June 2018

New “Sunny Greetings” Palette Knife Sunflower Painting by Contemporary Impressionist Niki Gulley

June 27, 2018

30″ x 48″ textured mixed media painting on wrap around canvas

Festive blossoms dance in the gentle breeze, filling this field with sweet fragrance. Voluminous clouds drift by overhead as sun’s late light casts its golden glow. This textured oil painting captures a carefree summer day with sunflowers overflowing the foreground, filling up the landscape with color, texture and joy.

For more information on textured sunflower and floral paintings, please e-mail Niki Gulley.

Or, check out my website at: nikigulley.com.

“Ruby Smiles” Palette Knife Poppy Painting by Niki Gulley

June 25, 2018

SOLD • 10″ x 16″ textured oil painting

Just Sold! I painted these cheerful poppies with extremely thick oil paint and palette knives to achieve depth and texture. The resulting image comes to life and is loaded with uplifting color, energy and movement.

To see more of Niki Gulley’s textured floral paintings, please check out NikiGulley.com,

Or, e-mail Niki Gulley for more information.

Visiting Montepulciano and Wine Tasting in Tuscany with Niki Gulley and Scott Williams

June 21, 2018

SOLD • 12″ x 9″ oil painting by Niki Gulley

Day 2: TUSCANY ART TREK – Montepulciano

Plein Air Painting and Photography Workshop with Niki Gulley and Scott Williams

Just Sold! On the second day of our Tuscany Art Trek, we set up our easels at a scenic overlook in Montepulciano while the photographers went exploring. The view of the valley below is gorgeous with miles of olive groves and vineyards stretching to the horizon. I chose to paint the blue-domed duomo below set amid the rolling hills and perfectly planted rows about to be harvested. In the afternoon, we visited two wineries and sampled some amazing red wines and the region’s prized Vin Santo. Another fantastic day in Tuscany!

If you’d like to join us on one of our Plein Air Painting and Photography Workshops or Foodie Treks, please let me know. Check out ArtTreks.org for details.

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

***

To see more of my contemporary landscape paintings and plein air oil paintings, visit NikiGulley.com.

Contemporary Impressionist Niki Gulley Receives “Best in Show”

June 19, 2018

I’m so excited and honored to have received “Best in Show” at Webster Groves Art Fair this summer!In my work I strive to capture the vibrant energy and intrinsic beauty of our natural surroundings so as to uplift one’s spirits and suggest childlike wonder. In order to achieve the desired mood for my work, I combine an impressionistic flair for painting with a sculptor-like technique by applying paint thickly using palette knives, thereby creating multi-dimensional images. The resulting style achieves a richness of depth that explodes with color, flows with light, and evokes an emotional response. By utilizing vivid hues and contrasting the play of light and shadow to create drama, my broad energetic strokes add to a sense of vitality and motion, bringing my landscapes to life.

For more information on contemporary impressionistic palette knife paintings, please e-mail Niki Gulley.

Or, check out my website at: nikigulley.com.

“Fall Carnival” Palette Knife Aspen Tree Oil Painting by Contemporary Impressionist Niki Gulley

June 15, 2018

SOLD • 30″ x 40″ textured oil painting on gallery wrap canvas

Just Sold! Painted with extremely thick oil paint and palette knives so that this canvas is loaded with texture and bursting with color, flickering autumn leaves seem to almost dance in a gentle breeze. I wanted this landscape to be filled with movement and vivacity, so I incorporated a lot of diagonal and curving shapes in the design to suggest that feeling. Contrasting short staccato strokes against blended passages with my palette knives, also increase that sense of motion. One zig zag passage of crimson foliage creates a focal point in the tangle of leaves and turnks while adding energy to the scene. I hope you, too, can feel the excitement of walking through the woods on a beautiful fall day, letting your cares slip away and your spirit being invigorated.

To see more of my contemporary impressionistic landscape paintings, visit nikigulley.com.

E-mail Niki Gulley for more information on my palette knife aspen tree and birch paintings.

“Reflective Radiance” textured oil painting of Monet’s Garden by Niki Gulley

June 13, 2018

Two 48″ x 18″ canvases with one 48″ x 30″ canvas in the middle to form a 48″ x 66″ triptych

Textured oil painting 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 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 curving 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.

E-mail Niki Gulley for more information.

Visit NikiGulley.com to see more of my contemporary landscape paintings.

“X Marks the Spot” Fall Foliage Painting by Contemporary Impressionist Niki Gulley

June 11, 2018

SOLD • 16″ x 20″ original textured oil painting

Just Sold! I painted this piece on location when the fall colors were starting to peak in all of their glory. I was drawn to how the autumn leaves glowed when back lit by the sun and the water’s surface reflected brilliantly where the light raked across it. Off in the distance, two trees criss crossed almost like they were marking this spot for me to paint! There was a peacefulness created by the rhythmic sounds of the trickling water, and I hope you are transported to this place where all of your cares drift away.

To see more of my contemporary landscape paintings online, visit NikiGulley.com.

E-mail Niki Gulley for more information on her aspen and birch tree palette knife paintings.

“Autumn Serenade II” Palette Knife Aspen Tree Painting by Niki Gulley

June 8, 2018

30″ x 40″ original textured oil painting

Flickering autumn leaves seem to almost dance in a gentle breeze. I wanted this scene to be filled with movement and energy, so I incorporated a lot of diagonal and curving shapes in the design to suggest that feeling. Contrasting short staccato strokes against blended passages with my palette knives, also increase that sense of motion. I hope you, too, can feel the excitement of walking through the woods on a beautiful fall day, letting your cares slip away and your spirit being invigorated.

To see more of my contemporary landscape paintings online, visit NikiGulley.com.

E-mail Niki Gulley for more information on her aspen and birch tree palette knife paintings.

“Embrace” textured birch oil painting by Niki Gulley

June 1, 2018

SOLD • textured oil painting • 36″ x 36″ on wrap around canvas

Just Sold! I like to play with blurring the lines between realism and abstraction so that some things are left up to the viewer’s imagination. In the case of “Embrace,” I chose this unusual, asymmetrical heart-shaped composition and teased your eye with foreground and background emerging and disappearing to create a more abstract scene. Choosing fiery reds contrasted against turquoise blues cause the colors to dance and vibrate. While diagonal strokes and a circular composition combined with the vibrant hues, create a sense of energy, movement and harmony. Using all of these elements, I wanted to create an uplifting, whimsical, passionate painting filled with youthful hope and discovery.

To see more of my contemporary landscape paintings, please visit nikigulley.com.

For more information on my palette knife birch and aspen tree paintings, please e-mail Niki Gulley.