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“Star Lights” original acrylic and watercolor painting in pointillism by Gail Niebrugge, Sold.

With the cost of electricity the highest in the nation, home owners in the Wrangell-St. Elias wilderness of Alaska conserve energy. Most heat systems are supplemented with wood burning stoves, and at Christmas very few, if any, outdoor decoration lighting is used. But, as an artist I can fantasize and paint the way a place could look if electricity was affordable. Ordinarily this lodge would be dimly lit, a small glow emanating from the windows and the cabins would be dark, boarded up for winter. I brought the whole scene to life using my imagination. It is fun to create and live my own little world. The fantasy life of an artist.

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Gail Niebrugge, Alaska wilderness art

“Midday Moon” original painting in pointillism using acrylic and watercolor by Gail Niebrugge, Sold.

Another scene from the woods that surrounded my studio in Copper Center, Alaska. During the few short hours of daylight during winter I often cross country skied through the snow laden trees to the Copper River. The frozen river became my personal playground, opening up new areas to explore that could not even be reached by raft or boat during the summer. Fast moving currents, white water rapids and steep banks that prohibit the safe beaching of a water craft are tamed when the water recedes in the fall and freezes solid in the winter. And the prettiest time is when the full moon shines and lights up the semi darkness of the short day.

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Gail Niebrugge, Alaska winter art

Original miniature acrylic painting in pointillism “Fresh Snow” by Gail Niebrugge, Sold.

One of the advantages of living and painting in the Wrangell-St. Elias wilderness is; I never run out of subject matter. My yard in Copper Center is a source for many of my works. Nestled in the forest a few scant acres from the mighty Copper River, winter is a time for quiet contemplation and nothing can be more silent and magical than walking outdoors in falling snow. Every sound is muffled, it is so hushed that you can almost hear the feather light flakes landing on the frozen talcum powder fluff of fresh snow. It is a truly spiritual experience and one that I have often labored to capture in paint.

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Gail Niebrugge, wilderness landscape painter

Acrylic on canvas “Perkins Paradise” by Gail Niebrugge, purchased for the permanent collection of the Museum of the North, Fairbanks, Alaska.

Not far from the downtown of the tiny city of Valdez, Alaska, this wilderness home is primarily accessed by boat. It can be reached on foot by hiking down a bluff on a rustic trail that winds its way through the deep woods. The shoreline cabin came alive for me when a shaft of sunlight lit up the side of the building and the little patch of yard. Surrounded by the dark dense forest it stood out like a sparkling jewel waiting to be captured in paint on canvas.

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Gail Niebrugge, wilderness Alaska paintings

“Placid Tide” original pointillism watercolor and acrylic painting by Gail Niebrugge, Sold.

This spectacular scenic salt marsh is located in Valdez, Alaska, where sea lions, salmon, and over 80 species of birds flourish. It is fun to sit along the shores of these tide lands during the salmon spawning season and watch these huge fish arrive in schools of hundreds. After swimming thousands of miles to return to their place of birth, they lay their eggs then die. The balance of nature is fascinating and wonderful, so is life in the Wrangell-St. Elias wilderness.

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Gail Niebrugge, coastal landscape art

Since my theme right now is boats, I thought I’d include a photo of our latest research equipment.  Bob and I both own one of these bright cherry red kayaks to use on the lake for quiet, easy access to shallow coves and shoreline where we can watch and photograph waterfowl feeding and nesting.  The lake is usually calm in the early morning, a perfect time to explore and exercise.

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Gail Niebrugge, Wilderness Artist

Original acrylic miniature painting “Buddies” by Gail Niebrugge, Sold.

Another favorite from my Valdez, Alaska, research is the boat harbor, home to every possible type of sea craft used for fishing. These old wooden vessels have stories to tell. Framed against the back drop of the magnificent Chugach mountain range, the city dock is a great place to find interesting subject matter for paintings.

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Gail Niebrugge, paintings of fishing boats

“Seasons End” original watercolor painting by Gail Niebrugge purchased for the permanent collection of the Valdez Museum, Alaska.

