Five Commissioned Original Paintings
All winter I worked on five original paintings commissioned by the State of Alaska Per Cent for Art Program, to be installed in the Teeland Middle School Library, Wasilla. The theme for the school is landscape, I chose different aspects of thel local landscape to include wildlife, flowers, historic structures, and the famous local mountain Pioneer Peak.
The paintings are hung in a row, all are the same height, but the width varies. I incorporated subject matter that middle school students would enjoy. The center painting is the longest, and the focal point. I painted Pioneer Peak in evening summer alpen glow, wreathed by a rainbow. The students love this! On either side of the center panel are narrow paintings. One features a historic wooden wheel laced with wildflowers, the second is a close up of a small brook with rocks and grasses found in the nearby mountains of Hatcher Pass.
At each end are medium sized paintings. The first shows a cow moose with a calf at her side standing in a small pond, the other features a historic barn located in the Sky Ranch subdivision, with a little red fox in the foreground of the hay field surrounding the barn. This was painted from an experience I had with a curious kit fox in the same neighborhood.
These original paintings have been well received by the faculty, staff and students at the school. And the best part, I can visit them anytime. My paintings are like friends, I am happy when they have a good home and are loved. But, I want to see them as often as possible.
Alaska Artist, Gail Niebrugge
