Siena Painting by Contemporary Impressionist Niki Gulley

  

Siena ©2025 Niki Gulley
9″ x 12″ textured acrylic painting on canvas panel

 

Day 3:  TUSCANY ART TREK – Siena
Plein Air Painting and Photography Workshop with Niki Gulley and Scott Williams
 
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. It turned out the homeowner who lived in the yellow house was so happy that I was painting his home, that he kept checking on my progress while I was working. I love getting to meet the locals while I work!
 

For dinner that night, we treated ourselves to a delicious home-made Italian meal of pastas, truffles, pecorino cheese and some amazing red wine!

 
 
***
 
Tuscany is always our most popular Foodie Trek as the food, wine, people, scenery and history are unparalleled. And, you’re in luck if you’ve always wanted to go! We’ve had a couple of spots open up for our trip this September. Please let us know if you would like to join us. Spaces fill up quickly! 
 

 

Iceland
August 3-10, 2026

Only 1 spot left!
https://www.arttreks.org/tuscany-foodie-2026/

Tuscany Foodie Trek 

September 26 – October 3, 2026

Only a couple spots left!
https://www.arttreks.org/tuscany-foodie-2026/

Cinque Terre & Lake Como, Italy
October 4-11, 2026

Only 4 spots left!
https://www.arttreks.org/tuscany-foodie-2026/

If you  have any questions or would like to register, please contact Scott at photoguy@blind-squirrel.org or 214-289-8512.

Visit ArtTreks.org for more details on all of our trips.

 
Check out our review page on TripAdvisor and feel free to leave one of your own.

 

 
 
 

 

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

“Cypress Serenade” Art from the Tuscan Countryside by Niki Gulley

 

    

 
“Cypress Serenade” ©2026 Niki Gulley 
9″ x 12″ textured acrylic painting on canvas panel
 
I painted “Cypress Serenade” recently on location in Tuscany. I’ve always been attracted to this lone grouping of cypress trees and on this day the clouds in the sky were so fascinating. Hugging so close to the ground, soft and voluminous, acting as the perfect backdrop behind the cypress grove, I had to capture their drama before they disappeared. Wildflowers blooming in the foreground set the stage and I decided to have fun by repeating those colors throughout the scene, adding to the excitement and energy of the moment.

***
 
Tuscany is always our most popular Foodie Trek as the food, wine, people, scenery and history are unparalleled. And, you’re in luck if you’ve always wanted to go! We’ve had a couple of spots open up for our trip this September. Please let us know if you would like to join us. Spaces fill up quickly! 
 

 

Iceland
August 3-10, 2026

Only 1 spot left!
https://www.arttreks.org/tuscany-foodie-2026/

Tuscany Foodie Trek 

September 26 – October 3, 2026

Only a couple spots left!
https://www.arttreks.org/tuscany-foodie-2026/

Cinque Terre & Lake Como, Italy
October 4-11, 2026

Only 4 spots left!
https://www.arttreks.org/tuscany-foodie-2026/

If you  have any questions or would like to register, please contact Scott at photoguy@blind-squirrel.org or 214-289-8512.

Visit ArtTreks.org for more details on all of our trips.

 
Check out our review page on TripAdvisor and feel free to leave one of your own.

 

 
 
***
 

Please check out my website at NikiGulley.com, NikiGulley.com to see more of my impressionistic palette knife paintings.

 

E-mail Niki Gulley for more information on her contemporary Italy and European paintings.
 
https://www.instagram.com/nikigulley/
 
 

Painting in Tuscany with Contemporary Impressionist Niki Gulley

  

“Amber Waves,” Tuscany ©2025 Niki Gulley
SOLD • 20″ x 10″ textured acrylic painting on canvas panel
 
Day 3, afternoon location – ART TREKS: TUSCANY
 with Niki Gulley and Scott Williams

 

Just sold! After we finished a delicious antipasto lunch of prosciuttos, local pecorino, and fresh fruits and vegetables, we headed into the hills for our painting location. Golden wheatfields undulating in the breeze lined the foreground and set the stage for this quintessential tuscan farmhouses. Peaks and valleys rise and fall in the background, signaling you are in Tuscany. Between the quiet surroundings, perfect weather, and the gorgeous scenery this proved to be a very inspiring afternoon!

 

 

***
 
Tuscany is always our most popular Foodie Trek as the food, wine, people, scenery and history are unparalleled. And, you’re in luck if you’ve always wanted to go! We’ve had a couple of spots open up for our trip this September. Please let us know if you would like to join us!
 

