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“Rivervalley” original watercolor/acrylic 22″ x 30″ © Sold.

This is one of the last paintings completed before I started using pointillism, a technique that came about as a result of mandatory doctor ordered bed rest to heal from injuries to my neck and back.  “Rivervalley” is another one of those paintings that saw re-painting and constant changes, it was put in and taken out of the storage drawer quite a few times.  Today I’ve learned to stop work earlier during the progress of a painting and not overwork the image, but back in 1987 I was experimenting a lot with style and technique and tended to beat the painting into submission.  The Denali Highway held my fascination as subject matter during this era, this is #5 in a series from this region.  The view is of the Maclaren River valley and the Alaska range about 37 miles from Paxson along the 135 mile gravel Denali Highway, showing a group of Trumpeter swan flying south along the migration route.  “Rivervalley” was printed as a limited edition exclusively for the Soroptimists of Cook Inlet as a fund raiser, the third print in a collaborative charity effort for women helping women.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska wilderness painter

King Salmon, my favorite fish to catch and eat.  This is the result of our second day of fishing with the best guide on the Kasilof River, Alaska, Jeremy Anderson of Driftaway Fishing.  This is our second year fishing the Kasilof with Jeremy and we didn’t waste any time booking next year.  Our guests are my cousin, Arlene Shuster and her husband Bob from Escondido, California.  Having two Bob’s on board made it tricky for Jeremy to give instructions, the nicknames of BIB, for Bob in back, and BIF, for Bob in front have stuck now and we use them all the time.

I had to release a much larger King earlier in the day because it was turning too pink.  Here’s the story; we were fishing a hole next to another boat, a second boat was anchored below us a good distance down river.  Suddenly my pole bent and I set the hook, the fish stripped line tearing down river tangling the lines of the fishermen below.  Courtesy on the river has fishermen reeling in lines the instant “fish on” is shouted.  The guide immediately cut the tangled lines, and my mighty King changed direction charging upriver and snagged the line of another fisherman in the boat next to us.  The idiot guide refused to cut the line.  I was reeling with all my might and very worried I’d loose this huge fish.  With a few choice commands from Jeremy the ornery guide finally cut line and we were able to net the monster.  My line looked like a string of Christmas tree ornaments with three other sets of colorful tackle entwined.  After this epic battle it pained me to release that big guy, but it was the right thing to do.  Jeremy estimated it weighed over 40lbs.  I’m still a little perturbed at the lack of courtesy show by the other guide.

A good fish story.  Do you have one to share?

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska wilderness fishing artist

“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

“Flags Up” 12″ x 16″ watercolor painting ©1985 Sold.

My last post showed an acrylic painting of caribou in the Nabesna Road region of the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, this work is from research in the same area but completed about ten years earlier when I focused on painting with watercolor.  It was hard work, but fun.  Prior to my watercolor period I used palette knife almost exclusively, with heavy impasto acrylic paint, so experimenting with the subtle techniques of transparent watercolor and fine, exquisite sable brushes was an exciting challenge.  The title “Flags Up” is an expression used about caribou when they are on alert, their short tan colored tail is normally not noticeable but when startled the tail stands straight up revealing the white fur beneath.  The season is early fall before the colors turned orange and red, just after a fresh snow on the mountains.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska wilderness artist

“Caribou Crossing” 15.5″ x 23.5″ acrylic painting SOLD.

Fall in the Wrangell-St. Elias region of interior Alaska begins in early September and lasts only a few weeks, the colors are intense, richly saturated and strong.  In a word, beautiful.  The research for “Caribou Crossing” was done during the 1980’s along the Nabesna road, one of only two roads that access the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park.  The dusty dirt trail begins at the Tok Cutoff and meanders 42 miles through the northern region of the park wilderness, views of the Wrangell Mountains and interesting geology make this a satisfying drive.  For several years we maintained a campsite near one of the creeks along this road and hiked the ridges above treeline watching caribou.

I learned a lot of lessons from this painting the composition changed often, at one time several caribou were painted crossing the creek.  Painting and re-painting over and over again created a thick texture of acrylic paint across the surface.  I can’t remember when I began this piece, but years went by with it put away unfinished more than once.  One day I was satisfied, and I was so happy to be done that I varnished the final art before it was photographed.  Unfortunately strong lights used for photography reflected on the glossy coating and created sparkles all over the surface, making the film image too poor a quality to reproduce.  All I can show is this tiny jpg file where I’ve done my best to remove the spots of light in Photoshop.  Lessons learned.  The painting actually turned out quite nice and is handsomely gracing the walls of a collector.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska wilderness artist

“Open Water” 15″x20″ acrylic painting Sold.

Another painting from my work in the Wrangell-St. Elias region of wilderness Alaska.  “Open Water” was painted in 1994 from research done several years earlier in October during freeze-up along the Chitina River while we were guests of wilderness guides and operators of the Ultima Thule exclusive adventure lodge, Paul and Donna Claus.  What fascinated me was the patterns made by the ice as portions of this mighty glacier river froze solid.  Within a few weeks the river was frozen from bank to bank, and by late November this thick ice becomes a wide open surface easily supporting the weight of snowmachines, airplanes on skis and making travel easier.  The lingering low light of winter Alaska sunset creates brilliant color all across the sky reflecting from ice, water and snow beautiful, intense and glowing.  This painting was reproduced in a limited edition print that is sold out, a few Artist Proof copies still remain and can be purchased through Niebrugge Studio, 907-746-3256.

