Continued…..

Our three days at the Don Sheldon Mountain House on the Ruth Glacier in Denali National Park, Alaska, were fabulous!  Not only did we have spectacular weather, clear skies and plenty of sunshine, but it was calm and silent.  It was magical.  In the distance we would hear the occasional crack of ice, or thud of a small avalanche, but other than that it was quiet.  Once an airplane flew over way up high, and one day a sightseeing flight landed on the glacier far below.  People got out for a few minutes walked around and took pictures, then they were on gone.  They really had no idea what it was like to stay out here, or that we were even there.  It was an awesome time.

We were like kids, free to do anything we wanted, whenever we wanted, limited only by our skills and strength.  We skied a bit, but found the little plastic sleds to be the best fun of all.  One day we sledded all afternoon at break neck speed down the hill, coasting for what seemed like miles along the slick, smooth surface of the glacier.  Over and over we trudged to the top and sped back down until we fell exhausted in a heap, laughing and tired from the silliness.  Gone were our worries of isolation, we reveled in it instead.  We actually found ourselves hoping for a weather front to come in so that we could stay longer, but instead we were blessed with perfect weather, and before we knew it our time at the hut was over.  As soon as we loaded everything back into the airplane for our return to Talkeetna, I began to miss the Don Sheldon amphitheater with it’s little house on the rocky ridge, and vowed to return someday.

This happened in 1997, and unfortunately we haven’t been back.  It is so important to make the very most of every experience we have in life, because we are given no guarantees that it will last.  Live in the moment, laugh a lot, and be thankful.  If you have never had the opportunity to know Alaska, you have missed something very special and a part of life.  Alaska, the last frontier and the subject of my work for more than three decades, the land that I love.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska artist

continued…..

As we settled into the cozy hut situated at the top of a ridge overlooking the Ruth Glacier in Denali National Park, Alaska, our first chore was to find the outhouse.  There was a little brown colored shed perched on the edge of a steep, narrow ridge located about 100 yards from the cabin.  A skinny trail carved into the ice with a safety rope stretched alongside ran from the building to the shed.  We grabbed the rope and used a hand over hand method to gingerly inch our way toward the brown shack.  The trail was bordered by a steep drop on one side and a deep, deep crevice on the other.  This surely couldn’t be the path to the outhouse, I thought.  But it was.  I made up my mind that I’d use a bucket or coffee can in the night, because there was no way I was going down that treacherous route in the dark!  I had to admit, the view from the privy was world class.  It amazed me at how fast we became comfortable with the unfamiliar terrain of a glacier.  Once we’d hiked the trail to the potty a few times it didn’t seem scary at all, and soon we quit using the safety rope.

The scenery was so stunningly beautiful it took your breath away, with ever changing shadows and light, the landscape looked different every hour of the day.  I could sit forever staring at the patterns and shapes of rocks and snow.  The Mountain House itself was an octagon shaped building with windows all around, and a wood burning stove in the center.  The walls were ringed by a long bench that served as seats during the day and a platform for sleeping bags at night.  The building wasn’t very big, I’d guess it was about 12 or 14 feet in diameter, with the stove filling the center it was impossible to get cold unless you let the wood burn down.  Along one section of the wall there were shelves holding a few pans and utensils and a flat surface for our propane cook stove.  A web of ropes were stretched from one side of the ceiling to the other, where something was always hung to dry.  It was simple, ingenious, and rough, and contained everything necessary to survive.  By dark we were settled, cozy, fed, dry, warm, and snuggled into our sleeping bags for the night.  We watched the alpen glow disappear on the distant peaks and darkness slowly filled the amphitheater, once the singular glow from our propane lamp was extinguished, the sky filled with dancing, sparkling stars.

More tomorrow,

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska artist

continued…..

To reach the mountain house we loaded our gear onto the two small plastic sleds that were provided, donned our skis and started our trek uphill.  It was slow work for two slightly out of shape middle aged explorers.  At first we piled everything on each sled as high as we could, but the flimsy unstable plastic would easily tip the contents at every bump in the trail.  My best recollection is that it took each of us five trips apiece before all our provisions were delivered to the cabin.  We grew warm from exertion and the sun reflecting off the brilliant white snow and were soon soaked with sweat.

The silence was amazing, all we could hear was our labored breathing and the swish, swish, swish of skis.  The trail was marked with orange posts and at first I wondered why, we could see the cabin at the top of the ridge, but soon realized the entire area was riddled with deep crevice’s some hidden by weakened snow bridges.  It was dangerous, and not a place for the feint of heart.  Yes, it was dangerous, and awesome, and stunning all at once.  I couldn’t believe my good fortune for being able to stay at such an incredible place, full of history, beauty, a truly pristine wilderness.  I was excited and at the same time a little afraid, we were there without any form of communication for three days, there was no turning back or way to change our minds.  I realized it was time to check my emotions, settle into camp and go about the business of learning about how to live on a glacier.