 

Iceland
August 3-10, 2026

Only 1 spot left!
https://www.arttreks.org/tuscany-foodie-2026/

Tuscany Foodie Trek 

September 26 – October 3, 2026

Only a couple spots left!
https://www.arttreks.org/tuscany-foodie-2026/

Cinque Terre & Lake Como, Italy
October 4-11, 2026

Only 4 spots left!
https://www.arttreks.org/tuscany-foodie-2026/

If you  have any questions or would like to register, please contact Scott at photoguy@blind-squirrel.org or 214-289-8512.

Visit ArtTreks.org for more details on all of our trips.

 
Check out our review page on TripAdvisor and feel free to leave one of your own.

 

 

Tuscan Hills and Valleys Painting by Contemporary Impressionist Niki Gulley

 

“Autumnal Colors IV” ©2026 Niki Gulley 
18″ x 24″ textured acrylic painting on canvas panel
 
The views in Tuscany are just gorgeous – Straight out of “Under the Tuscan Sun” beauty! Today I was drawn to this villa surrounded by olive trees and jaw-dropping vistas of the valley stretching for miles. The best part of the day was getting to meet the homeowner and her pride that I chose to paint her house! I hope you enjoy the peaceful escape with me.
 
 

For details on more of my Tuscany and Italy paintings, please e-mail Niki Gulley.

 

Or, check out my website at nikigulley.com to see more of my contemporary landscape palette knife paintings.

 
https://www.instagram.com/nikigulley/
 
 
***
 
Tuscany is always our most popular Foodie Trek as the food, wine, people, scenery and history are unparalleled. And, you’re in luck if you’ve always wanted to go! We’ve had a couple of spots open up for our trip this September. Please let us know if you would like to join us. Spaces fill up quickly! 
 

 

Iceland
August 3-10, 2026

Only 1 spot left!
https://www.arttreks.org/tuscany-foodie-2026/

Tuscany Foodie Trek 

September 26 – October 3, 2026

Only a couple spots left!
https://www.arttreks.org/tuscany-foodie-2026/

Cinque Terre & Lake Como, Italy
October 4-11, 2026

Only 4 spots left!
https://www.arttreks.org/tuscany-foodie-2026/

If you  have any questions or would like to register, please contact Scott at photoguy@blind-squirrel.org or 214-289-8512.

Visit ArtTreks.org for more details on all of our trips.

 
Check out our review page on TripAdvisor and feel free to leave one of your own.

 

 

Painting the Vibrant Colors of San Miguel by Niki Gulley


“Afternoon in the Park” ©2025 Niki Gulley
12″ x 16″ textured oil painting
 
 
 
Recently collectors of mine invited us to stay with them at their beautiful home in San Miguel de Allende in Mexico. I loved all of the gorgeous colors of the architecture and lush foliage blooming everywhere. Around almost every corner was a peaceful park inviting you to stroll through or just sit and enjoy the tranquility of the moment.
 
If interested in purchasing this painting, please check out nikigulley.com/afternoon-in-the-park/.
 
***
For more details on my other paintings from travels around the world, please e-mail Niki Gulley.

Or, check out my website at nikigulley.com to see more of my contemporary landscape palette knife paintings.

https://www.instagram.com/nikigulley/

“Colors of Colmar” Palette Knife Painting by Contemporary Impressionist Niki Gulley

  

“Colors of Colmar” ©2025 Niki Gulley
12″ x 12″ textured acrylic painting on canvas panel

Painted on location in the Alsatian town of Colmar, France,  the scenery was inspiring everywhere you looked. Straight out of a postcard, practically every view is storybook picture perfect. Today I set up my easel amongst the Russian sage and Black-eyed Susans to capture their joy and energy with a sliver of the cross-timbered architecture in the distance to set the stage.  I hope you are transported to this beautiful, magical place!

 

 
Painting amongst the Russian sage and Black-eyed Susans
 
 
To see more of my contemporary impressionistic landscape paintings, visit nikigulley.com.
 
 

 

***
 
 
For more information on upcoming Art Treks, please visit http://www.ArtTreks.org.
 
 

https://www.instagram.com/nikigulley/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Sunflower Painting Bursting with Joy by Impressionist Niki Gulley

  

 

“Blooming Desires” ©2025 Niki Gulley
24” x 48” textured acrylic painting on canvas
 
How about some cheerful sunflowers to brighten the end of 2025? These beauties with heads larger than dinner plates were bursting with joy this summer! Planted for what felt like miles stretching along the Biltmore property, they were full of so much hope and sunshine I just had to paint them. I loved the Blue Ridge Mountains peeking through above them in the distance, giving you a sense of just how tall and majestic these blooms were. May they brighten your day, too!
 

