A close up detail of pointillism painted on the foreground grasses.  You can see many, many layers of color at this stage.  I’m concentrating on making the foreground beautiful close-up as well as from the distance.  A large variety of values and hues have been added as dots to form the grass.

The above photo shows how the grass appears from a distance,I’m beginning to achieve the look I’ve been seeking.  I need to step back and evaluate the background especially the upper third of the painting.  It looks a little weak to me.  This 48″ x 60″ canvas is quite a challenge, and is taking a huge number of dots, as well as a lot of time.  Fun, though.

Gail Niebrugge, pointillism painting

Hikers stand next to the 5 mile marker on the Gold Mint Trail at Hatcher Pass, Alaska.  This week I was joined by Evelyn Bunch, Jen Scott and Mary Mystrom.  This group is very fit and I had to work hard to keep up with their pace.  We hiked a total of 10 miles which is a milestone for me this summer.  The wildflowers are blooming in profusion, beaver ponds dot the side of the trail and the sight and sounds of the nearby river make this trail exceptional and one of our favorites!

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska artist

Adding many more dots to the grasses I’m continuing to darken the middle ground (the background in the center third of the canvas) and darken contrasting areas in the foreground weeds.  I’m doing exactly what I didn’t want to do, and re-painting all the grasses.  I didn’t like the first version.  I’ve also added a fuzzy blur to the tips of the crane wings in an attempt to show motion.  Much more to do with this concept, but that is for later.

More tomorrow,

Gail Niebrugge, wildlife painter

To give some contrast to the light color of the birds necks I darkened the yellow grasses in the distance and added a great many pale blue, bluegreen, and blue violet dots to the middle of the canvas.  For the moment, this seems to work better.   I also brought back some of the darker accents in the grasses that were covered initially with the first several layers of dots.  Now I need to concentrate on the Sandhill crane images, make them show movement and rhythm.

Gail Niebrugge, Art of Alaska

In between thundershowers and hail storms we found a few sunny hours to kayak on the lake with the grandkids.   After several trips dodging Skidoos and water skiers, we explored the island and took a quick dip.  Returning to the dock a mama Mallard and her eight juvenile chicks surprised us when they emerged from the lily patch along the shore.

Summer in Alaska, always fun.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska painter

I’ve added some detail and rhythm to the lower grasses and lighter toned dots to the Sandhill cranes.  I’m not satisfied with the pale background behind the light tan cranes in the middle one third of the canvas.  I’m going to find a value and color of acrylic paint that will convey my idea and yet give some contrast to the light tints on the cranes necks.  More dots, ta dot, ta dot, dot, dot.

Gail Niebrugge, Wild Bird Paintings

Our new patch of grass looks like a green velvet carpet thanks to plentiful summer rainfall.  We are the do-it-yourself-whenever-possible kind of gardeners and it has taken four years to complete the front yard at the studio/residence.

Last summer Bob designed a system to irrigate pumping directly from the lake, the plants have thrived from the nutrient laden warm water.  Vegetables flourish in fourteen raised beds and we’ve already harvested some lettuce and radishes.

Deep blue violet wild iris adds a dash of color to the back lawn.  This is what summer is all about, I love to garden and am eager to learn.  Tending plants between stints at the easel breaks up my time indoors, stretches stiff muscles and feeds the brain.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska landscape artist

We cancelled our regular Tuesday hike due to heavy rain and re-scheduled Wednesday, weather permitting.   Wednesday morning I could see fresh snow at Hatcher Pass and the sun shining in Palmer so two of us hiking die-hards decided to try the Palmer/Moose Creek Rail Road Trail.  It is a very scenic route that begins at the north end of Palmer and slowly descends the bluff above the Matanuska River.

Unfortunately there are several serious landslides that have washed out the trail about a mile and a half from the start.  For senior citizens like myself, they were tricky and dangerous to cross.  I’m finding that my balance isn’t what it used to be when I was younger, and I don’t trust my footing on a 45 degree slant of loose rock and soil with a straight chute below ending in the raging glacier fed Matanuska River.  My trusty companion Mary urged me to take my time and be careful, and soon we were through the steep stuff and enjoyed the lovely forested trail.  On the way back I climbed above the wash outs on my hands and knees picking my way carefully up the steep scree slope and felt more confident that way.  Mary is more nimble than I, and managed very well although admitted that one slip of the foot and it would all be over except for the shouting.  We would like to see the Borough send some trail workers out with picks and shovels, it wouldn’t take too much to make these crossings safer.

Gail Niebrugge, landscape painter

To help establish the values of the bird shapes in relation to the background I began  to paint the middle tones with dots.  My goal was to have a very bland tan and gold background with camouflaged tan Sandhill Cranes, and I will continue working toward this objective.  But, if it doesn’t please me I will have a ton of dots to paint to make a change.  I wish I could fast forward and take a sneak peak.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska nature artist

I am attempting to lighten the upper two-thirds of the background with dots leaving very little underpainting showing through.  The sheer size of this canvas, 48″ x 60″, is making my progress very slow.  So far nothing but the dark areas of the Sandhill cranes have been painted, the rest of the birds are white canvas.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska pointillist

The staff from the Art Shop Gallery watching Don Jose’s Mexican Food employee make guacamole at the table.  We ate two servings before dinner, slightly spicy, yum!

