August 2010

Plein Air Painting Workshop – Tuscany

August 30, 2010

18″ x 36″ oil painting

Our upcoming workshop that we’re teaching in Tuscany makes me think about the gorgeous poppy fields blooming along the rolling Italian hills in springtime. To think that such a delicate flower can produce that powerful explosion of color when planted in mass boggles my senses. Seeing that sudden burst of intense orange or red against the azure blue sky after miles of green countryside is quite amazing. I love how complimentary colors, like blue and orange, vibrate when placed next to each other and I wanted to communicate that beauty and excitement in “Poppy Passion,” while reliving some of my favorite vacation memories from Tuscany – the warmth of the people, the beauty of the rolling hills and vineyards, the delicious, savory slow-grown food and wine and enjoying the laid-back, smell-the-roses time with my loved ones.

If you like to see “Poppy Passion” in person and you’re in the Chicago area, stop by my booth #89 at the Oakbrook Fine Art Invitational this weekend. Visit oakbrookcenter.com for more information or check.

If you’d like to find out more about our upcoming Painting & Photography Workshops in Europe, go to nikigulley.com/?page_id=13 or e-mail me at Niki@NikiGulley.com for more information. Our September Tuscany workshop is full, but we’re taking names for next May to Greece and Tuscany in September.

Adult Art Classes – registration open

August 27, 2010

12” x 12” oil on canvas

I created this ocean scene with palette knife and extremely thick oil paint to achieve texture and suggest the energy found in nature. I wanted to capture that magical moment when the sun sets near the horizon and casts it’s sparkling glow over the ocean’s surface while illuminating the sky. The image is painted around the sides of the 1.5 inch deep gallery wrap canvas so that it looks three-dimensional and can be hung as is without a frame for a contemporary look. These chunky ocean paintings look great in pairs, threes and fours.

To see my “Rhythmic Waters” series in person, stop by my booth at the Art Street Green Bay art show this weekend in Green Bay, WI. For more information on the show, go to artseventsinc.com/artstreet.

If you’d like to learn how to create loose, vibrant paintings join us this fall in my Adult Art Classes in Dallas. Registration is open and classes fill up quickly, so visit my classes & workshops tab

Or, e-mail me at Niki@NikiGulley.com for more information.

Rhythmic Waters oil painting

August 25, 2010

12” x 12” oil on canvas

I created this ocean scene with palette knife and extremely thick oil paint to achieve texture and suggest the energy found in nature. I wanted to capture the movement and sounds of the ocean waves crashing against each other. The image is painted around the sides of the 1.5 inch deep gallery wrap canvas so that it looks three-dimensional and can be hung as is without a frame for a contemporary look. These chunky ocean paintings look great in pairs, threes and fours.

Or, e-mail me at Niki@NikiGulley.com for more information.

Art Street Green Bay this weekend

August 23, 2010

40” x 30” oil on canvas

Growing up in Chicago, I loved the first snowfall of the year when everything would get a beautiful dusting of pristine white powder, including even the tiniest of branches in the treetops above. If you caught that moment early enough in the morning before anything had disturbed the intricate frosted web, it was just magical. Then the sun would start rising and peeking through the limbs, and everything would sparkle like diamonds. In Climbing Trees, I wanted to capture that brief beautiful moment when the sunlight dances through the icing on the treetops and you can feel yourself looking up in wonderment just like you did when you were a kid.

To see “Climbing Trees” in person, stop by my booth at the Art Street Green Bay art show this weekend in Green Bay, WI. For more information on the show, go to artseventsinc.com/artstreet.

August 20, 2010

12” x 12” acrylic on canvas

Created with extremely thick paint and mediums, applied with palette knives to achieve extreme texture and vibrant colors filled with life and energy. The image is painted around the sides of the 1.5 inch deep gallery wrap canvas so that it looks three-dimensional and can be hung as is without a frame for a contemporary look or with a floater frame for a more traditional decor. These chunky floral paintings look great in pairs and threes.

To see my “Rhapsody in Bloom” paintings in person, visit my booth #355 at the Gold Coast Art Show in Chicago, IL this weekend. For more information on the show, go to amdurproductions.com/f-goldcoast-public.html.

