Gail Niebrugge's Blog
“Rose Building” original ink drawing on Bristol paper 11″ x 15″ unframed During my time as an artist living in rural Alaska I have sought out and sketched many historic buildings and equipment. My very first prints were ink drawings of roadhouses along the Richardson Highway, in Chitina, and McCarthy/Kennicott. There were 12 prints in [...]
“Dredge at Flat” ink drawing on Bristol paper 11″ x 15″ unframed I am always on the lookout for historic places and relics, I love drawing and painting these subjects, and was amazed to discover a treasure trove in a tiny settlement south of the ghost town of Iditarod called Flat. One year while following [...]
“Braided River” acrylic on rag board 13″ x 18″ unframed This is one of my favorite views along the Glenn Highway, Alaska. I love the geology, the mountains, and the glacier fed braided Matanuska River. We drove this highway at least once a week for 19 years while living in Copper Center, Alaska, and I [...]
Sometimes I wake early my brain whirling with thoughts and plans, going back to sleep is not in the cards. Through the years I’ve learned when this happens it is better to get up and begin the day. Actually, I cherish these quiet, early morning sojourns. They are a gift of time to do exactly [...]
“Subterranean Decay” acrylic on rag board 16″ x 20″ framed under glass 24″ x 28″ A final painting from the Syracuse University graduate student assignment to illustrate my impressions of the city of New York. This idea sprang forth from spending time at the telephone company headquarters where the deteriorating condition of the myriad of [...]
“Chicago” acrylic on rag board 16″x 20″ framed under glass 24″x28″ This is another of my illustrations done during graduate studies at Syracuse University, New York, depicting my impressions of Chicago. I used the store front of an upscale mall downtown for the design and then added people in a montage. I was impressed by [...]
This is a very fuzzy photo, taken about 11:00PM last night with maximum zoom hand-held, shooting through a window inside the studio, but I was so excited to see this swarm of Tree Swallows fighting for the right to claim this next box. I grabbed the point and shoot and clicked photos as fast as [...]
“Grant Park” acrylic on rag board 16″x20″ framed under glass 24″x28″ “Grant Park” is part of a series of illustrations created during my studies as a graduate Student in the Independent Study Program at Syracuse University, New York. We traveled to several different cities and the assignment was to paint our impressions . I loved [...]
“Gnarled Sentry” watercolor on rag paper 22″x30″, matted no frame I will never forget painting this one. In 1984 after taking a workshop from Edward Betts at the Mendocino Art Center, Mendocino, California, I completed a smaller version titled ” ‘Neath the Tree” shown in my most recent blog post. Back at my studio in [...]
” ‘Neath the Tree” watercolor on rag paper 15″x22″, matted no frame. Painted in 1984 during my studies under artist Edward Betts, the subject of this watercolor was located along the highways and back roads of Mendocino, California, where we practiced plein aire painting. There are two versions of this subject, the second one will [...]
If you look carefully you can see a faint change of color in the water, that is the slushy thin ice that still remains on the surface of the lake. With the wind blowing and an occasional sprinkle of rain, I expect this ice to evaporate within a day or two. Today the Common Loon [...]
“Russian Gulch” watercolor/acrylic on rag paper 15″x22″ matted, no frame. In 1981 I found a mentor, Edward Betts professor emeritus of art at the University of Illinois, featured in 1983 American Artist Magazine as one of fourteen “living legends” in American Watercolor. I had the pleasure to attend several classes he taught, one in Anchorage, [...]
We made a whirlwind trip to Kenai to deliver artwork for the upcoming Celebration of Wildlife 2012 Exhibition that opens June 1 at the Kenai Convention and Visitor Center. While we were there we managed to watch birds until the sun set, then sat up until 1:30AM visiting with our wonderful hosts Kathy and David [...]
We’re getting there, the snow slowly is melting off the raised beds alongside the driveway. Then the ground has to thaw. The lake is still frozen. This might be a very late planting season. The weather has been awesome, in the 60′s during the day, the problem is that it is 28 degrees at night. [...]
Hmmmmnnnn…..it could take awhile before the ground is ready to plant this year. This is my garden on April 20 2012. Gail Niebrugge, Alaska artist
Artists, clients, and art lovers all showed up for the First Friday Art Walk at Aurora Fine Art Gallery, Anchorage, Alaska last night. The large original on the back wall is my painting titled “Prime Colors”, it looked right at home in the gallery. A steady flow of folks continued throughout the evening. Owner, Dianne [...]
Today a heavy spring snow storm arrived, as I look out the window I don’t feel like driving to Anchorage today, but we must. Tonight will be my first-time participation in a First Friday art show at the Aurora Fine Art Gallery, downtown Anchorage, Alaska, across from the PAC. The owner, Dianne Louise, drove all [...]
It is hard to imagine in less than six weeks we are usually planting seeds in the vegetable garden raised beds, right now they are buried under huge piles of snow from the driveway plowing, it might take a little longer this year. With sunny skies and above freezing temperatures things are melting fast. Our [...]
The hours of daylight are equal to the number of hours of darkness now, and changing by minutes every day. The days are sunny and above freezing, snow is melting fast. My neighbor had a big job this winter during the almost daily snowfall, keeping his skating rink groomed and clear of wind drifts. It [...]
The saws, drills, glue, muddy boots, and worker chaos are all gone, instead I have beautiful new granite kitchen counters, stainless steel sink with a fancy faucet. I love this. New counters in the master bath as well. We spent the rest of the day vacuuming, shaking out rugs, cleaning up plaster dust and wood [...]
Gail Niebrugge (Knee-brew-ghe) born and raised in California has pursued art since childhood, winning a poster contest on the Johnny Jet television show at the age of twelve. Gail began her career as an illustrator for the US Navy and Marines in San Diego, and later established the Instructional Media Center for the Grossmont High School District in La Mesa, California. The Niebrugge family fell in love with Alaska while on vacation in 1976 and never returned home, instead they established a residence and studio in the remote interior settlement of Copper Center where the artist painted … [Read More...]
Wikipedia defines pointillism as; "a style of painting in which small distinct points of primary colors create the impression of a wide selection of secondary and intermediate colors." It goes on to say that the mind and the eye mix the color spots into a full range of tones and that it is closely related to Divisionism. Divisionism was practiced by Georges Seurat during the Neo-Impressionism period. He broke his color into basic elements and painted very small and regular dots. His dots are carefully placed as to not touch each other, so the white under painted canvas shows around all of the dots. I call my painting technique pointillism, but technically it is incorrect according to Wikipedia. The difference between my technique and true pointillism is that I use … [Read More...]