I can’t remember how long I’ve been making the annual pilgrimage to Homer’s Art Shop Gallery for a summer show, it could be fifteen maybe eighteen years or more.  Every visit is a party.  I meet old friends, friends of friends, my San Diego cousin’s next door neighbor, the best friend of the man who helped us build our first home in Lakeside, California, forty years ago, and on, and on, and on.  It seems like Homer is the designated meeting place for all U.S. travelers.  The Art Shop is laid back, informal, with a comfy sofa in the upstairs gallery where the guest artist resides and has never known a stranger.  Everyone parts as a friend and has shared their Alaska story.  And at the end of the day the staff has always been treated to dinner by the owners, first by Wes and Karin Marks and now by Karin alone.  We all miss Wesley who died almost four years ago, and the evening never passes without stories about his passionate political views and generosity.  Now Karin carries the torch, and does it with dignity and class.  This is a first-rate gallery and should be on everyone’s do-not-miss list.

Kudos to the Art Shop gang, I love you!

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska artist

More dots are added to the grasses on the lower portion of the dancing Sandhill crane canvas.  This painting will receive many layers of dots until I am able to determine if the values and color will work the way I have planned.  I can’t evaluate anything yet.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska painter

I slowly and carefully begin to apply the fist layer of small acrylic dots on top of the wild, abstract underpainting of Sandhill Cranes I’ve titled “Wing Dancing”.  My thought at this point is to create a rather neutral, bland, tan and gold background surrounding the camouflaged tan birds with only hints of the colorful underpainting showing through.  If I don’t like the look I will have to repaint the original dots with different choices of color, a big job.  But, I won’t know how it will look until I’ve tried and that is why pointillism takes so long.  Regular artists just slap on some color, and if they don’t like it, slather on another quickly with large brushes.  Pointillism is tedious, each dot of color applied with a small brush, layer upon layer until the results are acceptable.

Close up detail of the first layer of dots.   For some unknown reason I enjoy doing this, go figure.

Gail Niebrugge, painter of dots

Hundreds of people attended the grand opening of the Primrose Retirement Center in Wasilla, Alaska.  The opening ceremonies were complete with a flag raising, Pledge of Allegiance, and remarks from Senator Linda Menard.

Two lounge rooms were set aside for art shows, and everyone touring the facility stopped to browse the artwork and talk to the artists.  I thoroughly enjoyed my time and met many wonderful people.  My show will stay until the closing reception July 25.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska art

The underpainting is nearly finished.  I will add some darks and lights to the shapes of the dancing cranes then the slow, painstaking process of pointillism will begin.  I will update the progress of this work as time permits, in the meanwhile my life will continue with shows, outdoor activity, vacationing guests, gardening, proposals, meetings, and all the other business of art and the artist.  I would love to have this one finished to exhibit in my booth at the end of August during Alaska State Fair, but I seriously doubt that will happen.  In a perfect world it is possible, but any gliches, problems, or challenges that surface along the way will extend the completion date.

Gail Niebrugge, wildlife art

After enlarging the thumbnail sketch of Sandhill Cranes onto a 48″ x 60″ canvas I begin to quickly slap colorful acrylic paint on to the heavy fabric with big, wide brushes.  This wild, abstract application of brilliant hues and tints will serve as an underpainting and base for the thousands of small acrylic dots to follow.  A canvas this large will take many months to paint in pointillism.

Gail Niebrugge, pointillism artist

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska wildlife art

To create a composition that will adapt to the 48″ x 60″ canvas I used a Proportional Scale to calculate a reduction that would fit my tracing paper.  My Sandhill Crane tracings were various sizes, some too large and others too small to realistically portray the birds at the same distance, so I used the enlargement or reduction calculator on my copier to size the drawings.  The copier would jam if I tried to use tracing paper, but I found if I manually fed two pages as one it worked!   As I designed, certain images became favorites and I worked to find a way to utilize each of them in the final layout.

The drawing in the above photo is one that I later discarded.  The composition stage is one that many beginning artists fail to comprehend, and often just copy a photo.  I ask, if you just copy a photo, why paint?

More tomorrow,

Gail Niebrugge, wildlife artist

I decided to embark on a monumental project, one that will take most of the summer or longer, and I will share my progress with you on this Blog as it evolves.  My giant venture is to create a 48″ x 60″ pointillism painting of Sandhill Cranes.  During the spring bird migration I spent a great deal of time watching, sketching and photographing these lanky creatures and what interested me most about their habits is the crazy dancing, wing flapping hop-scotch activity that takes place while they are on the ground.  I took more than 800 photos and initially planned to paint the cranes as they majestically flew through the air against a back drop of  snow capped mountains.  Instead, on further examination, I decided to paint the wacky “Wing Dancing” ritual and focus entirely on the birds, eliminating all background detail.

After sorting through hundreds of photos and sketches I picked several to download and print out where I carefully studied the images focusing my search on finding interesting shapes and motion.  Next, to save time, I traced my favorite birds with pencil on tracing paper and began arranging the drawings to form a pleasing composition.

More tomorrow,

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska wildlife paintings

We had the good fortune to find Nate Pokryfki, the owner of Soft Coat an asphault sealing company, to seal our driveway.  He and his employees did an outstanding job.  Now we must stay off the freshly tarred drive for 36 hours.  It has been a challenge trying to keep the fresh hydroseeding watered out by the road on the left side of the drive, lots of walking back and forth around the garages, through the garden to the back of the house.  And carrying groceries, frames and art from the road across the lawn to the studio.  I really didn’t think about how convenient the driveway is until I can’t use it.

Gail Niebrugge, Alaska landscape painter