The Artist's Life

THE ARTIST'S LIFE

Insights on being an artist.

By Alice P. Buening

Artists Magazine

May 1993

DOUBLE DIP

During the summer, tourists from around the globe patronize the Tastee Freeze in Glennallen, Alaska (population:400). Visitors can get the usual ice cream and burger fare, but this is no ordinary Tastee Freeze. It also serves up art. In fact, it’s the primary showcase for the work of wildlife and landscape artist Gail Niebrugge, who’s sold original paintings right off the walls for thousands of dollars.

Niebrugge and her husband opened the shop in the mid-1970’s, after relocating from southern California. “I started decorating the walls with my work and have continued to display new work ever since,” she says. “Through the years, our Tastee Freeze customers have become great fans.” As one summer has melted into the next, they’ve watched her work grow. And Niebrugge’s artwork has become so popular among this sweet-toothed crowd that she’s had to expand. In 1990, the artist opened Niebrugge Studios, 15 miles down the road, where she prints and publishes her work. In the past five years, she’s published more than 20 limited-edition prints that are distributed throughout the United States and Canada.

Niebrugge’s exhibition success in the wilds of Alaska is a lesson to even big-city artists: the “best” galleries might not be where you’d think. “The walls of this ice cream store,” says Niebrugge, “have provided a connection for my art with a segment of people who may never set foot in a regular gallery or art show.”

(Gail’s note; we sold the Tastee Freeze in 1994 and move into Palmer, Alaska, where we make our living from the sale of my art.)

In the frosty surroundings of an ice cream parlor, Gail Niebrugge’s Placid Tide (watercolor and acrylic) is one of many works that melts the hearts and purse strings of the art buyer.