White Raven on Winter Solstice

The biggest celebrity in Anchorage, Alaska this winter in 2023 has been a white raven. The bird has a Facebook page dedicated to sightings of it, with nearly 15,000 members. People post photos of the raven, its location with the date and time, and artists have even started making jewelry, greeting cards, prints, and other beautiful items immortalizing the clever creature. He/she is not shy, appearing on a daily basis in plain sight, mostly around midtown in Anchorage. I happened to see the white raven on Spenard Rd. and Northern Lights Blvd in a big spruce tree while driving around on winter solstice. Seeing a white raven on the darkest day of the year seemed like an omen.

I have many questions about this bird. Why is it white? Are there other white ravens? Is the white color a dominant, or recessive trait? Can other ravens see that he/she is different, and if so, do they treat it differently? Does it know that it’s different? All this mystery, and the novelty of a white raven is what makes this bird so popular. People have been traveling to Anchorage from out-of-state for a chance to see the white raven. I hope you get to see it, because it really does feel special.

I was inspired to paint this oil painting, and decided to release it today on winter solstice. Oil paint on stretched canvas, 24″x18″. The original oil painting, and signed prints are available at my Etsy shop.

White Raven, by Scott Clendaniel, oil on canvas, 24″ x 18″

Termination Dust

Termination dust on the Chugach mountains

Happy Fall Equinox! During our five-mile run this morning we marveled at the gorgeous termination dust on the Chugach mountains that arrived overnight. For those of you who are not up on Alaskan lingo, “termination dust” refers to the first dusting of snow on mountain tops, signaling the termination of summer. This means something to the beer drinking crowd of Anchorage.  When we see that first snow, we know that Midnight Sun Brewing is about to release Termination Dust Belgian Style Barley Wine.  It is only released when Lee Ellis, President of the brewery, sees snow on Flattop mountain.  Well, I looked up at Flattop today, and the snow stopped right above Flattop mountain.  So, I assumed the brewery would hold out, but to my surprise, I saw on social media that the release is happening today!  I have a bottle of this beer in my beer fridge from two years ago, so maybe it is time to drink that one as well, since it is Equinox, and I feel celebration in the air.

When Alaskans see termination dust, some take a big sigh of relief, and others start feeling depressed, depending on how one feels about the impending winter. I personally like winter more than summer, so I get very excited about longer nights, cozy evenings around a fire, movie nights without FOMO, football season, fat-biking, and most importantly, alpine ski season.  I love skiing, and I especially love skiing at Arctic Valley Ski Area!  I am a lifetime member of the Anchorage Ski club. Maria and I already bought our season passes, so seeing termination dust on the front range on Equinox makes me feel hopeful for a great upcoming ski season! I am certainly glad to live in Alaska! Now, I’m off to Midnight Sun Brewing to sample this year’s Termination Dust. Cheers!

Prints of this beer portrait are available at my Etsy shop

First Snow Day of the Year!

The first real snowfall of the year covers the grass and leaves, and provides winter light during the long, dark nights. Last night I was excited to see the tips of the stalks of grass obscured from view. The entire city illuminates from the reflective properties of the falling snow. This morning I was surprised to see eleven inches on our back porch. We went for a lovely 3-mile walk to the Helen L. McDowell Sanctuary, breaking trail the whole way! Upon our return, Maria and I spent a little over half an hour shoveling our driveway and walkways. There was about a foot of light and fluffy snow, so it wasn’t that hard. It’s still snowing as I write this, and all the clearing we did is now under another two inches.

I get really excited about the first day of snow, because I love winter! Skiing, fat-biking, ice skating and winter walks are all things I enjoy in winter.  Don’t get me wrong, I also love summer.  The hectic pace that ensues with all the daylight, the out-of-state visitors, and the insidious mosquitos that come along with the warmer weather make it a second best to me.  Third, comes late fall when it is cold, dark, and there is usually freezing rain.  Last, is early spring, when the meltdown makes everything ugly, and going outside is difficult due to half-frozen swampiness. 

Winter is my favorite.  There is a special quality to winter, especially in Alaska.  I mentioned the light from the snow. I can easily navigate at night without a headlamp, if a blanket of snow is reflecting any bit of moon or starlight.  My favorite thing about winter though, is semi-hibernating.  Nobody expects you to answer your phone after 9pm, and if you say you can’t make it because the roads seem too dangerous, people completely understand. In the summer people want you to go to work for 10 hours, then expect you to climb a mountain.  In the winter, if you spend 4 hours riding a chairlift, people might expect you to fall asleep while watching a movie afterwards. 