As I poked around the side roads of Valdez, a beautiful coastal town located in the Wrangell-St. Elias region of Alaska, searching for subject matter to paint, I came upon this jewel; a beautifully kept fishing boat stored in a yard where all of the out buildings were decorated with fishing floats and buoys. What a great way to store these colorful baubles. I even enjoyed keeping the ever present blue tarp in the scene. In this case it serves as a shed door, but often they are used as a roof, or to cover wood piles, boats, equipment, etc. The blue tarp is a staple in the rural Alaska yard. Most of the time they look offensive and I eliminate them from the scene, but somehow this one works just fine in this painting.

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Gail Niebrugge, paintings of boats

Original pointillism acrylic painting “Sound of Silence” by Gail Niebrugge, Sold.

During my tenure living and painting in the Wrangell-St. Elias region of Alaska, I made numerous research trips to the coastal town of Valdez located about 100 miles south of Copper Center. This is one of the most spectacularly beautiful places in Alaska, with hundreds of miles of fjords, and glaciers scattered along the rugged coastline of Prince William Sound. Many times I was disappointed by low clouds and bad weather, but often I was greeted by a stunning landscape similar to the scene depicted in the original painting “Sound of Silence”. Not such a bad place to spend a day at work.

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Gail Niebrugge, Alaska coastal landscape paintings

“Mountain Home” miniature original acrylic painting by Gail Niebrugge, Sold.

Another from my series of log homes and flowers derived from my field research in the Wrangell-St. Elias region of Alaska’s interior. What impressed me the most about this yard is the huge, neatly stacked cords of firewood. Most of these wilderness dwellings heat with wood and haul water, not such a bad way to live considering the price of fuel today. I added a snow studded mountain peak to create a perfect idyllic environment.

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Gail Niebrugge, wilderness artist

“Gardening” original acrylic/watercolor painting on rag board sold, mini prints signed by the artist are available.

Another original painting from my series of rural Alaska cabins and flowers, this one includes part of a well-tended vegetable garden which is a staple in most yards. The biggest threat to any garden, in the wilderness or city alike, are moose who stomp, trample, and eat most everything in sight. For some reason they don’t seem to like the leafy tops of potato plants.

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Gail Niebrugge, Alaska landscape artist

Original painting “Flower Wagon” acrylic/watercolor on rag board, sold.

Flowers abound throughout Alaska during the summer. The combination of long hours of sunlight, warm temperatures, and the urge to enjoy the out-of-doors creates the perfect environment for Alaskan’s to excel at gardening. This painting is part of an early series of miniatures of rural cabins and flowers in the Wrangell-St. Elias region of interior Alaska.

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Gail Niebrugge, wildflower art

“Crocus Center” original acrylic painting by Gail Niebrugge, sold.

Another miniature painting of the wildflower Crocus. I am fascinated by the beautiful brilliant center, and cast shadows. It is also referred to as the Pasque Flower, or Spring Crocus and can be found in late May and early June in dry or sandy soil in the interior of Alaska. Perfect for my yard which is along the shores of the Copper River in the Wrangell-St. Elias region of the interior of Alaska. Spring lasts two and a half weeks, a short time window to see this wildflower.

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Gail Niebrugge, Alaska wildflower artist

“Crocus with Corm” original acrylic and watercolor painting by Gail Niebrugge, sold.

The wildflower spring Crocus is fun to study, it is covered with silky hairs. I spent quite a bit of time trying to find a way to show this characteristic, and found the best approach was to illustrate it in back light. With the light directly behind the subject the hairs were illuminated and stood out against the silhouetted stem. And, it felt good lying almost face down in the warm dirt, surrounded by snow, doing my research.

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Gail Niebrugge, Alaska wildflower painting

“Crocus with Insect” original watercolor and acrylic painting by Gail Niebrugge, sold.

With the first bloom of the season soon arrive insects, thus beginning the cycle of life. I will never cease to be amazed that bugs return every year, another miracle of nature. From a cold, dark, frozen, seeming wasteland a delicate flower pushes through the first spot of warm earth and an insect materializes out of nowhere. I stand in awe, and can only paint what I see, and know, and understand. And, sometimes I really don’t understand, I just accept.

