Original Art, Prints and Cards
Photographer, son Ron Niebrugge, and artist, mom Gail Niebrugge, spent a blustery, cool day in the Anza Borrego Desert State Park hiking up Palm Canyon together. A big rain/snow storm was scheduled to arrive later in the evening and during the next day, the normally 80 degree plus temperatures were quite moderate for the canyon [...]
Pismo Beach, California, is one of the last beaches that can still be driven on with vehicles. The long, vast scenic shoreline extends south into a area of sand dunes where ATV’s and dune buggies play. Campsites sit nestled next to the dunes with views of the sea. It is a great walking beach, where [...]
A scene along my daily walk, the only tracks down this lane were made by a small critter. Temperatures were around 10 degrees this afternoon with clear sunny skies. Gail Niebrugge, Alaska artist
I never know what I’m going to see on my afternoon walk. Last week before the snow I was startled to see these two guys right next to the road greedily lapping up fallen berries from the Mountain Ash tree. They were so intent on scavenging fermented fruit they barely gave me pause. Later the [...]
Our last few days in the high California desert have been windy and cold, this morning it is raining and snowing again in the surrounding mountains. Nevertheless, the early wildflower bloom has been very nice. I’m sorry I have to leave before the full bloom but happy to have found so many pockets of truly [...]
Soon the tops of the barrel cactus will be crowned by a circle of yellow/green flowers in the Anza Borrego Desert State Park. This plant is blooming early, most cactus just have the beginnings of tiny buds forming among the prickly thorns. Within a few weeks the desert will be festooned with a riot of [...]
Runoff from recent snow in the mountains last weekend created some beautiful fresh water creeks in the high desert of Anza Borrego. A trail marker pointing the way for the Palm canyon trail stands in running water instead of the usual a dry wash. The rains have brought the landscape alive, the soil and [...]
We found a treasure trove of the beautiful wildflower Desert Lily while on a hike up a sandy wash along the foothills of of the Santa Rosa mountains in Borrego Springs. Sometimes we can hike all day without seeing anything unusual and suddenly a little pocket of flowers will appear out of nowhere, that is [...]
After a night of heavy rain the sandy desert ground was solid and packed allowing us to easily travel the jeep trail to Fonts Point in 2 wheel drive. With snow on the nearby Santa Rosa mountains the air was crisp and clear, a great day to explore the canyons, washes, and arroyos of the [...]
Boy do I miss fresh vegetables in Alaska at this time of year, the Friday market at Christmas Circle in Borrego Springs is awesome! We loaded up on vine ripened strawberries, oranges, tomatoes, fresh lettuce, and many more wonderful home made or home baked goodies. Love it to find this in February Gail Niebrugge, Alaska [...]
It has been wonderful to hike around the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park during a rainy period! The rain intensifies color in the landscape and everything smells and looks fresh and clean. Huge puddles appear out of nowhere and disappear in a day, the ground is soaking up the water and the desert plants are thriving. [...]
Woo Hoo, it rained today in Borrego Springs, the wildflower bloom should be outrageous! The big Alaska cold front has arrived, I’m glad I’m here with a tiny bit of rain and 60º, a cold front in Alaska would be -40º. People are such weather wusses down here. This photo was taken during our hike [...]
We spent another day in Palm Canyon, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, watching for the elusive Bighorn sheep. Suddenly, out of nowhere people on the trail below us all stopped and pointed, we scanned the hillside and saw this single young ram. Then we looked up the canyon on the opposite side just in time to [...]
We found a sweet three mile hike just off Mile 38.8 on S22 in the Anza Borrego Desert State Park, California, the South Palm Wash. Three trails begin at the same point; the Calcite Mine, Palm Wash Loop, and South Palm Wash. We chose the latter because it was labeled “moderate” the other two were [...]
The Palm Canyon Trail in the San Ysidro Mountains is one of my favorite hikes in the Anza Borrego Desert State Park, the crystal clear flowing springs at the end of the boulder strewn path are a delight to reach especially on a hot day! The 2.6 mile loop is promoted as a moderate level [...]
After a lovely stay at Seascape Beach Resort in Aptos, California, our hosts, Ned and Cookie Hales enlisted the services of their son, Gregg, as a travel guide. An outdoor exercise enthusiast, Gregg led us to a series of gorgeous trails and turned us loose in the Nisene Marks Forest State Park an area of [...]
A gorgeous sunny day marked a hike with the art students at the Palmer Arts Council Summer Arts Program for a day of sketching in the field. An energetic group of budding artists followed me up the steep trail to the top of the Palmer Butte. Clutching sketch books, back packs, and cameras we hiked, [...]
Crisp, sharp frosty mornings roll into sun bathed yellow-gold birch leaves papering the ground at the Crevasse Moraine hiking trails, a perfect time of year to trek. Bob and I walked up and down the undulating trails sometimes blinded by sunlight streaming through dark woods invigorated by clean air and autumn beauty. Over stimulation to [...]
My hiking partner, Evelyn Bunch, getting ready to leave our lunch spot along the beach on the Eklutna Lake Trail. We estimated that we hiked about 4 miles out, 8 miles round trip, on a lovely level trail that skirts the lake. I’ve been sidelined for a few weeks with a knee/leg injury so I [...]
Three old broads hiking the Reed Lakes Trail in Hatcher Pass in 81 degree heat! Left to right me, Evelyn Bunch, and Mary Mystrom. What a beautiful day to spend hiking in the mountains. We made it to the lower lakes and made the decision to head back home. We hiked close to 8 miles [...]
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...]