Snow is great! It makes winter real! Let it snow! I will shovel the driveway again this evening, right before I climb into bed at 9:15pm.

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The Best Beer Bar in Anchorage Is Not Where You’d Expect

One of my favorite places in Alaska is, and probably always will be, Arctic Valley Ski Area.  If I could go back in time, I would probably have our wedding up there on top of the mountain.  Recently, I became a lifetime member (thanks to my friend John Hickerson) of the Anchorage Ski Club, a nonprofit organization that was founded in 1937.  The Anchorage Ski Club operated rope tows up the mountain in Arctic Valley until 1961 when the T-bar was installed.  The lifts were built in 1968 (Chair 1), and 1979 (Chair 2). The existing lodge was built in 1972.  Arctic Valley is not only one of the most historic ski areas in Alaska, but also in the country, and the world. The lifts service about 1,350 vertical feet, and the outer areas wrap all the way around Rendezvous Peak!

Fast forward to today… Arctic Valley has been operating as a non-profit uninterrupted since 2003.  The place seems to be operating more and more professionally every day. The management is doing a very good job with the facilities — refurbishing the T-bar, and  keeping the lifts all running.  There is currently a ski race team, a terrain park, a tube park, three operating lifts, and a rope-tow for beginners.  The lodge has teamed up with 49th State Brewing Company to offer amazing food options, and the bar upstairs currently has 14 taps pouring local craft brews perfect for a mid-ski break.  COVID tried to stop operations up there, and was successful last spring during the maximum shutdown order.  This season the ski area has been successful at keeping the virus at bay with social distancing, limiting the number of lift tickets sold to 200 per day, and enforcing mask mandates. The latest improvement is several family pods inside the lodge that people can rent for the day if they want to have a semi-private, separate space indoors.

Last weekend, I hung seven paintings on those pods to spruce up the white walls.  If you want to have a family outing I suggest buying lift tickets online, and renting a pod at the lodge.  If you don’t like skiing, consider hitting the Tube Park, which is great for kids’ birthday parties.  If that doesn’t appeal to you, you could just drive up and see Mt. Redoubt, Mt. Foraker, or even Denali on a clear day. I recommend checking out the rotating taps from around the state at the bar, and enjoying your brew with a view either inside the lodge, or out on the deck around a fire pit.  I don’t think there is a beer available from out of state, except for the obligatory PBR in a can. I can guarantee the drive up the hill is always worth it! In March Arctic Valley will be open not only Saturdays and Sundays, but part of Thursdays and Fridays as well!  I hope to see you up there. I normally wear a red jacket just like ski patrol, but sometimes I rock my silver uni-piece suit, or my fuzzy moose costume!

Cheers to the Anchorage Ski Club, Arctic Valley, and great AK beers after a day in the mountains!

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  The upstairs bar at the Arctic Valley Lodge. During non-COVID times musicians used to play in the afternoon.

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  14 taps of Alaskan craft beer!

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  Family pods that can be rented for a day at the Arctic Valley lodge. I hung paintings to spruce up the white walls.

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Zip Kombucha Taproom Review

~ by Maria Benner

I try to find places to hang out before they get discovered by everyone else, and become too crowded for my comfort.  Mostly because I dislike waiting in line (like a typical Alaskan), and prefer less noisy environments where I can easily communicate with my friends.  The Zip Kombucha tap room is one of those places that is still mostly under the radar.  I shouldn’t even tell you about it, but at the same time, I want it to prosper.

I prefer brewery taprooms over bars, because they offer a comfortable setting without the meat-market/sketchy vibe that most bars have.  This taproom is unique in that it offers draft beer in a brewery-taproom setting, but can stay open past 8pm.  It can also have live music and games.  The craft beer selection is really top-notch.  Last week it was the only place in Anchorage that had No Woman No Cryo IPA by Girdwood Brewing on tap.  The price is a very reasonable $5 per pint!  For those who don’t want to drink alcohol, or are gluten-free, kombucha is on tap in several delightful flavors like blueberry, ginger, or mint.  Wine is also on the menu.  Delicious and healthy food is available as well.  Recently, Glacier Bowl teamed up with Zip to offer poke bowls.  Several nights a week there is live entertainment including open-mic night, and music by local musicians.  The large space in the brewery even has enough room for dance lessons.  The taproom also exhibits art by local artists.  In April the featured artist is Scott.  His oil paintings and limited-edition prints are on display and available for sale through Zip until May 2nd.  This place has it all!