More tomorrow,

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska artist

Lately I’ve been reviewing my research files seeking subject matter for new paintings and I ran across these photos of a fabulous trip in 1997 to Don Sheldon’s Mountain House on the Ruth Glacier, Denali National Park, Alaska.  I thought I’d share the experience on my blog.  During this time one of the places I wanted to research was Mt. McKinley, we found we could reserve a few days at the historic Mountain House, a place that was built on a rocky outcrop on the Ruth Glacier and used as a camp for climbers many years ago.  At the time it was being managed as a bed and breakfast, without any beds or breakfast.  We had the use of the cabin but had to bring all our own food, bedding, firewood, and extra supplies in case we were weathered in, and had to extend our stay.

We chartered Doug Geeting Aviation at the Talkeetna airport and arrived on a sunny spring day with a giant pile of provisions including nordic skis.  The 45 minute flight was spectacular through the mile wide Great Gorge lined by 5,000 foot high granite cliffs, the wheel/ski equipped plane enabled us to take off from Talkeetna’s  gravel air strip with wheels and land on the glacier with skis.  Mountain house is perched on a ridge above the glacier at 5,700 feet, with a stunning view of the Ruth and Don Sheldon amphitheaters.  Our gear formed an unwieldy pile on the snow, and the pilot instructed us to use two empty waiting sleds to haul everything up the slope to the house.  As we watched the bright red plane disappear we slowly realized that we were all alone in this vast icy wilderness, totally alone for miles and miles, our pile of supplies seemed to shrink in comparison.

More, tomorrow.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska artist

Wonderful local theater, Valley Performing Art Center in Wasilla, Alaska, has been producing quality productions for more than thirty years.  We had the pleasure of attending the final performance Sunday of “Inherit the Wind” an entertaining event directed by Elizabeth Hanson and Marcia Beck.  If you didn’t get a chance to see it, you missed out.  It was excellent, with a talented cast!  Congratulations Marcia and Elizabeth!!

Don’t miss the next production, “The Drunkard” directed by Julie McCartney, beginning March 26 through April 11.  Get your tickets now!  Prices are reasonable, it is good entertainment and an excellent way to support local arts.

Gail Niebrugge, Board Development Committee Valley Performing Arts

“Napier Car” ink drawing 10″x 14″ ©Gail Niebrugge

Here is the finished drawing.  Unfortunately I have no idea the make and model of this classic.  While doing research for paintings I’m looking for shape, light and shadow, and interesting lines and I become absorbed in these details.  This vehicle at this angle had it all.  Another reason I don’t have all the information is that  I’m not sure when or if I’ll use my research, I’ve used reference gathered 15-30 years ago and my journal notes are sometimes not as complete as I need.  I guess I think I’ll be able to figure it all out later.  So, enough excuses……anyone know anything about this vintage car?  Notice the steering wheel is on the right side, they drive on the left side of the road in New Zealand, it takes awhile to get used to for those of us who learned to drive on the right.

Gail Niebrugge, pen and ink drawings

Multiple layers of crosshatch ink lines have created the significant values in this drawing of the classic car I found in the Art Deco city of Napier, New Zealand.  I’m going to darken the darkest values with yet another layer of parallel lines to finish the drawing.

Gail Niebrugge, pen and ink drawing

A pleasing pattern is emerging by concentrating my ink crosshatch build-up in areas of shadow and using the dark value as a background.  The above sketch shows the beginning of the third layer of parallel lines on the upper right background behind the vehicle.  To reach the darkest dark I may need five or six layers.  What I liked most about this view of the car is the cast shadows on the ground in front, and the emphasis on the curved shapes of the headlights, fenders and tires.  Fun stuff!

Gail Niebrugge, pen and ink drawing

We had dock side seats for the recent golf tournament held on our lake.  This golfer used a sand wedge in the snow trap to get to the #2 green (white?), another player scored big by driving the ball into our neighbors ice hockey goal net.

These hearty golfers teed up on the #3 tee a few feet from our dock, all the players used their vehicles as carts some neatly skidding in a circle while coming to a stop.  Just another day of fun in Alaska!

Gail Niebrugge, landscape painter

With my passion for old cars I was thrilled to see a display of fully restored vintage vehicles while on our trip last year to New Zealand.  In the sketch above I found this classic parked at the dock in the Art Deco city of Napier.  I went crazy in Napier, the Art Deco style of architecture was at its peak of popularity in 1931 and the city embraces the preservation of this period with Deco bus tours, exhibitions, self guided drives and walks, and a vintage Deco car tour.  My ink drawing began by laying parallel ink lines in the background and throughout all areas of shadow.  A pleasing pattern of light and dark is emerging.