Or, if you’d like to learn how to paint vibrant florals, join me this fall in my Adult Art Classes. Thanks to the overwhelming response to my Tuesday session, I am adding two more classes on Wednesdays. If you’re interested in joining us, visit my classes & workshops tab for more information, or e-mail me at Niki@NikiGulley.com.

Art Classes added this fall

August 18, 2010

24” x 36” oil on canvas

Out of the 16 countries that I’ve visited, Lake Como, Italy is definitely one of my favorites places in the world. When we stepped off the train and wandered down to the water’s edge, my eyes started filling with tears being overwhelmed by the stunning scenery. Between the beautiful, peaceful lake, the awesome snow-capped alps in the distance, and the brightly colored stacked houses, we relished every minute we spent in this sleepy Lake Como town.

To see “Peaceful Harbor” in person along with my other most recent paintings, visit my booth #355 at the Gold Coast Art Show in Chicago, IL this weekend. For more information on the show, go to amdurproductions.com/f-goldcoast-public.html.

Or, if you’d like to learn how to paint luscious landscapes, join me this fall in my Adult Art Classes. Thanks to the overwhelming response to my Tuesday session, I am adding two more classes on Wednesdays. If you’re interested in joining us, visit my website at NikiGulley.com/?page_id=13 for more information,

Or, e-mail me at Niki@NikiGulley.com.

New Lavender Painting

August 16, 2010

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.

New Bluebonnet Oil Painting

August 13, 2010

Oil on canvas • 30” x 40”

When I was a teenager my great aunts and grandmother moved to Texas and we would come down to visit them when we got the chance. I remember the first time I saw a massive field of bluebonnets and I was awestruck by the expanse of color and amazed that such tiny flowers when in mass could actually look like a large lake from a distance. I wanted to relive those family memories and recreate the exciting explosion of azure and crimson in Rhapsody in Blue, taking this cool weathered farm house in Marble Falls and painting it engulfed in one of our best bluebonnet and Indian Paintbrush displays.

Rhapsody in Blue has been chosen as the signature painting for my upcoming exhibition at the Frisco Municipal Complex, in honor of winning Best in Show at Frisco’s Arts in the Square. Located at 6101 Frisco Square Blvd., Frisco, TX 75034, I will be exhibiting 20 of my newest oil paintings for the month of September. Here is my interview in Frisco Style Magazine about the upcoming show and some background on myself and my paintings, friscostyle.com/index.php/component/content/article/43/189-august-2010-issue. I hope if you’re near Frisco, you can stop in and see the exhibit!

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

Turquoise Vortex oil painting

August 11, 2010

30” x 30” • oil on canvas

Growing up in Chicago, our brutally cold winters would feel like they lasted forever so my family tried to vacation along our tropical coasts whenever possible. I loved this week we spent together – the cathartic rhythm of the ocean waves lapping against the shore as dad and I tried to ride each crest as close to the beach as possible, feeling the cool sand squish between my toes and fingers while building sand castles together, and enjoying the peacefulness at sunset as the gorgeous fireball dropped down from the sky and cast diamond-like reflections across the ocean’s surface.

Turquoise Vortex recreates that magical moment as the sun starts to descend and illuminate the water’s peaks and makes everything sparkle. Using a circular composition and bold colors enhances that feeling of motion and rhythm while suggesting the awesome energy and power found in nature.

If you’d like to learn how to paint landscapes or “loosen up” your technique, join me this fall in my adult art classes. Registration is open and there are only a couple of spots left, so e-mail me at Niki@NikiGulley.com for more information,

Or, visit nikigulley.com/?page_id=13 for more details.

Fire and Gold oil painting

August 9, 2010

oil on canvas • 36″ x 48″

I used to love it as a kid when my parents would take me to the forest preserves near our home outside of Chicago. We would spend the whole day bike riding, picnicking and being immersed in nature and I relished this time with my family. In Fire and Gold I wanted to recreate those warm memories, choosing reds and yellows of autumn to heighten those happy feelings and using energetic strokes with my paint reminiscent of a carefree, simpler time.