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Gail Niebrugge, Wildflower art

“Crocus” original acrylic painting by Gail Niebrugge, sold.

This is one of a series of miniature paintings of the wildflower Crocus from my yard in Copper Center, in the Wrangell-St. Elias wilderness of Alaska. As soon as these flowers appear, spring is on the way and summer is near.

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Gail Niebrugge, paintings of wildflowers

“First Color” original watercolor and acrylic painting by Gail Niebrugge, sold.

I will never forget the first time I saw the wildflower Crocus. It was spring in our new house in Copper Center, Alaska. The front yard (forest) faced south with a sloping dirt bank down to the road. I was out inspecting the yard, tromping through snow, and discovered a snow-free spot on the south facing earthen embankment. It felt good to sit down and feel dirt again, after a bitterly cold winter, I relaxed and leaned back against a log and watched a Bald Eagle circle overhead. Summer was on the way! Rolling over I was startled to see a purple blossom about the shape of an egg, barely poking out of the ground! Searching the rest of the area I was elated to find a group of six of these wildflowers all together, and later learned that they were called Crocus. It became a ritual to visit that spot every spring and be greeted by the miracle of these hearty, wildflowers. They became my next focus of attention to study and paint.

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Gail Niebrugge, wildflower ar5t

“Fire in the Woodpile” original pen and ink and watercolor painting by Gail Niebrugge, sold.

The small kindling woodpile by the back door is almost invisible in the summer, smothered by tall weeds and swathed in fireweed. Stuff gets lost there, a bucket, a prize piece of wood, and things that are temporarily set on top then fall off. This wild spot at the back of the cabin is where I first learned about all of the stages of fireweed.

In the beginning I love the brilliant fuchsia-colored blooms that appear, then I begin to expect them to be there every day. They need no tending and last almost six weeks. After the blossoms fade long pods form, turn red, then split spewing a white fluffy cotton. It is a fascinating looking plant at this stage, surrounded by its rich green leaves. Within a few weeks the leaves progress from green to all shades of red and yellow, and the split pods shrivel brown, begin to curl, and tangle in the cottony down. Soon the air is full of white fuzz, fireweed seed sowed by the wind. And, the woodpile with its hidden treasure is exposed. Finally enough is enough, I quit watching and sat down on the ground with pen and ink and watercolor and painted “Fire in the Woodpile”.

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Gail Niebrugge, watercolor painting

“Fireweed IV” original watercolor painting by Gail Niebrugge, sold.

Back to my series on living and painting in the wilderness of the Wrangell-St. Elias, Alaska. This looks like fireweed laying on snow, but in reality I plucked some dried branches for decoration and kept them in my studio during the winter. Tidying up one day, I removed the dehydrated weeds from their home in a jar and tossed them temporarily on my drafting table. Turning on the drafting light I became fascinated with the patterns and cast shadows made by the dried plant. Nothing would suffice but to sit down and immediately paint what I saw. At the final stage of fireweed, nothing remains but the withered brown leaves and curled, twisted split pods. Still beautiful. An intriguing wildflower. Hours later I realized that my housecleaning project stalled at dusting the shelf. Cleaning can wait, I have paintings to make!
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Gail Niebrugge, wildflower painter

“Fireweed III” original acrylic and watercolor painting by Gail Niebrugge, sold.

Hot on the trail of understanding the stages of fireweed, I ran out of pre-painted textured boards, so I turned to a fresh sheet of heavy rag paper and my box of brushes. After a quick pencil sketch of the fireweed at the early seed stage I applied a multi-colored wash of watercolor with spatters and salt produced speckles. Allowing much of the underpainting to show, I developed the details and the dark spaces between leaves with acrylic. The result is a light, airy, comfortable painting depicting fireweed at the stage, where the long pods from previous blossoms turn red and the lower pods split and spew fuzzy fluff. Gorgeous!

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Gail Niebrugge, wildflower artist