An online gallery of artwork created in and celebrating Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Lynn Larsen
New to the site, Summer 2026
Always There – upper Ribdon. Oil on canvas, 18 x 24 in, 2026.
Arctic Altarpiece – triptych – upper Ribdon. Oil on canvas, 18 x 30, 36 x 30, 18 x 30 in, 2025.
Arctic Light – upper Ribdon. Oil on canvas, 12 x 24 in, 2026.
Illuminated Manuscript – upper Ribdon. Oil on canvas, 24 x 36 in, 2026.
Martyr With Cloud Halo – upper Ribdon. Oil on canvas, 24 x 48 in, 2025.
My Story Is…– upper Ribdon. Oil on canvas, 18 x 36 in, 2026.
Rock Ridges – headwaters of Ribdon. Oil on canvas, 20 x 60 in, 2025.
Summer – upper Ribdon. Oil on canvas, 12 x 36 in, 2026.
Way to Windy Glacier – upper Ribdon. Oil on canvas, 12 x 24 in, 2026.
Aichilik River
Morning or Night diptych. Oil on canvas, each 18 x 18 in, 2017.
Rounded with Age. Oil on canvas, 24 x 17 in, 2017.
Echooka River
In the Light – Echooka. Oil on canvas, 18 x 36 in, 2023-24.
Changing Stillness – Echooka. Oil on canvas, 14 x 40 in, 2023-24.
Just There – Echooka. Oil on canvas, 18 x 36 in, 2023-24.
Speaking Silently / Echooka drainage. Oil on canvas, 24 x 60 in, 2023.
Echooka diptych. Oil on canvas, each 30 x40 in, 2023.
Ivishak River
July Snow / near upper Ivishak. Oil on canvas, 22 x 60 in, 2023.
Ridges on Upper Ivishak. Oil on canvas, 20 x 60, 2022-23.
Summer Snow Coming – by Ivishak. Oil on canvas, 18 x 28 in, 2022-23.
Around the Corner – Ivishak. Oil on canvas, 20 x 20 in, 2022-23.
Upper Ivishak diptych. Oil on canvas, each 36 x 36 in, 2022.
Peace Be With You – near upper Ivishak. Oil on canvas, 18 x 40 in, 2022.
It’s the Light. Oil on canvas, 24 x 18, 2016.
Chasm. Oil on canvas, 18 x 36 in, 2016.
By the Char Hole. Oil on canvas, 17 x 12, 2016.
Juniper Creek
My, oh my, what a wonderful day – Juniper Creek. Oil on canvas, 30 x 40 in, 2024-25.
Peace on Earth – near Juniper Creek. Oil on canvas, 18 x 36 in, 2024-25.
Stillness – near Juniper Creek. Oil on canvas, 18 x 24 in, 2024-25.
Time – Juniper Creek. Oil on canvas, 30 x 60 in, 2024-25.
With Help From Jeanne – near Juniper Creek. Oil on canvas, 30 x 40 in, 2024-25.
Marsh Fork of the Canning River
Koogura – Marsh Fork Mountains diptych. Oil on canvas, 17 x 60, 20 x 60 in, 2022.
Confluence of the Marsh Fork and Canning. Oil on canvas, 2013.
Light on Alluvial. Oil on canvas, 40 x 30 in, 2019.
Spirit of Place diptych. Oil on canvas, each 36 x 36 in, 2017.
Still Standing. Oil on canvas, 40 x 30 in, 2019.
Summer Marsh Fork triptych. Oil on canvas, 18 x 36, 24 x 36, 18 x 36 in, 2015.
Upper Marsh Fork
Reigning Princess. Oil on canvas, 20 x 16 in, 2014.
Ron’s RV Park with Alice’s Restaurant. Oil on canvas, 36 x 18 in, 2014.
Schrader-Peters Lakes
Magic Carpet Ride. Oil on canvas, 24 x 16 in, 2015.
Morning. Oil on canvas, 20 x 10 in, 2015.
She’s in the Refuge. Oil on canvas, 60 x 36 in, 2018.
Upper Sadlerochit River
Near Sadlerochit diptych. Oil on canvas, each 36 x 36 in, 2019.
Sheenjek River
Hill in the Light. Oil on canvas, 20 x 20 in, 2018.
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
In 1988 I first visited the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge — a trip that would forever alter the direction of my life and art work. Looking down during that first bush flight to the Wind River at the seemingly endless mountains, I knew that I would be returning many, many times. The following year I rafted the Hulahula. Since then I have visited the Brooks Range every year, including twenty more trips to the Arctic Refuge, usually to backpack, hike, raft, canoe or stay at our cabin at Wild Lake.
The Arctic Refuge’s seemingly untouched space, wildness, and rock mountains attract me. I prefer seeing a mountain’s bare structure and not having to guess what is beneath trees and vegetation. The north side of the Brooks is north of tree line, so it is “rock heaven” for people interested in geology. The mountains have a feeling of old rock, possibly because the Brooks has some conglomerates that are two billion years old, albeit much of the mountain range formed 140 million years ago.
Some people are into the “power” of Alaska’s land; by contrast, I am more interested in its peacefulness. I like nothing better than to sit and get lost in the land’s colors, patterns, and space and feel the presence of God and my ancestors. Due to gentle eroding forms, subtle colors, and sensual lines, much of the Brooks has a softer feeling, thus a more feminine feeling, than other well-known areas of Alaska such as the Alaska Range or Wrangell St. Elias. The Wrangell St. Elias area reminds me of a testosterone driven teenager, whereas the mountains of the Arctic Refuge remind me of ancient, wise old women.
Being in the Refuge and seeing a world that was just allowed to be, somehow transports me to a “special place”. And the feeling of “that special other place” is what I hope to capture in paint on canvas.
Learn more about Lynn Larsen and her work at lynnlarsen.com.
Arctic Refuge Art 