Tag: Chicago art fairs

Oakbrook Fine Art Invitational – this weekend

September 1, 2010

“Sounds of Autumn” ©2010 Niki Gulley
Pastel • 14” x 11”

The Chicago Botanic Garden is always beautiful, but in this pastel I wanted to capture it on a perfect autumn day when the native grasses and fall foliage have turned their vibrant autumn colors. I like this view looking across the peaceful lake towards the carillon chiming in the distance, playing in time with the trickling sounds of the wind flickering the fall leaves.

If you’re in the Chicago area, stop by my booth at the Oakbrook Fine Art Invitational to see “Sounds of Autumn” and more of my recent paintings. oakbrookcenter.com

To learn how to paint with pastels, join me in my Adult Art Lessons, Playing with Color, this fall. Classes fill up quickly, so visit my classes tab for more information.

Or, e-mail me at Niki@NikiGulley.com to register or with any questions.

New Lavender Painting

August 16, 2010

“Summertime Bouquets” ©2010 Niki Gulley
20” x 30” acrylic on canvas

My husband and I have an uncanny sense of timing when it comes to the weather. We got married during a hurricane on the coast of Florida, we unknowingly planned our European workshop during the spewing of ash in Iceland, we’ve participated in art shows with 70 mph microbursts that destroyed 50 artist tents, and of course we chose to come home to Dallas after two months on the road during the hottest week of summer. With average temperatures around 103°, it wasn’t quite the home-coming I had in mind.

Making the best of it, I immersed myself in my air-conditioned studio and painted happier places – fantasizing about somewhere cooler, where plants grow profusely rather than wilting and withering in boiling temperatures and a beautiful location completely free of concrete. I remembered the gorgeous, aromatic lavender fields we’d seen in Europe a few years before at this exact time of year and through my painting I was transported back. I hope you experience that same bliss looking at “Summertime Bouquets.”

If you’re in the Chicago area this weekend, you can see “Summertime Bouquets” along with my other recent paintings at my booth #355 at the Gold Coast Art Show. For more information on the show, visit amdurproductions.com/f-goldcoast-public.html.