Gail Niebrugge's Blog
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 [...]
These are the first blooms I’ve seen on the Cholla Cactus this year. The Anza Borrego desert is alive in color, it has been a spectacular wildflower season. I’m sad to say that we have to leave soon, but anxious to get back to work in my studio in Alaska. More tomorrow, Gail Niebrugge, wildflower [...]
The cactus are beginning to bloom in the desert, I especially love the vivid magenta of the Beavertail flowers. It is fun to hike and search for the early bloomers, it reminds me of an Easter egg hunt. More tomorrow, Gail Niebrugge, wildflower artist
I find myself returning to the Anza Borrego Desert Palm Canyon often, it is one of my favorite places in the park. On a hot day the clear, cool springs at the end of the canyon make the hike all the more worthwhile. More tomorrow, Gail Niebrugge, landscape artist
Another great hike is a 3 mile treck through a winding slot canyon starting near Buttes Pass Road on Highway 78 east of Borrego Springs Road. Two state park volunteer naturalists guided our group as we squeezed and ducked our way through this Disneyesque landscape. We loved this canyon, but don’t want to be anywhere [...]
Returning back to the Anza Borrego Desert we took a group hike with a state park naturalist up one of the unnamed washes of the North Fork Arroyo Salado beginning about mile 35 on Hwy. S-22, to the Truckhaven Rocks. The sandstone lined wash is interesting, we were delighted to find a new plant or [...]
Unlike the California Gold Poppy, the Parish’s Poppy is much smaller and grows in the Anza Borrego desert region of Southern Californina. It is fun to find these tiny golden wildflowers tucked among the boulders, or hidden in sandy washes. The desert is coming alive with yellow colored wildflowers during the peak of the bloom. [...]
With the wildflower bloom at its peak, I’m hiking the Anza Borrego desert daily sketching and photographing. Last weekend the San Diego Union featured this spectacular bloom on its front page bringing hundreds of tourists to the park to see the wildflowers. During the week we have the place mostly to ourselves. It’s amazing to [...]
The desert jackrabbits are big, their ears are half as tall as their bodies. They will hold very still seeming invisible, then suddenly burst out of the brush and tear across the ground lickety split. This one let me get quite close before he took off. They are gorging themselves on the green grass and [...]
We spent most of the day today hiking near Palm Canyon and identifying wildflowers, they are nearing their peak bloom in the California Anza Borrego desert this winter. The ground is covered in millions of tiny colorful blossoms. More tomorrow, Gail Niebrugge, Wildflower artist
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...]