painting lessons Dallas

“Dancing in the Breeze” Palette Knife Floral Painting by Niki Gulley

March 4, 2015

10″ x 12″ textured oil painting

I created this painting of purple Clematis on location at the Dallas Arboretum with palette knife and thick oil paint. It was so peaceful in the Poetry Garden, that it seemed like a perfect place to set up my easel. I liked the contrast of the cool purple in the flowers against the warm light of the textured wall behind them. Accentuating the circular design they were forming along with forming curving paint strokes, adds to a feeling of movement and energy, almost as if the petals are dancing in the breeze.

E-mail Niki@NikiGulley.com for more information on my palette knife floral paintings.

Or, visit NikiGulley.com to see more of my contemporary landscape paintings.

Plein Air Painting Class at the Arboretum with Niki Gulley

October 22, 2012

both

10″ x 12″ textured oil painting

I created this little painting of the purple Clematis at the Dallas Arboretum last fall with palette knife and thick oil paint. It was so peaceful in the Poetry Garden, that it seemed like a perfect place to set up my easel. I liked the contrast of the cool purple in the flowers against the warm light of the textured wall behind them. Accentuating the circular design they were forming along with forming curving paint strokes, adds to a feeling of movement and energy, almost as if the petals are dancing in the breeze.

If you, too, would like to paint outdoors, join me this Wednesday, Oct. 24th, when I’ll be teaching a Plein Air Painting Workshop sponsored by the Dallas Arboretum. It will be a great introduction to painting outdoors for beginning artists, as well as an opportunity for advanced artists to enhance their skills. For more information, visit dallasarboretum.org/AdultEducation/index.htm.

If you’d like more information about my upcoming workshops in the US and Europe, visit nikigulley.com/artreks.

E-mail Niki@NikiGulley.com for more information.

NikiGulley.com

Painting Monet’s Garden

November 18, 2011

12” x 24” textured oil on wrap around canvas

Early morning light washes over Monet’s water lily garden in his beloved home at Giverny, France. Quiet, tranquil colors rim the pond, reflected in the glassy surface, waters casting back sky and foliage in a radiance of hues. Iris leaves front the pond, lilies break its surface, willows brush the water’s edge – everything just as Monet would have seen, now in a fresh, contemporary new work of art.

I’ll have several of my paintings from Paris along with my landscapes closer to home this weekend at the Bath House Cultural Center in Dallas. This is my last art show for 2011, so hope you can stop by. For more details on the show, click here dallasculture.org/bathhouseculturecenter/calendarDetail.asp?id=7770.

Or, if you would like to join us in May for our next ArtTrek to Paris, France, and paint Monet’s Gardens in person, visit nikigulley.com/?page_id=1420, which goes into detail about our upcoming Plein Air Painting & Photography Workshops. Registration deadline for Paris is today!

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E-mail me at Niki@NikiGulley.comfor more information. Visit my website at NikiGulley.com to see more of my contemporary landscape paintings.

Art Treks – Paris – deadline this Friday

November 16, 2011

Three 48″ x 30″ canvases to form a 48″ x 90″ triptych

textured mixed media on wrap around canvas

I decided it would be a fun challenge to create an extremely large painting, and I wanted the final piece to be very uplifting, colorful and full of energy. Opting for warm colors and working with extremely thick oil paint and palette knives, I chose this lily pond reference from our visit to Monet’s Gardens in Giverny, France. The grounds were breathtaking and I could actually see his paintings come to life. I was drawn to the energetic flow and yet calming serenity in this view, and I positioned the water lilies and my paint strokes in a circular pattern to add to that mood. The morning light peeking through the distant foliage added to a sense of mystery and promise that I wanted to capture in paint, and share with you that feeling of hope.

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E-mail me at Niki@NikiGulley.comfor more information. Visit my website at NikiGulley.com to see more of my contemporary landscape paintings.