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“Copper Centers Past” original acrylic painting by Gail Niebrugge, sold.

This original was painted plein air (on location) during my first year in Copper Center, Alaska, during the period that my style was heavy impasto pallet knife. My early education art came at the height of the abstract art movement, and although all I wanted to paint was realism, I was criticized, critiqued, and admonished as “trite” by my instructors and encouraged to paint my “feelings”. It was a confusing time for me, because I had great “feelings” for what I literally saw around me in my every day life. Not for some splotches of color randomly applied to a canvas and given names like; “Pain”, “Birth”, “Anger”, etc.
And, my natural instinct is to dwell on tiny details. I was encouraged to try to break free of this limiting habit, to paint loose with great intuition. To comply with my teachers, all that I could think to do was to paint the subjects that I liked using a palette knife, without any brushes for detail. I painted this way for 7-8 years, but it didn’t change my nature, or who I was.

When we moved to the wilderness of the Wrangell-St. Elias, Alaska, I was on my own, free to paint what I wanted how I wanted. I gave up the palette knife after about two years and rediscovered brushes, and have been using them ever since. I have to admit though, I really like these early palette knife paintings and kind of wonder about incorporating that technique today with my pointillism. We shall see……I’m always considering something new, but rarely make spontaneous changes.

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Gail Niebrugge, palette knife artist

“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

“First Return” original acrylic and watercolor painting in pointillism by Gail Niebrugge, sold.

Every spring I watch and wait, listening for the first sounds of the trumpeter swan as they return to the Wrangell-St. Elias in the Copper River Basin. This region is home to one of the largest populations of nesting trumpeter swan in the nation. They often return to the same location, so I know where to keep watch. These two swans are fastidiously preening their feathers, a ritual that takes place many times a day. I record activity, dates, times, and places in my journal and make quick sketches with notes in my sketch book. My camera has become one of the major tools for gathering reference material, but nothing can replace personal knowledge and observation. Painting from someone else’s photograph is no substitute for a complete understanding of the subject. A lifetime is not long enough to paint everything of beauty that I see in Alaska.

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Gail Niebrugge, Alaska watercolor painter

“The Wrangells from Willow” original acrylic painting in pointillism by Gail Niebrugge. Original sold, posters available on my website and at the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park Visitor Center, Copper Center, Alaska.

The Richardson Highway runs south of Copper Center and sports a lovely pull-out along the shore of Willow Lake. If the sky is clear, it is a fabulous place to see the Wrangell Mountain range. From this vantage point the mountains from left to right are; Mt. Drum, Mt. Sanford, and the active volcano Mt. Wrangell. This is another of my favorite places to watch the mountains. The Wrangell-St. Elias is a spectacular wilderness, and is where I am blessed to be able to paint.

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Gail Niebrugge, Alaska wilderness painter

Photo of me standing by my Cessna 170B, nicknamed “Charlie”, at the wilderness dirt air strip in Copper Center, Alaska. I flew during the winter at first but soon gave it up.  Without a hangar for storage the preparation to fly in the extreme cold is extensive. The night before flying, a small oil heater is placed inside the engine compartment and a blanket wrapped around the cowling. The wings are swept clear of snow and fitted with covers. Charlie wasn’t equipped with skis, so my flying was limited to plowed airstrips. I soon became a fair weather pilot and eventually found that chartering flights was much more efficient for art research exploration.

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Gail Niebrugge, wilderness Alaska artist

“Ice Field” original acrylic and watercolor painting by Gail Niebrugge, sold.

Piloting my own single engine Cessna along the lower elevations of the Wrangell Mountains, Alaska, worked fine until I became so fascinated with the subjects outside the windshield that I would forget to fly. It soon became clear that to obtain the best reference material for use in future paintings, I needed someone else to be pilot. Thus began a three decade relationship with every kind of aviator and aircraft in the region. Some were the best, and others were worse than worse. I have had almost every experience possible, except a crash. Somehow, I have always been spared. Many of my friends have died in accidents in the Wrangells, these mountains and their unpredictable weather seem to swallow up life. Nevertheless, I keep going, and flying, and painting them. This painting is from an aerial perspective of an ice field part way up the active volcano Mt. Wrangell.

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Gail Niebrugge, wilderness artist

“Wrangell Mountains” original acrylic painting by Gail Niebrugge, sold.

