First stop on our Iceland Art Trek this year was the Skogafoss waterfall. Surrounded by lush grassy mountains, this cascade surges downward with such force and power! Today I set up my easel to capture the energy and flow of the water. Creating strokes in diagonal sweeping shapes to enhance that feeling of movement and rhythm, I hope you, too, can hear the flowing water’s music and feel the gentle spray from its mist.
Next up on our Scotland Art Trek itinerary was a morning stop at the Quiraing, a unique area filled with high cliffs, hidden plateaus and unusual rock formations. Allowing a full morning for my painters to capture the land’s unique beauty, everyone did an amazing job! I chose this vantage point with some of the purple heather growing in the foreground, adding a nice color contrast to all of that lush greenery. The photographers hiked all around, capturing unique angles and then we all treated ourselves to lunch. Afterwards, we stopped at Mealt Falls to take in the waterfall’s power and beauty, and then we finished the day back in Portree.
To purchase “Peaks and Valleys,” please check out https://www.nikigulley.com/falling-water-ii-2/.
To see more of my contemporary impressionistic landscape paintings, visit nikigulley.com.

“Venetian Textures II” ©2022 Niki Gulley
16″ x 12″ textured oil on canvas panel
I started this piece during our Plein Air / Photography Art Trek Workshop that my husband, Scott Williams, and I lead in Venice, Italy. We had painted several other grand locations, but decided on day three to paint a more intimate vignette of the canals. Since the whole city is on water, I love how their “garage doors” are actually for their boats! In this painting, I wanted to focus on all of the wonderful architectural textures and age of the homes as seen in the peeling stucco, crumbling bricks and weathered wood. Luckily I had a steady stream of gondolas passing as I was painting so I could add one in to set the mood.
To purchase and for more details, go to nikigulley.com/venetian-textures/.
Just Sold! On the third day of our Tuscany Art Trek, we visited the Medieval hill town of Siena, with its incredible marble Duomo, great people-watching plaza, and interesting alleyways radiating out from the campo with something new to discover around every turn. While some of our group shopped, some photographed and others relaxed on the square, I set up in one of the quiet cobble streets to capture the textures of these ancient walls and mood of this unique city. For dinner that night, we treated ourselves to a delicious home-made Italian meal of pastas, truffles, pecorino cheese and some amazing red wine!
To see more of my paintings from Italy, visit nikigulley.com.
We will be returning to Tuscany this October for a delicious Foodie Trek. For more information, visit http://www.ArtTreks.org.
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If you’re interested in joining us on one of our upcoming Art Treks or Foodie Treks, please let us know. Spaces fill up quickly! For more information on upcoming Treks, please visit http://www.ArtTreks.org.
To see more of my contemporary impressionistic landscape paintings, visit nikigulley.com.
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If you’re interested in joining us on one of our upcoming Art Treks or Foodie Treks, please let us know. Spaces fill up quickly! For more information on upcoming Treks, please visit http://www.ArtTreks.org.
My husband and I were on a road trip when we came across a couple of these white house glowing on the horizon. Set among vibrant green gently rolling hills with the intense blue ocean in the distance, something beckoned us to stop. Maybe it was the quiet beauty of the scene, or the nostalgic tug at a simpler life, but we were both moved to capture the moment. To convey that feeling of a less congested life, I accentuated the the basic shapes of the homes against the simple repetive curves of the hills. Meanwhile a few wispy clouds drift by adding to the tranquility of the moment. I hope you are transported to this memory of our past, before modern life got so complicated.
If you’re interested in joining us on one of our upcoming Art Treks or Foodie Treks, please let us know. Spaces fill up quickly! For more information on upcoming Treks, please visit http://www.ArtTreks.org.