alaskacollectionAurora New Releases

Nightfall LAVENDERS

“…The lengthening twilights of Alaskan springtime allow the rich blues of dusk to blend with the stars. While dusk silhouettes the lofty summits of Mt. Foraker, Hunter and Denali from the northwest, a vibrant lavender-laced auroral curtain brightens at the edge of night and twilight, lending its reflective radiance below on the great snow-covered Alaska Range. Rare colorful bursts of sweetlight like this explode very briefly, mingle for mere seconds and then are gone forever. Nightfall comes, dusk disappears, the aurora moves onward and the stars take over the sky…”

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COPPER RIVER HALO

“…The tail-end of winter maintains an icy grip over the waters of the mighty Copper River, slowing its progression to the sea as it carves the western edge of the 13.2 million acre Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve. 25 to 75 miles to the east stand the magnificent peaks of Mt. Sanford (16,237 ft.), Mt. Drum (12,010 ft.), Mt. Wrangell (14,163 ft.) and Mt. Blackburn (16,390 ft.). After several hours of watching multiple arcs dance in the far north, a sudden energetic burst of elegant aurora swirls through the starfields, briefly forming a brilliant halo above the great peaks and the Copper River Basin…”

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ABOVE & BEYOND

“…From the glacier-carved bluffs overlooking the enormous Copper River and vast expanse of the 13.2 million acre Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, the view is stunning. As has happened on countless occasions since time immemorial, water, earth and sky come together fleetingly, bestowing a collage’ of power and beauty. At the horizon, Mt. Sanford (16,237 ft.), Mt. Drum (12,010 ft.), Mt. Wrangell (14,163 ft.) and Mt. Blackburn (16,390 ft.) rise majestically out of the ancient glacial steppes of the Copper River Basin. Above and beyond, the star-filled skies over Alaska and Canada are alive with vibrant auroral curtains, dancing silently and adorning the world with sweet light…”

ORDER Above & Beyond HERE

WISEMAN SPRING

“…A low moon and dark-blue pastels of dusk paint the land at the southern edge of the Brooks Range in the tiny town of Wiseman, Alaska. A violet curtain of aurora rises from the southeast dancing delicately in twilight, its bright companion, Jupiter, a jewel in the night. Running water could be heard from the middle fork of the Koyukuk River as it begins to melt with the lengthening days of spring, making its way to the sea…”

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ALASKA RUNS DEEP

“…Very rare multicolored aurora gathers to the east, coloring the edge of space with vibrant pulsating pastels, shrinking the volcanic peaks of Mt. Sanford (at left-16,237 ft.), Mt. Drum (center-12,010 ft.), Mt. Wrangell (right-12,610 ft.) and Mt. Blackburn (far right-16,390 ft.), which stand in the heart of the 13.2 million acre Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park & Preserve. Enormous auroral spires of lavender and green rise hundreds of miles above Earth, surging in sheets and whirling in breath-taking silence through the crystal clear night. Beyond the enchanting translucent lights, the stars add their pinpoint brilliance from light-years away. Low moonrise imparts its radiance on the roof of thick ice fog forming above open leads in the Copper River 300 feet below, as it slowly blankets the forests of the amazing Copper River Basin with crystalline hoar frost…”

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BLINK OF AN EYE

“…Very rare multicolored aurora gathers to the east, coloring the edge of space with vibrant pulsating pastels, shrinking the volcanic peaks of Mt. Sanford (at left-16,237 ft.), Mt. Drum (center-12,010 ft.), Mt. Wrangell (right-12,610 ft.) and Mt. Blackburn (far right-16,390 ft.), which stand in the heart of the 13.2 million acre Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park & Preserve. Enormous auroral spires of lavender and green rise hundreds of miles above Earth, surging in sheets and whirling in breath-taking silence through the crystal clear night. Beyond the enchanting translucent lights, the stars add their pinpoint brilliance from light-years away. Low moonrise imparts its radiance on the roof of thick ice fog forming above open leads in the Copper River 300 feet below, as it slowly blankets the forests of the amazing Copper River Basin with crystalline hoar frost…”

ORDER Blink of an Eye HERE

AURORA BOREALIS

Frederic E. Church (1826–1900) ~ Oil on Canvas ~ 1865

Original ~ 56 x 83 1/2 in. (142.3 x 212.2 cm)
Smithsonian American Art Museum ~ Gift of Eleanor Blodgett ~ 1911

The ship and sled team in this painting belonged to Frederic Church's friend and pupil, polar explorer Dr. Isaac Hayes who had led an Arctic expedition in 1860. He provided his sketches and description of the aurora borealis display he witnessed one January evening as inspiration for this painting. Aurora Borealis is based on two separate sketches. The first incident was an aurora witnessed by Hayes. Coinciding with Hayes' furthest northern movement into what he named Cape Leiber, the aurora borealis appeared over the peak.

