“Flags Up” 12″ x 16″ watercolor painting ©1985 Sold.
My last post showed an acrylic painting of caribou in the Nabesna Road region of the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, this work is from research in the same area but completed about ten years earlier when I focused on painting with watercolor. It was hard work, but fun. Prior to my watercolor period I used palette knife almost exclusively, with heavy impasto acrylic paint, so experimenting with the subtle techniques of transparent watercolor and fine, exquisite sable brushes was an exciting challenge. The title “Flags Up” is an expression used about caribou when they are on alert, their short tan colored tail is normally not noticeable but when startled the tail stands straight up revealing the white fur beneath. The season is early fall before the colors turned orange and red, just after a fresh snow on the mountains.
Gail Niebrugge, Alaska wilderness artist