What is kombucha?  It’s a beverage produced by fermenting sweet tea with a culture of yeast and bacteria.  It tastes sweet and sour at the same time, but the flavors are not overwhelming.  The yeast eats most of the sugar, so this beverage won’t rot your teeth, and it’s loaded with probiotics.  Added flavors like ginger, berries and mint really shine in this clear and fizzy drink.

So next time you’re looking for a quiet, yet hip space to meet your friends where you can get food, craft beer, and non-alcoholic, gluten-free beverages, along with entertainment, and art, check out the Zip Kombucha taproom at 3404 Arctic Blvd.  The location in midtown is convenient, with plenty of parking.  Open every day 4-9pm.

Kombucha and draft beer menu.

Live music in the Zip Kombucha taproom.

Ahi poke bowl by Glacier Bowl.

Mint kombucha.

Are you Ready to Rondy?!

Let’s Rondy! 36″x18″, oil on panel.

February 15th 1935, 24 years before Alaska was even a state, Anchorage local Vern Johnson started the first ever Anchorage Fur Rendezvous!  Miners and trappers were already in town awakening from the hibernation months of December and January with the hopes of restocking supplies and selling some of their recent harvest.  Only three days long, the original Fur Rondy hosted hockey, basketball, skiing, boxing and children’s sled dog races, and not much else.  

The event has grown over the last 84 years and people have come to expect a grand time during this traditional Alaskan celebration.  I remember Rondys of the past — the festival used to last three whole weeks and we got a day off from school just to enjoy the festivities.  My mom would bundle us all up in our snow gear and we would trudge off to downtown Anchorage to ride the Ferris wheel, eat elephant ears, and watch super cool events.  I remember the party kicking off with the amazing fireworks extravaganza!  Some of my favorite classic events as a kid were the Grand Prix Auto Race, World Championship Sled Dog Races, the blanket toss, snowshoe softball, the amazing Rondy Grand Parade, and one not to be missed — the snow sculptures. 

The festival was shortened from three weeks to ten days in 2008 due to budget constraints.  We don’t have the Grand Prix anymore, but we still race sled dogs down 4th Avenue and slam beers at every base during snowshoe softball.  Another popular event is the Miners and Trappers Ball, with a beard contest and many costumes made from blue tarps, duct tape and Carhartts.  The outhouse races are always a highlight, and of course the new favorite is the Running of the Reindeer.  A bunch of Rondy participants dress in costumes and brave running with a pack of horned reindeer.  I always wonder if the reindeer are infuriated by the hotdog stands lining the street, selling famous reindeer dogs.  Another new tradition is Anchorage Brewing Company’s Rondy Brew. This year it is a delicious NEIPA brewed with 100% Strata hops, which taste like passion fruit!  

Real Art is Better is strategically located in the 4th Avenue Marketplace, across the street from Rondy Headquarters, in the NW corner of the building.  We clean it up and convert it to a small retail space for the weekend.  There is also a craft fair inside the building.  I invite you to stop in and check out my newest work and take in the view of the Rondy Carnival from our amazing Inlet view window.  We’ll be open Saturday and Sunday, 11am – 6pm.  I have several new art cards never before released, and many new paintings.  I bake cookies for the event and there are great snacks to be found at the craft fair.  The studio is a great place to warm up after watching the mushers, or making the trek down the hill to 2nd Avenue to see the snow sculptures.  The blanket toss and fur auction are right across the street in the 3rd Avenue parking lot.  

If you are getting fed up with Alaska style cabin fever, Rondy is the remedy.  This is the biggest social event of the winter!  Celebrate the end of hibernation season and get ready to PARTY!  Dust off those styling furs and show off Anchorage style!

Wear your Rondy pin, or risk jail time!

Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #146. PBR Tall Boy at an Alaska Baseball League Game

Alaska Baseball League games are great in the land of the midnight sun!  We have a wooden bat college league right here of our own.  If you show up to an Anchorage Glacier Pilots home game, you can watch the game from the Pilots’ beer garden, which has its very own bar with an impressive selection of craft beer on draft like Fresh Squeezed IPA by Deschutes Brewing, or Sockeye Red IPA by Midnight Sun Brewing!  The best part is that a pint is only $6!  Where else can you get that kind of price on craft beer at a sporting event?  I chose to paint a tall boy PBR can in this painting, because the draft beer is served in a generic plastic cup, and wouldn’t add much to the composition, but PBR is one of the beers you can get at these games.  The beer garden is so close to first base, you have to really pay attention, or your beer may be knocked over by a foul ball.  So a can is a safer bet.

