Gail Niebrugge's Blog
A quiet descended during the night, no howling wind or whining of vehicles on the frozen lake, it was a muffled, lovely silence. Drawing back the curtains in the early morning light I saw a white landscape, as if the distant shore were erased by Liquid Paper, soft mounds of fresh snow and giant flakes [...]
Diligently I continue my shoulder rehab exercises, now I do more than an hour several times a day along with 40-60 minutes of cardio. I can see a small amount of progress. It will be three months before I can start gentle resistance strength training, right now all I do is passive assisted movements designed [...]
My studio provides a nice open space to do my physical therapy with wonderful views of the lake. Counting out 60 repetitions of each exercise is not as boring when I can distract myself by watching weather conditions change and people outdoors enjoying themselves playing on the ice. This year is starting off very strange, [...]
My neighbor had his huge spruce tree decorated with colored lights, it is a beautiful sight. They used a bucket lift to do the job. My wish is that someday I will have our huge tree out by our dock festooned with lights as well, I don’t think this will be the year…..but maybe next [...]
Winter in Alaska brings long nights, lots of darkness accented by brilliant sunrises and sunsets (not to mention optimal viewing for the Aurora Borealis). Forgive me for posting so many photos of sunsets from my studio windows, I just can’t help myself! Gail Niebrugge, Alaska artist
The weather in Wasilla finally chilled, temperatures hover below freezing and the lake ice is thickening. It is still not safe, but that doesn’t keep the risk takers from fishing. Several folks have been spotted drilling holes and dropping lines. Our lake is spring fed and has many, many soft spots. Normally by Thanksgiving the [...]
This is the time of the year that sunsets in Alaska rule supreme! Stunning! With the first hint of color I grab the camera and sit in the rocking chair by the big window, watching mesmerized until the last colorful glow is snuffed by black sky. Nature’s beauty saturates my soul, the image forever etched [...]
A light, fresh layer of snow fell here yesterday with the arrival of sub freezing weather. Within a few hours a fragile skim of ice is forming on the surface of the lake and waterfowl begin to congregate in the open water in the cove. Nearly one hundred fine feathered friends were feeding and resting [...]
After a summer of rain in Alaska’s Matanuska valley we’ve had a beautiful, unseasonably warm fall. Very few nights have dipped below 32º and daytime temperatures have been in the high 40′s to low 50′s. The lawns are still green, Trumpeter swan and ducks feed freely along the shoreline of the unfrozen lake, and fishermen [...]
The landscape around our lake was a approaching peak fall color, the photo above was taken the day before a major wind storm last Friday. I eagerly watched and waited for the annual burst of gold, yellow, orange and red leaves to appear, my favorite time of year. The aftermath of 75mph gusts left the [...]
My view will be forever changed with this curious frenzy of clearing trees, hydro seeding, and grading on a stunning wilderness peninsula across the lake from us. Curious because the land is zoned for “no habitable or permanent structure” to be placed thereon. I’m wondering what is planned? A big parking lot perhaps? Change does [...]
September in Alaska brings crisp nights and warm days with long, gorgeous sunsets. The cloud cover has hidden our view of the blazing evening sky a high percent of the time last summer, but if you watch patiently sometimes just before dark the clouds will part a bit and reveal the beauty of the very [...]
Cool temperatures at night cause early morning mists from the warm lake water, leaves are changing from green to gold and fall is in the air. I feels good to breathe deep taking in the scents of the changing season, crisp cool air invigorating senses, lake mists leaving damp grass and foliage that will soon [...]
One of the perks of living on a lake is the opportunity to take advantage of changes in the weather. Early morning the lake is usually calm, flat smooth without a ripple, and the best time to jump into the kayak and quietly skim the shoreline. This day we found a mama duck with eight [...]
My husband and business partner, Bob, celebrated his 71st birthday on a warm, sunny Sunday afternoon with friends and family last Sunday at our studio/residence. About 75 people were in attendance. Some drove, others arrived by boat. One of the things I look forward to at a party like this is the food! Our friends [...]
April 27, 2010, the view of our lake with about 75′ of open water along the shore. The ice isn’t stable enough to walk on anymore. Two days later, April 29, 2010, it looks like 150′ of open water from our shore and some very dark thin areas of ice beyond that. It won’t be [...]
April 22 began with mild temperatures (mid 40′s) and slight overcast, a perfect day to burn the dead fall created by winter winds. Bob spent the morning feeding the fire decimating the burn pile. Overhead the sounds of migrating birds could be heard far in advance of seeing them flying in giant “V” formations. It [...]
The view from the second floor of the studio on April 15, 2010, after a spring snow. The lake is starting to break up along the shoreline in our cove. Four days later, April 19, 2010, the same view after a spring rain, Mallard ducks are spending time in the open water along the shore. [...]
Ice fishermen seem to be some of the most resourceful people to use our lake. They fish in all kinds of miserable weather using their vehicles as temporary shelter. Some erect portable canvas ice fishing tents and others tow portable wooden huts behind their vehicles to their special spot, taking them home each night. Almost [...]
At this time of the year I just can’t stop myself from taking photos of the incredible sunsets that I see from the windows of my studio. Here is another beauty taken the day after the hurricane force wind storms we experienced earlier last week. Nature was violent and angry during the wind, gusts were [...]
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...]