To see more of Niki’s contemporary impressionistic landscape paintings, visit nikigulley.com.

 

https://www.instagram.com/nikigulley/

“Country Road” Textured Oil Painting by Niki Gulley

 

   

“Country Road” ©2025 by Niki Gulley

10″ x 20 textured oil painting on canvas panel

 New England in the fall is breathtakingly beautiful! The autumn leaves explode with a symphony of crimson and gold that makes my heart leap with joy. Add to that this picturesque, quaint country road and I just had to get out my paints to capture the storybook setting. I hope this scene transports you to a simpler time and place!

 

***

For more details on my other colorful fall foliage paintings, please e-mail Niki Gulley.

Or, check out my website at nikigulley.com to see more of my contemporary landscape palette knife paintings.

https://www.instagram.com/nikigulley/

 

 

Painting in Tuscany with Contemporary Impressionist Niki Gulley

    

16″ x 20″ textured acrylic painting on canvas panel 
by Niki Gulley
 
Tuscany Foodie Trek – Led by Niki Gulley and Scott Williams
Day 5: Gardens and Hill Towns
 
This morning we enjoyed a stroll around a beautiful Tuscan hill town and dined at a delicious Michellin restaurant for lunch. Then we visited an operating Italian Renaissance garden. Formal and organized with clipped boxwoods and plantings in symmetrical stone urns, impressive travertine column staircases, and the largest indoor potted citrus grove in the area, it was interesting to see the contrast between an Italian garden and an American garden, and the challenges of getting irrigation to the remote property. 
 
For this painting, I focused in closer on one of the tuscan farmhouses, with a majestic backdrop of the peaks and valleys. Between the quiet surroundings, the quintessential Tuscan cypress, olive groves and the perfect weather conditions, this proved to be a very inspiring afternoon.

***
 

For more details on my other Tuscany paintings, please e-mail Niki Gulley.

 

Or, check out my website at nikigulley.com to see more of my contemporary landscape palette knife paintings.

 
https://www.instagram.com/nikigulley/
 
 
******
 
If you’d like to join us on one of our fun-filled upcoming Art Treks or Foodie Treks, please let us know. Spaces fill up quickly!
 
 
Iceland Art Trek
Aug. 3-10, 2026
https://www.arttreks.org/iceland-2026/
 
Tuscany Foodie Trek 2026 

September 26 – October 3, 2026
https://www.arttreks.org/tuscany-foodie-2026/

Cinque Terre & Lake Como, Italy
October 4-11, 2026
https://www.arttreks.org/cinque-terre-2026/

If you  have any questions or would like to register, please contact Scott at photoguy@blind-squirrel.org or 214-289-8512.

Visit ArtTreks.org for more details on all of our trips.

 
Check out our review page on TripAdvisor and feel free to leave one of your own.

Dining al Fresco in Tuscany with Impressionist Landscape Painter Niki Gulley

“Picnic Under the Pine”
20″ x 10″ textured acrylic painting on canvas panel
by Niki Gulley 
SOLD 
 
I loved this antique table set up underneath the shade of this gnarly umbrella pine in Tuscany. The setting was so warm and inviting – we just wanted to have a lovely picnic there. Throw in a bottle of wine and you have the perfect backdrop for a relaxing lunch!
 

For details on more of my Tuscany and Italy paintings, please e-mail Niki Gulley.

 

Or, check out my website at nikigulley.com to see more of my contemporary landscape palette knife paintings.

 
https://www.instagram.com/nikigulley/
 
 
•••
Tuscany is always our most popular Foodie Trek as the food, wine, people, scenery and history are unparalleled. And, you’re in luck if you’ve always wanted to go! We’ve had two spots open up for our trip this fall and there are a couple of spots still open for 2025. Please let us know if you would like to join us!

Tuscany Foodie Trek Trek 
September 27 – October 4, 2025
2 Spots Left!
 
Carnivalé Art Trek – Venice, Italy 2026 
Feb. 8-14, 2026
Early Registration Deadline for $600 savings – Aug. 9th

Tuscany Foodie Trek 2026 
September 26 – October 3, 2026
Only 4 spots left!
https://www.arttreks.org/tuscany-foodie-2026/

Cinque Terre & Lake Como, Italy
October 4-11, 2026
Only 6 spots left!
https://www.arttreks.org/cinque-terre-2026/

If you  have any questions or would like to register, please contact Scott at photoguy@blind-squirrel.org or 214-289-8512.

Visit ArtTreks.org for more details on all of our trips.

 
Check out our review page on TripAdvisor and feel free to leave one of your own.