“Prospect Ridge” original watercolor/acrylic painting 14.5″x37″ Sold.

Back to memory lane and the history of my work in the Wrangell-St. Elias region of Alaska.  During 1992 I began a painting using research from a trip taken in 1976, where I flew in the mail plane that landed on all the small bush airstrips in what later became the Wrangell-t. Elias National Park.  The story of this experience is recorded on my website under Artists Journal, Bush Mail Plane.  This painting shows a view of the beginning of the narrow gorge of the Chitistone Canyon looking north from Glacier Creek gravel airstrip, it lies east of the remote settlement of McCarthy and can only be reached by small aircraft.  What is unique about these mountains is the location of a contact point where Chitistone limestone meets the Nicolai greenstone, a location for copper ore.  The historic Kennicott copper mine is located to the north west beyond this ridge.  I included the remains of a wooden wagon I found at Long Lake, and a log cabin from the historic Bonanza gold mine site east of Chisana to blend remnants from the historic gold rush period where this canyon was used as a prospector trail in the early 1900’s.

The painting was completed in 1993 and was selected to be used as a limited edition print exclusively for Anchorage channel 7 KAKM public broadcasting, as a fund raiser.  Copies of the prints are all in private collections, it was never for sale in galleries.  We had a few of our own to sell but they have been sold out for a long time.  To this day people still remind me that I used the wrong name for this ridge, they tell me that it is not named Prospect Ridge, I continue to explain that that is the name I chose for the painting and the print.  Funny, isn’t it?

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

I was puttering around in the garden the other day pulling weeds when I noticed the full broccoli heads were beginning to show some slight yellow coloring, a sign that the plant was beginning to bolt.  Sometimes in the past I’ve waited too long to pick the heads and they bolted, they become stringy with a lot of long stems growing out of the broccoli head like pins in a pin cushion, each stem topped with a yellow flower.  They still taste good that way, but don’t look like traditional broccoli.  I wasted no time harvesting this year, washing and slicing them into smaller pieces for dinner.  They are tender and sweet, and tasted just wonderful.  With our long summer daylight vegetables grow fast, and often bolt before they fully mature.  I’ve got to remember to keep a close eye on their progress.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska artist

Summer has caught up with me here in Alaska, in a big way.  Not only do we have a full contingency of house guests from the lower 48, but we have a huge amount of travel scheduled.  During this time I continue to make progress on the % for Art commission for the Palmer Courthouse entry, a job that will take quite awhile to complete.  Right now my life is very busy, full and fun.

All of this is leading to a decision to not post my blog as regularly and faithfully as I have in the past.  My posts in the future will be sporadic, done as time permits.  To date I have made 1,201 entries since my blog began May 16, 2006, and contain a generous amount of useful information for art lovers and artists alike.  As I continue to discover information of importance for artists, participate in shows, and complete paintings of interest to collectors I will write on the blog.  I’ll also keep track of the garden and general activities on our lake in Alaska as time permits, but posting 5-6 days a week like I have in the past will not be possible this summer.

So, for now, I wish you all the very best summer ever and God’s blessings.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska artist

Every 4th of July for a decade or more my son, photographer Ron Niebrugge, has announced the start and the finish of the Mt. Marathon woman’s race.  He stands on the back of a flat bed trailer with several helpers and with the aid of spotters all along the grueling course he keeps the crowd informed.  This year the finish was a thriller when six time champion Cedar Bourgeois edged past Olympic nordic skier Holly Brooks to claim her seventh title.  We so enjoy spending time with Ron and his wife Janine when they are home from their photography ventures.

Gail Niebrugge

The Art Shop Gallery, Homer, Alaska, has a beautiful upstairs display room where the first Friday celebrations take place.  We had a lively, busy, entertaining evening chatting with friends, customers and tourists during the show.  Of particular interest was that several of my Facebook “friends” stopped in to introduce themselves.  I greatly appreciate the efforts of gallery owner Karin Marks and her friendly, efficient staff, they made my visit enjoyable and a pleasure to work with.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska artist

Today I’m winging my way to Homer, Alaska, for a First Friday art show with Art Shop Gallery all afternoon until closing.  I’ve been doing shows with the Art Shop for more than fifteen years and have a wonderful time during each visit.  Then it is onward to Seward for the 4th of July celebration, we won’t return to the studio until mid-week.  My blog entries will stop again for awhile, but I’ll catch up when we return.

Happy 4th of July everyone!