In vivid description, Hayes wrote:

"The light grew by degrees more and more intense, and from irregular bursts it settled into an almost steady sheet of brightness... The exhibition, at first tame and quiet, became in the end startling in its brilliancy. The broad dome above me is all ablaze... The colour of the light was chiefly red, but this was not constant, and every hue mingled in the fierce display. Blue and yellow streamers were playing in the lurid fire; and, sometimes starting side by side from the wide expanse of the illuminated arch, they melt into each other, and throw a ghostly glare of green into the face and over the landscape. Again this green overrides the red; blue and orange clasp each other in their rapid flight; violet darts tear through a broad flush of yellow and countless tongues of white flame, formed of these uniting streams, rush aloft and lick the skies…”

ORDER Frederic E. Church Oil on Canvas HERE

ENCIRCLED

Tall pastel auroral curtains explode at the edge of space like an umbrella expanding southward encircling the Copper River Basin and across the glittering starfields. A low moonrise in the east climbs above the distinctive volcanic peaks of Mt. Sanford (at left-16,237 ft.), Mt. Drum (center-12,010 ft.) and Mt. Wrangell (at right-12,610 ft.), the central gems of the 13.2 million acre Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park & Preserve. Far below the cliff, ice fog rising from open leads in the Copper River begins to flow out over the basin floor

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MOONLIGHT MIX

Tall pastel auroral curtains explode at the edge of space like an umbrella expanding southward encircling the Copper River Basin and across the glittering starfields. A low moonrise in the east climbs above the distinctive volcanic peaks of Mt. Sanford (at left-16,237 ft.), Mt. Drum (center-12,010 ft.) and Mt. Wrangell (at right-12,610 ft.), the central gems of the 13.2 million acre Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park & Preserve. Far below the cliff, ice fog rising from open leads in the Copper River begins to flow out over the basin floor

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NOCTURNAL SENSATION

The grand peaks of the eastern Alaska Range are dwarfed by rich energetic ribbons of auroral curtains sweeping over the Clearwater Mountains and the far horizon towards Canada. A low autumn moon covers the land accenting the lofty summits at left of Mt. Hayes (13,832 ft.), Mt. Moffit (13,020 ft.) and Mt. McGinnis (11,400 ft.). This is the unspoiled birthplace of the Susitna and West Fork glaciers, where the headwaters of the great Susitna River begin its long 313 mile journey to the sea.

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PAINT THE STARS

Dynamic auroral curtains pulse and dance above the great Copper River Basin and across the glittering starfields. Moonrise climbs amid the powerful scene above the volcanic peaks of Mt. Sanford (at left-16,237 ft.), Mt. Drum (center-12,010 ft.) and Mt. Wrangell (at right-12,610 ft.), the prevailing features of the 13.2 million acre Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park & Preserve. Ice fog rising from open leads in the Copper River glows with ethereal light down on the basin floor.

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THE GATHERING

Within our physical world there are events that are predestined over the countless ages to gather in natural harmony for very brief moments. Within this rare scene many natural forces have evolved to form one such moment. Over millions of years the colossal peaks of the central Alaska Range, Mt. Foraker, Hunter and Denali, were pushed up ever higher by plate tectonics. Throughout time, multiple ice ages have come and gone, grinding and carving the lowlands and mountains to the sea with glaciers and floods. Our sun, the ultimate “generator”, has been controlling all aspects of Earth with its unbelievable power. Clear and crisp moonless skies allow for a window to the heavens, while the Alaska Range reaches for a sky pulsating with rare multicolored pastel aurora across the night. At this moment, the great Susitna River dams up solid with ice, as winter grips the landscape in extraordinary silence. These gathering forces are only in sync for a tiny fraction of time, leaving anyone who experiences such grandeur completely awestruck.

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New & Recent Releases Intro to The Aurora Collection Some History - First Aurora

New & Recent Releases