There is a special spot along the Richardson Highway south of Copper Center where I can sit at the top of the bluff and watch my favorite subject, Mt. Drum. I have intimate knowledge of the shrubs and trees surrounding my secret place, and know all about the comings and goings of wildlife and waterfowl as they visit the clear water slough in the drainage below. Beyond the slough is the raging, glacier-fed, muddy Copper River. I cannot count the many, many hours I’ve spent here waiting for the clouds to rise above the opposite ridge to finally reveal my mountain! It usually happens late in the day, near sunset, sometime around midnight during summer. This painting is the result of one of my happy, quiet, successful stays.

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Gail Niebrugge, original paintings of Alaska

“Drum and Sanford” original acrylic painting by Gail Niebrugge, sold.

One of the most interesting features of Mt. Drum is the huge bowl on the south side from a volcanic eruption about 150,000 years ago when the top and south side were destroyed. It is the youngest volcano in the Wrangell Mountain volcanic field. Snider Peak is the sharp craggy summit on the left. One of my favorite routes to fly in my single engine Cessna is to circle the base of Mt. Drum at different elevations. One time I flew over the top, and at an elevation of 12,500 ft. I could glide all the way back to the air strip in Copper Center. My affection for this peak is unequaled, and it shows in my paintings. The summit of Mt. Sanford is visible in the background from this position south of Copper Center.

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Gail Niebrugge, wilderness Alaska painter

“Drum’s Cloud” original acrylic painting by Gail Niebrugge, to purchase original call for price and availability.

Returning to my series on my early life as an artist living and painting in the Wrangell-St. Elias wilderness of Alaska. I was fascinated with Mt. Drum from the very first moment it came into view.  From my vantage point in Copper Center it is the crown jewel of the Wrangell Mountains.  These peaks make their own weather and are often completely obscured by clouds. Over three decades ago when I first arrived in the Copper River Basin I had no idea these mountains existed.  Everything above the foothills was socked-in.  It was several days before the clouds began to dissolve, slowly at first, then faster and faster until nothing but a small blanket was left clinging to the glacier-clad peak. I was captivated! It was several years before I could paint a believable image of Mt. Drum. I had to know it, study it, and understand it inside and out before I could create a creditable three dimensional illusion of this splendid dormant volcano. “Drums Cloud” is painted in my early photo realism style, many years before pointillism.

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Gail Niebrugge, wilderness artist

“Pond Lily Swans” original painting in pointillism by Gail Niebrugge. Original painting sold, prints available.

After floating the Copper River from Chitina to Cordova, we drove downtown and boarded the Alaska State Ferry from Cordova to Valdez then drove the Richardson Highway home to Copper Center. Along the road from the raft take out point on the Copper River at the Million Dollar Bridge to Cordova, are an endless string of ponds full of lilies and trumpeter swan. It is a wonderful drive with an abundance of waterfowl and wildlife, the sights are stunning. This is a lush and bountiful region. As you can see from the numerous paintings I’ve posted in the past, trumpeter swan are one of my favorite subject matter to paint. The average person will never experience the beauty of such a vast wilderness in their lifetime, but in the Wrangell-St. Elias I live it every day. I am indeed fortunate.
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Gail Niebrugge, Art of Alaska

“Driftwood” original painting in pointillism by Gail Niebrugge, original sold.

Another scene painted from a raft trip on the Copper River near Dewey Creek. I wait for the perfect light to find subject matter, early morning or late evening is ideal. Twilight, sunset, dawn, or dusk will illuminate the ordinary to become extraordinary. In this case the silhouettes of the driftwood and dead trees when placed against the golden shimmery water became interesting. During the middle of the day the same scene held no interest; gray wood against gray sand with a background of gray/brown water. For days and days we floated, never seeing another human being other than ourselves. We saw plenty of wildlife and waterfowl, Bald Eagles were everywhere! One day we counted 12 black bear. Time spent in the wilderness quietly on the river is irreplaceable, and fills the soul.

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Gail Niebrugge, Alaska wilderness artist

“Rainbow of Color” original painting in pointillism by Gail Niebrugge, original sold, limited edition prints available.

With everything we needed to camp in comfort packed in dry bags and strapped to the rowing frame of a raft, I was at ease in the wilderness because I’ve floated the Copper River from Chitina to Cordova in the Wrangell-St. Elias, Alaska, several times. The float can take anywhere from 5-7 days and travels through some spectacular country. This sandy beach laden with dwarf fireweed was our campsite at Dewey Creek, about three days down river from Chitina. The rainbow was a bonus that evening and signaled good weather ahead. Fresh grizzly bear tracks on the wet sand kept us apprehensive and cautious with our food in camp. Sure enough the bear showed up as if on cue and gave us an exciting opportunity to take photos and observe. He sensed us and left us alone, a magnificent moment in the wild.
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Gail Niebrugge, Alaska Artist

“Cow with Calf” original painting in pointillism by Gail Niebrugge, commissioned by Teeland Middle School, Wasilla, Alaska, giclee limited edition prints available.

