Gail Niebrugge's Blog
“Nugget Creek Truck” pen and ink drawing 10″x 14″ ©Gail Niebrugge Here is the finished ink drawing of the truck at Nugget Creek, Alaska, in the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. Love the bullet holes in the window glass, the rope on the front bumper tied to the rock, and the rear wheel axle propped up [...]
Here is the partially inked drawing of the truck we found along the Nugget Creek trail in the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska. I’m using many layers of tiny parallel lines in the cross hatch technique to achieve values. This drawing is smaller than the last one, so I’m using my #1 nib on the [...]
Here is another old truck from my reference material on ancient vehicles in the Copper River Basin, Alaska. We found this beauty during a week exploring the Nugget Creek Trail on our ATV’s. It was an amazing trip, we had the keys to an astounding cabin that was perched on a narrow ridge with sheer [...]
“May Creek Truck” 16″x20″ ink drawing ©Gail Niebrugge After a few days of inking parallel lines, cross hatch and a few dots of stipple I proclaim the drawing “May Creek Truck” is finished! This was great fun. I love the bullet holes in the windshields and noticed the absence of any headlights. The #1 nib [...]
At this stage I begin drawing hundreds of free-hand parallel lines crossing them with more lines to create values in black and white. I’m working from the darkest shadows and will leave the paper white for the lightest values. I was disappointed when resurrecting my ancient Rapidograph pens to find my favorite nib, #2, was [...]
I’m in the mood to break out the old Rapidograph ink pens and do some drawing. I have accumulated a thick file of research on the ancient vehicles scattered about the Copper River Basin in the Wrangell-St. Elias wilderness Alaska. Few roads exist in this area and through the years folks kept using trucks and [...]
“Copper Center Lodge” pen and ink drawing by Gail Niebrugge, Sold. Limited edition prints Sold Out. This historic road house is still in operation today in Copper Center, Wrangell-St. Elias region of Alaska. Many years ago I did a series of pen and ink drawings of historic road houses and artifacts. They were made into [...]
“Coppess Stove Co.” original drawing with pen and ink, and ink wash by Gail Niebrugge, Sold. This hand-made wood burning stove in a remote cabin in the Wrangell Mountains was a good subject to sketch while staying indoors one blustery cold morning. It even boasted a hand-made plaque engraved with the name of the builder. [...]
“Al’s Kitchen” original pen and ink drawing with watercolor by Gail Niebrugge, Sold. Sketching still life subjects inside on location during inclement weather is a good way to pass the time and sharpen your drawing skills. I painted this piece while staying in a remote cabin in the Chugach Mountains in the Wrangell-St. Elias National [...]
Original pen and ink drawing “Alaskan Gingerbread” by Gail Niebrugge, Sold. I rarely sketch or paint plein air today, but in my early years in the Wrangell-St. Elias region of Alaska, I enjoyed drawing and painting on location. I made this ink drawing in the fall when temperatures hovered near freezing and the water on [...]
“Big Bear and Raven” original ink drawing by Gail Niebrugge, to purchase original call for price and availability. Homer, Alaska, is host to a number of wood carvers. Some use chainsaws, others use chisels and hammer, but whatever the tools the people in town love these sculptures and they are everywhere. One of the most [...]
“Salty Dawg Saloon” original pen and ink drawing by Gail Niebrugge, to purchase original call for price and availability. Another small original pen and ink drawing for my First Friday Show in August at Homer’s Art Shop Gallery. This famous historic landmark named the Salty Dawg Saloon is located near the tip of the Homer [...]
“Cafe Cups” original pen and ink drawing by Gail Niebrugge, to purchase original call for price and availability. I’m working on some new small originals for my First Friday in August show at the Art Shop Gallery in Homer, Alaska. This drawing is of one of my favorite places to eat, Cafe Cups, located next [...]
“Fire in the Woodpile” original pen and ink and watercolor painting by Gail Niebrugge, sold. The small kindling woodpile by the back door is almost invisible in the summer, smothered by tall weeds and swathed in fireweed. Stuff gets lost there, a bucket, a prize piece of wood, and things that are temporarily set on [...]
“Kennecott Complex” original pen and ink drawing by Gail Niebrugge, sold. Sometimes I just like to sit down at the drafting table and drag out my ancient crow quill pen nibs, dip them into a jar of india ink, and crosshatch, stipple, and squiggle may way into a wonderful ink drawing. The old fashioned way. [...]
“Mc Carthy Lodge” original ink drawing by Gail Niebrugge, original sold, limited edition prints sold out. I return to the series of my early years living and painting in the Wrangell-St. Elias wilderness. The owners of the McCarthy Lodge during this era grew flowers and plants everywhere, tin cans full of herbs set along the [...]
“Mc Carthy Truck” original ink drawing by Gail Niebrugge, original drawing sold, limited editions prints sold out. Many years ago this wonderful truck graced the streets of the remote historic town of Mc Carthy and was one of only a few ancient vehicles in the community. To put things in better perspective, at that time [...]
“McCarthy Road” an original pen and ink drawing montage by artist Gail Niebrugge, sold. Back to the series about my early life as an artist living and painting in the Wrangell-St. Elias region of Alaska’s wilderness. Mc Carthy, one of my favorite places in the Wrangell mountains can be accessed by road, although it is [...]
“The Woodshed” pen and ink drawing by Gail Niebrugge, collection of the artist. On a rocky peninsula jutting out into the canyon 800 feet above a creek stood an amazing cabin with an even more amazing outhouse. This privately owned property is located many miles up the Nugget Creek trail and can be reached only [...]
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...]