Gail Niebrugge: Palmer artist known internationally

I recently interviewed this year’s Machetanz Art Festival featured artist Gail Niebrugge, who is internationally known for her expertise in the technique of pointillism. The one-day festival is Saturday, June 4 at Mat-Su College.

Awards to Niebrugge’s acclaim include being a five-time winner in the National Diabetes Association’s Christmas Card’s Competition. She is the author of “Gail Niebrugge’s Alaska Wildflowers” and makes her home in the Mat-Su Valley with her husband and business partner, Bob.

BACH: What are some of your most memorable experiences while on location doing research for your Alaska theme paintings?

NIEBRUGGE: The air taxi pilot dropped us off at a remote location at the headwaters of the Chitina River and left us on our own for a few days of exploring and art research. From the landing strip we packed our gear a mile to the public use cabin, where we were greeted by a well-worn trail of bear tracks circling the dwelling and fresh gouges and scratches on the window shutters and door.

I am a seasoned camper and comfortable in the wilderness, but this cabin, surrounded by thick, dense undergrowth and full of fresh bear sign, was not a place that I wanted to stay. Fortunately, we packed a tent so we made a camp in an open clearing with good visibility along a gravel bar by the river. To keep our campsite bear free, we locked our food inside the cabin away from the tent. We grew comfortable after several days as we explored and hiked without any new signs. The day before our scheduled pick-up we decided to make a quick climb up a steep ridge above the cabin, to check out a small cave that we spotted with binoculars. The ascent was short, but almost perpendicular, so we left the awkward, heavy shotgun in camp. I led, picking my way through rocks and hoisting myself by clinging to small trees.

My husband, Bob, called out from below, “bear!”

“Where?” I shouted.

“Above you.” His anxious words sent a chill down my spine. Eye-to-eye with an annoyed black bear, I froze.

“Keep your eyes on the bear and slowly retreat backward,” Bob coached. As long as we made eye contact the bear did not move, but that was impossible. We had to find our way down the steep cliff. Thumb on the trigger of a small can of pepper spray, Bob locked eyes with the ornery critter while I scrambled to a stable perch.

Then Bob tried to retreat and the animal advanced! We were moving painfully slow and the bear was gaining ground. Without eye contact, with the bear, from the person in front, we were doomed! Hair standing on end, teeth bared, the irritated creature was much too close. Bob fired the pepper, the bear halted and our feet found wings down the mountain, through the bushes, past the cabin, into the open near the tent and the shotgun!

Scant seconds behind, the angry beast stopped short at the edge of the clearing. He roamed back and forth smashing the bushes all night, but never came out in the open. Needless to say, we had little sleep and a story to tell when the airplane arrived the next day. And, I had a painting to make.

BACH: I understand health circumstances resulted in you choosing pointillism, (where thousands of dots of color are on each painting). Please explain further.

NIEBRUGGE: After years of experimenting with different painting styles, palette knife, photo realism, dripping and pouring paint, etc., I found myself bedridden from complications from an accident, recovering from jaw surgery and herniated disks in my neck and lower back.

During the long periods of bed rest, my husband designed an overhead easel that was parallel to my horizontal body where a surface of rag board was mounted that allowed me paint without lifting my arm. A palette resting on my chest was reflected in a mirror overhead so I could see how to mix my paint, and with a little effort I could apply the paint carefully using tiny dots.

Pointillism is not easy and is slow work. It takes me quite awhile to complete an original painting. Hours and hours of applying small dots in layer upon layer is painstaking, but perfectly suited to fill my need for detail.

The longer I use this technique, the more I find it a challenge. I will never be bored. My body will protest long before my mind does. The intense concentration needed to do this technique has caused multiple problems with tension in my neck, shoulders and arm.

Fortunately, I have an excellent physical therapist who knows how I work and has taught me different approaches to manage muscle tension.

BACH: Does your long career continue to be fulfilling? What direction are you going with it?

NIEBRUGGE: Artists have a long, slow struggle to make any money from their work. It takes many, many years and still only 10 percent nationwide are able to make a living solely from the sale of art. The only reason anyone would choose to spend a lifetime as an artist is the satisfaction and reward, the love to paint. If it were not fulfilling I wouldn’t do it. I plan to continue as I have for the last 40-plus years, documenting the contemporary life, history, landscape, wildlife, flora and fauna of places on earth that I cherish. I am truly blessed to be able to do this. I believe that my gifts were given to me at birth by God and my purpose is to use them to make the world a better place.

For more information about the workshops, email sbach@matsu.alaska.edu or call 745-9755.

Suzanne Bach is the fine arts coordinator at Mat-Su College and can be reached at creative@alaska.com.