“Storm” 24″ x 36″ acrylic on canvas ©1986 collection of the artist.
This is my painting style before the accident that led to bed rest and the development of the unique technique of pointillism I use today. “Storm” is painted from a research trip to one of my favorite places, the Denali Highway, a 135 mile gravel road connecting the Richardson Highway to the Parks Highway in the Copper River Basin of Alaska. As an artist, I am partial to this area during the fall when colors are at their peak and incredible, majestic storms sweep across the vast, wide open tundra. This highway closed during winter, although it is a great area to explore by snowmachine I still prefer fall. Sometime in mid 1980′s I grew tired of experimenting with watercolor and dug out my old tubes of acrylic and began spreading thin layers of luscious paint on canvas with large brushes. I enjoyed painting this way, it was a treat to use brushes in acrylic after my forced exclusion for years and years of palette knife only. “Storm” remains in my private collection as an example of this period in my career, and brings wonderful memories of time spent exploring the Denali Highway Alaska wilderness.
Gail Niebrugge, Alaska wilderness artist