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska artist

The vegetable garden is thriving, I planted five varieties of potatoes, three kinds of carrots, snap peas and regular peas, beets, turnips, cabbage, radishes, three varieties of lettuce, zucchini and yellow squash, cauliflower, broccoli and brussel sprouts.  My biggest headache is keeping the horsetail weeded, it gets thicker every year and would take over if I didn’t clip it almost every day.  If I go away for a week it looks like a jungle.  I’ve tried everything from pulling up the roots (not recommended) to snipping them just below the surface of the soil.  They just keep multiplying.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska landscape painter

Wow, I found the old adage about the growth of perennials to be true in my garden; “The first year they sleep, the second year they creep, and the third year they leap!”  The Himalayan Blue Poppies are seeding like weeds, and my white and blue iris clumps are so big they need dividing.  The perennial garden is lush this year.  I’m considering moving a few things around for better placement and adding some new varieties.  As you can tell, I’m hooked on gardening.

Gail Niebrugge, flower painter

We were proud of our first try at making concrete leaves, but mine remind me of a grade school art project; cute but a little rough around the edges.  After drying we turned the concrete mounds over and started peeling the leaves from the surface.  They were stuck, so we decided to wait a few more days to let them dry and get brittle.  A power washer finally blasted the plants loose.

I discovered the wet concrete had seeped between the edges of the rhubarb leaf and the plastic covering the wet sand leaving a weird pattern around the perimeter obscuring the design of the veins.  In retrospect we think we should have stopped the concrete just short of the edges of the leaf.  Nevertheless I love my huge, heavy homemade leaves and am contemplating whether or not to paint them, apply a concrete seal coat, or leave as is.  At the moment they grace the rose garden and serve as bird baths and we made fun memories with our day playing in the mud.

Gail Niebrugge, leafmeister

Recently the girls on our cul-de-sac got together armed with instructions from the internet on How to Make Concrete Leaves, and tackled the project with the enthusiasm of kids playing in the mud.  First we made molds using mounds of wet sand and covered them with plastic to keep moist.

Next we selected choice leaves from Rhubarb plants being careful not to tear holes, of course mine tore and I patched the holes with scotch tape.

Placing the leaves artfully over the sand mounds and wearing rubber gloves for protection, we applied a layer of cement patting, shaping and sculpting with our hands.  For strength we added a piece of wire mesh and covered it with another layer of cement.  We found the mesh was too stiff and kept poking through the wet cement, to cover it completely our concrete got really thick and made really heavy leaves.  Next time we are going to use a more flexible and lighter weight wire mesh.

There was much discussion and debate over how to shape the edges of the concrete, we decided to bring it all the way to the edges of the leaves and make it thick so that they wouldn’t break when lifting.  We let these big blobs of concrete dry and cure for several days, keeping them wet by lightly sprinkling with water.  I’ll share photos of the dried leaves tomorrow.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska painter

What a joy and a privilege it is to watch the brown bears feed and cavort in the salt marshes during the spring in Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.  Our time there was too short, I’m planning to return when my schedule allows.  One of our best experiences was watching a sow and her two spring cubs feed and play, the babies did not have a care in the world because the mother kept careful watch over her youthful progeny.

Several sows in heat lured the boars who paraded up and down the marshes and chased the females through the grounds of the lodge at night, these two are the youngest in the group the sow is about five years old and ready to carry her first litter.  Observing wild animals in their own habitat is a luxury, we kept a respectful distance and did not disturb their behavior.  Never did we follow or pursue a bear, we simply waited quietly.  In this area humans are the dominate species and when moving about we stayed in group to appear larger.  If a bear became too curious, the simple act of raising up our arms with a stern command was enough to deter the approach.  I’m still in awe and thankful for the opportunity to experience these amazing, powerful, huge animals.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska wildlife artist

During our brown bear/seabird research trip along the coastline of Cook Inlet, Alaska, in Lake Clark National Park, we hiked to an alpine lake to explore in canoes.  Pictured is Bob and our expert guide, Jen, negotiating away from an unexpected view of a black bear cub.  We could not locate the mother, so thought it best to move to the other side of the lake lest we inadvertently come between the mom and cub (not a good situation).  As soon as we approached the opposite shore a huge black bear emerged from the undergrowth.  He quickly ambled away from us, but not without gaining our undivided attention.  Apparently there are a large number of black bears in the region but they do not mix with the brown bears near the seashore.

We spent a very enjoyable afternoon exploring the lake and saw a Trumpeter swan land along the north shore.  An artists paradise.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska wilderness artist

We spent two days viewing brown bears along the Cook Inlet, Alaska, shoreline in Lake Clark National Park.  It was a new experience to observe these massive animals digging for clams at low tide, foraging for food in the tall grasses and interact with each other as the mating season began.  Our first day we counted more than 14 bears.  Sometimes we traveled using an all terrain vehicle crossing through rivers to reach our desired destination.

Our trusty guide, Jen, taught us much about bear behavior.  The weather started our cold and rainy until the sun shone on last day.  A perfect trip.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska wilderness artist

We had a fabulous trip to view brown bears and watch the early nest building of seabirds, Murres and Puffins, at an island rookery in Cook Inlet, Alaska.  The photo above shows me climbing over rocks to gain a closer view of the birds.  This area was an incredible natural rock garden with early blooming wildflowers, moss and grasses growing in beautiful harmony.  The extreme tides of Cook Inlet (27′ at the peak) made waders essential to disembark the boat.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska wilderness artist