Gail Niebrugge, pen and ink artist

“Basin Road” 54″x 72″ original acrylic on canvas commissioned by the Alaska Per Cent for Art program for the Juneau Pioneer Home, painted in 1991, ©Gail Niebrugge

I have to admit my learning curve with Photoshop has been long and hard mostly by trial and error, with more errors than success at times.  I’m sure I would have benefited from taking a class, but my excuse is that no one teaches a class out here in Wasilla, Alaska, for folks who use MacIntosh computers.  So, with my ancient Photoshop, a part of Creative Suite 2, I’ve stumbled through the process usually with some kind of deadline forcing me to produce a decent image to send via the web.

My love/hate relationship with Photoshop began about eight years ago when I decided I needed a website.  It required digital images of my art saved in low resolution jpg for each page.  At the time, most of my painting were photographed in 4×5 transparencies and 35mm slides.  A few were photographed digitally, but the file sizes were very small.  I stretched my brain figuring out how to scan the 4×5’s with my flat bed scanner and a film adapter, but when I opened the images in Photoshop they were extremely saturated with very high contrast.  I fiddled with different settings until the artwork looked fairly acceptable, at the time I had no idea how to use layers, and emailed 72dpi jpgs to my webmaster.  I look back on those early efforts and want to re-do all of them someday when I have the time.

Recently I’ve found a few excellent websites that post tips for using Photoshop and I’d like to share this one that explains in very good English how to optimize images for the web.  Happy Photoshopping!

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska Artist

Gail Niebrugge, just an ordinary artist living in Alaska

Here is the finished drawing of  “Wasilla Tractor” ink 10″ x 14″ ©Gail Niebrugge.  This gem is located at the Museum of Alaska Transportation and Industry, Wasilla, Alaska, that is open to the public in the summer.  A worthwhile place to visit.  Below is a detail of part of the drawing.  It took 5-6 layers of parallel ink lines to create the darkest black.

Gail Niebrugge, Drawing and Painting Alaska

I thought the outline of distant foliage behind the tractor shape was distracting, so I began to layer crosshatch to fill in the negative spaces created in the background.  At this point two layers of parallel ink lines have been added to darken these spaces.  More to go.  This is tedious work, and takes a very steady hand.  I need to take frequent breaks to stretch my neck and arms.  I love ink drawing though, and find it hard to stop.

Gail Niebrugge, ink drawings of Alaska

At this stage I have three layers of parallel ink lines in crosshatch in the dark shadow areas and background of the drawing.  I’ve begun the fourth layer using diagonal lines.  You can see the partially completed fourth layer of crosshatch above the steering wheel.  Each layer creates a darker value, and I decided I wanted very dark (almost black) shadows and background so the tractor will stand out against the contrast.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska drawings

One of my favorite places to find old vehicles is the Museum of Alaska Transportation and Industry in Wasilla, Alaska.  I think this is such a cool place that I arranged a field trip for an art class for student research one year, that was graciously hosted by museum chief volunteer and good friend, Faye Palin ( yes, one of those Palins).  This old tractor caught my eye with the wooden spoke front wheels, complete with bucket topping the engine cowl.  I placed the tractor against a dark background to emphasize the light and shadow of the many different shapes in the drawing.  Originally I thought the background should take on the outline of distant foliage as shown at this stage, but I later changed my mind as you shall see in future posts.  This is the beginning sketch with the first layer of ink lines.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska artist

Here is the recently completed series of four old vehicles sketched with pen and ink from my research in the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.  A very enjoyable project and walk down memory lane.  Top left “Truck near Strelna” ink drawing 10″ x 14″, top right “Coupe at Chitina” ink drawing 10″ x 14″, lower right “Nugget Creek Truck” ink drawing 10″ x 14″, bottom left “May Creek Truck” ink drawing 16″ x 20″.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska wilderness artist

“Truck near Strelna” ink drawing 10″ x 14″ ©Gail Niebrugge

This ends my series at the moment, of old vehicles found in the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.  Over the last 30 years I’ve painted and sketched a great many of these ancient autos, and enjoyed not only the research in the field, but completing the artwork.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska wilderness artist

Pencil sketch and beginning ink drawing of an abandoned truck along the McCarthy Road in the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, near Strelna, Alaska.  I found this oldie tucked away in the willows just off the road during spring break-up, it would be quite hidden once the leaves returned in the summer.  I’m beginning this drawing with parallel ink lines in the darkest areas, then building up the lines to create values in a series of layers of cross hatching as shown in the detail below.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska wilderness artist

“Coupe at Chitina” ink drawing 10″x 14″ ©Gail Niebrugge

During one of my explorations for forgotton vehicles along the backroads of the Wrangell-St. Elias region of Alaska I found this relic stashed in the willows near Town Lake, Chitina, Alaska.  During the dense vegetation of summer this old car is virtually invisible, but during spring break-up it sat proudly exposed in its nest of branches and tangled weeds.  I can only imagine how it was used during the mining days when this region was a bustling hub for miners and their families during the days of the Copper River & Northwestern Railway.

Detail of pen and ink drawing of coupe.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska wilderness artist