Moose are as common in Alaska as cows are to a cattle rancher. They can be found everywhere, except when you want to show one to a visitor. It is not unusual to look out the window and see one of three things in the yard; moose tracks in the snow or soft ground, a pile of moose nuggets (poop), or the actual animals helping themselves to a meal of leaves and branches, or the vegetable garden, or a prized tree. We love watching moose and finding a huge bull with a big rack of antlers. But, my best moose sightings are the ones with the mother and her calves. I have learned to keep my distance, for nothing is as scary as being near a cow moose when she senses that her young may be in danger. The best defense is to find wings for your feet.

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Gail Niebrugge, Art from Alaska

“Cotton Grass Bear” original acrylic painting by Gail Niebrugge sold, limited edition prints available.

During research for my book, “Gail Niebrugge’s Alaska Wildflowers” I sketched and photographed wildflowers in the field. Photographing cotton grass was particularly troublesome this day because a breeze made it difficult to focus on the fluffy, moving, seedhead. Deeply immersed and concentrating I was unaware of the big brown bear quietly grazing toward me. Apparently he was as unaware of me and I was of him, because suddenly we both looked up and were startled to see each other. My heart stood still, while the bear gave me a curious look. He turned around and resumed feeding nonchalantly moving away. I rapidly retreated backward stumbling over tussocks and logs, never leaving him from sight until I reached the protection of my car. In retrospect I was elated, the chance encounter gave me great subject matter for future paintings, and another story to tell!

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Gail Niebrugge, Alaska Artist

Above is a photo of the condition of the top of the historic Kennicott concentration mill in 1991.  Below is a photo of the stabilization effort in 1994 to rebuild the top to prevent rain and snow from entering the structure and undermine the foundation.

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Gail Niebrugge, artist of historic sites

“Kennicott;stabilized” original acrylic on Sintra painting by Gail Niebrugge, original sold, limited edition prints available.

It is with great pleasure that I lived to paint the stabilized version of the historic Kennicott Copper Mill and offer it in a limited edition print for my collectors world-wide. After three decades of watching, waiting, documenting the decline and collapse of roofs, walls, and foundations of this national treasure, slowly, carefully, with great attention to detail the major buildings are stabilized. Fantastic! Congratulations to all of the dedicated members of Friends of Kennicott, the State of Alaska, and the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. I am so proud of the work done to save this place, and am anxious to see the next chapter of the future unfold. I am truly blessed to be able to experience and document this part of contemporary history in my drawings, paintings, journals, and photos.

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Gail Niebrugge, Kennicott artist

“Kennicott;Pre-Restoration” original acrylic on Sintra painting by Gail Niebrugge. Part of the permanent collection of Fountainhead Hotels, Sophie Station, Fairbanks, Alaska.

This very large acrylic painting of the Kennicott Copper Mill is shown from the vantage point of the road bed just before the bridge over National Creek. This bridge washed out during the flash floods in the fall of 2006 and is slated to be rebuilt. The assay office was nearly totally destroyed in the same flood. I am beginning to see the importance of the body of work that I have produced in the Wrangell-St. Elias during the last three decades, these paintings and drawings are a significant part of the contemporary history of the region. And the best part is that I have enjoyed every minute of my work.

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Gail Niebrugge, Wrangell-St. Elias artist

“Kennecott Complex” original pen and ink drawing by Gail Niebrugge, sold.

Sometimes I just like to sit down at the drafting table and drag out my ancient crow quill pen nibs, dip them into a jar of india ink, and crosshatch, stipple, and squiggle may way into a wonderful ink drawing.  The old fashioned way.  The way we were taught before half tone screens and digital pixels.  Just pure, clean, marks with a pen nib. One at a time. It is rewarding, relaxing, and allows no room for mistakes.  I feel totally in command, knowing each and every stroke is important and cannot be changed.  I loved inking this drawing.  It is rather large and took some time, but it is a thing of beauty to behold.  An accurate rendering of the Kennicott Copper Mill in the Wrangell-St. Elias, Alaska, many years before stabilization efforts began.

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Gail Niebrugge, Alaska pen and ink artist