Alaska baseball has been showcasing some serious talent since 1974.  Famous players like Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, Randy Johnson, and a list of many others played here before going pro.  All got their start right here way up North.  If you are on a trip to Alaska, and you have a few extra hours, I recommend stopping by one of the four ballparks.  Every one of them is worth a visit if you are a diehard baseball fan!

Cheers to the truly all American game of baseball!  What could be better than a bag of peanuts, a cold brew, and hours of cheap, clean entertainment?

This original oil painting, and limited-edition prints are available at our Etsy shop RealArtIsBetter.

Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #146. PBR at Alaska Baseball League game. 8″x10″, oil on panel.

A Toast to Our Mountains!

 

“A Toast to Our Mountains” painting series, Anchorage Skyline and Chugach Mountains. 24″x12″ oil on panel.

One day in September I was working on our log cabin in McCarthy, Alaska when I heard my phone ring.  I was surprised to see an unknown number, and answered as professionally as I could while ripping a chainsaw helmet off my head to access my ear quickly.  A gentleman on the other end identified himself as David Crewdson, a beer connoisseur in Anchorage.  He told me that he came up with a delightful beer painting concept and got my number from one of the beeristas at Midnight Sun Brewing Co., and wanted to share it with me (the beer painter), but he wanted to meet me in person.  He said he would be giving the brewery tour at the MSBC in a couple weeks as a guest lecturer while Gary Busse was out of town, so we agreed to meet at the brewery right before the tour.  Luckily, I had planned to be in Anchorage then, so I trucked over to MSBC to see what David had to say.  He told me that paintings of glasses of beer with Alaskan mountains in the foam would be a great idea.  I immediately agreed.  He also came up with a name for the art show “A Toast to Our Mountains”.  He didn’t ask for anything in return, except credit for the idea, which I am happy to give him.  So you can look forward to seeing these paintings at my next art show at MSBC, which opens January 3rd with me tapping the Firkin keg at 5 PM.  Also look for other beer paintings.  I have been playing with concepts like “The Art of Beer,” and “Beers of the World.”  I will also fill out the space with a final showing of the remaining “99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall.”  The art show will be up all month, during which Alaska Beer Week takes place.  Stop in for a taster, small, or large glass of avant-garde brew, as well as my paintings, art prints, and mini-original painting magnets!

Truck and Fairbanks Park

 

 

The other day I was thinking that it would be nice to do a painting to commemorate the area where I live, the Southeast quadrant of Downtown Anchorage, specifically 11^th and Eagle Street.  I painted the first painting of my pickup truck and building.  I was pretty happy because I was able in my painting to fix the damage I had done last summer when I was building the road into my lot in McCarthy, Alaska.  It was pretty funny because my wife had some concerns about me working out in the middle of the National Park without any supervision and although she had sent one of her best friends to keep an eye on me I still managed to crash the truck into a tree on the initial run down the driveway.  Oops… and even with a reliable spotter telling me okay very good, keep backing up… wait you are going to fast!  Oops now you are hitting a TREE!  So I fixed the dent in the painting and now we all won’t have to remember the horrible accident and broken mirror for all of eternity.  I really do love my truck and we just spent a bunch of money getting that door working smoothly again, although the dent still remains!

As for the second painting I decided to head a block down the road to Fairbanks Park, that is lovingly referred to as the Ghetto Park.  It has been on a very nice upswing ever since the city encompassed it with a large fence, prior to which, it was a den for the transient drinking population trying to make it from the Chester Creek Green Belt to the lively Anchorage bar scene.  Now the fence makes it nearly impossible to cross, especially if inebriated.  I figured I would hang out in the newly freed up space and get a glimpse of what this group of people had used as their private deck for a while.  I realized when the painting was completed it isn’t anything to write home about, just a bunch of power lines and trees blocking the good view anyhow…

Aug 12, 2009 Plein Air Session @ Jenny Hand’s Painting Lesson

I recently went out on assignment as an oil painting teacher for private lessons.  As I was approaching the residence of my group of painters I had the idea that it would be very nice to paint outside.  My first thought was to open the garage door, but on further inspection I was led to the backyard which was directly on Jewel Lake.  We had the most amazing time getting sloppy with oil paint in the backyard.  I dropped this painting off of the dashboard on a driving frenzy to pick-up house paint from my parent’s house.  Fortunately the only damage is a little dirt in the sky.