Skip to content
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 3, 2012
No.: 12-2501
Contact: Margaret Tyler, 907-266-2694, Margaret.Tyler@alaska.gov

New Artwork at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport by David Mollett

photo of new artwork
New artwork David Mollett. Click for larger view.

(Anchorage, Alaska)—Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport recently received a new piece of original art, which is now hanging above the escalators in the departure lobby of the South Terminal.

“Rainbow Creek” is a 9’ x 32’ oil painting on canvas on three panels. The work is based on studies done in the field at Rainbow Creek near the trailhead at mile 108 of the Seward Highway. The artist, David Mollett, said, “I've painted in the area for many years and love the crashing waterfalls as the creek approaches Turnagain Arm. The huge rough bark cottonwood trees, devil's club, and thundering water with a network of fallen branches, makes for a dramatic woodland scene. The light is even and soft due to the canopy of leaves high overhead.”

“My painting style is based on careful, proportional drawing and close attention to tonal and color intervals in the simplified shapes. Light is the overall organizing principal for me. While there is no exact term for my approach, I'm influenced by abstract painting as much as realist styles.”

“The painting, which was completed in the studio, came together much like my field paintings but took much longer due to its size. I squared off a nine foot drawing of the scene to transfer the image up onto the canvas. Then I painted through the whole thing about three times to get the color and surface that worked for me. When I started to take things out, I knew it was done. It took approximately one year to finish the project.”

David Mollett lives and works in Fairbanks, Alaska. He attended Lathrop High School and studied at the New York Studio School, completing his BA in art at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. Mollett is an Associate Professor of Art at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He owns and operates his own gallery, Well Street Art Company in Fairbanks and is a member of the Bowery Gallery in New York City. He is a well-known landscape painter who creates with strongly delineated form and bright colors. Mollett has participated in the State of Alaska’s 1% for Art program previously, and is an enthusiastic supporter of the program.

Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC) is #2 in the United States for landed weight of cargo aircraft and #5 in the world for cargo throughput. ANC serves nearly 5 million passengers per year and accounts for 1 in 10 jobs in Anchorage.

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (ADOT&PF) oversees 254 airports, 11 ferries serving 33 communities, 5,700 miles of highway and 660 public facilities throughout the state of Alaska. The mission of ADOT&PF is to “Get Alaska Moving through service and infrastructure.”

# # #