  I’ve added a lot of lighter colored grasses to the foreground, and began to darken the top third of the background in the left and right corners.  I’ve also blended the grasses in the distance into a softer fade.  I have done nothing to the birds for quite awhile.  These changes took about 8 hours of painting.  I don’t think I’ll work on the cranes until the very end, my next session will focus on finishing the top third of the background which still appears weak to me.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska wildlife painter

I’m working on refining all aspects of the painting, a little here, a little there, more variation of values in the grass and darkening the colors in the background behind the birds.  Next, I began work on the Sandhill crane wings, defining shapes and adding a some blur to the feathers at the wing tips.  The birds are still at a very roughed-in state.  The progress I’m making is subtle now and will take a careful comparison to see the difference between Stage #10 and Stage #11 of the painting, these changes took several days of work.  Some times after I make a change and don’t like it, I’ll paint it back the way it was before.  A lot of effort goes into a painting that is not visible, but all that matters is how it looks when it is finished.  When I paint again I will focus on more detail.

Gail Niebrugge, wildlife artist

A close up detail of pointillism painted on the foreground grasses.  You can see many, many layers of color at this stage.  I’m concentrating on making the foreground beautiful close-up as well as from the distance.  A large variety of values and hues have been added as dots to form the grass.

The above photo shows how the grass appears from a distance,I’m beginning to achieve the look I’ve been seeking.  I need to step back and evaluate the background especially the upper third of the painting.  It looks a little weak to me.  This 48″ x 60″ canvas is quite a challenge, and is taking a huge number of dots, as well as a lot of time.  Fun, though.

Gail Niebrugge, pointillism painting

Adding many more dots to the grasses I’m continuing to darken the middle ground (the background in the center third of the canvas) and darken contrasting areas in the foreground weeds.  I’m doing exactly what I didn’t want to do, and re-painting all the grasses.  I didn’t like the first version.  I’ve also added a fuzzy blur to the tips of the crane wings in an attempt to show motion.  Much more to do with this concept, but that is for later.

More tomorrow,

Gail Niebrugge, wildlife painter

To give some contrast to the light color of the birds necks I darkened the yellow grasses in the distance and added a great many pale blue, bluegreen, and blue violet dots to the middle of the canvas.  For the moment, this seems to work better.   I also brought back some of the darker accents in the grasses that were covered initially with the first several layers of dots.  Now I need to concentrate on the Sandhill crane images, make them show movement and rhythm.

Gail Niebrugge, Art of Alaska

I’ve added some detail and rhythm to the lower grasses and lighter toned dots to the Sandhill cranes.  I’m not satisfied with the pale background behind the light tan cranes in the middle one third of the canvas.  I’m going to find a value and color of acrylic paint that will convey my idea and yet give some contrast to the light tints on the cranes necks.  More dots, ta dot, ta dot, dot, dot.

Gail Niebrugge, Wild Bird Paintings

To help establish the values of the bird shapes in relation to the background I began  to paint the middle tones with dots.  My goal was to have a very bland tan and gold background with camouflaged tan Sandhill Cranes, and I will continue working toward this objective.  But, if it doesn’t please me I will have a ton of dots to paint to make a change.  I wish I could fast forward and take a sneak peak.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska nature artist

I am attempting to lighten the upper two-thirds of the background with dots leaving very little underpainting showing through.  The sheer size of this canvas, 48″ x 60″, is making my progress very slow.  So far nothing but the dark areas of the Sandhill cranes have been painted, the rest of the birds are white canvas.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska pointillist

More dots are added to the grasses on the lower portion of the dancing Sandhill crane canvas.  This painting will receive many layers of dots until I am able to determine if the values and color will work the way I have planned.  I can’t evaluate anything yet.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska painter

I slowly and carefully begin to apply the fist layer of small acrylic dots on top of the wild, abstract underpainting of Sandhill Cranes I’ve titled “Wing Dancing”.  My thought at this point is to create a rather neutral, bland, tan and gold background surrounding the camouflaged tan birds with only hints of the colorful underpainting showing through.  If I don’t like the look I will have to repaint the original dots with different choices of color, a big job.  But, I won’t know how it will look until I’ve tried and that is why pointillism takes so long.  Regular artists just slap on some color, and if they don’t like it, slather on another quickly with large brushes.  Pointillism is tedious, each dot of color applied with a small brush, layer upon layer until the results are acceptable.

Close up detail of the first layer of dots.   For some unknown reason I enjoy doing this, go figure.

Gail Niebrugge, painter of dots

The finished pointillism painting “Red Rose”, 18″ x 24″ acrylic on canvas.  I enjoyed exploring one color in such depth.

I am celebrating three years of writing this blog today.  Amazing!   In the beginning did not think I could find enough to write about my life as an artist.  And, I did not post photos.  These last three years have been fun, informative, an educational journey, and I’ve only scratched the tip of the iceberg with respect to future subject matter .

More Tomorrow,

Gail Niebrugge, red rose painting