contemporary impressionist

“Country Road” Textured Oil Painting by Niki Gulley

December 31, 2025

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!

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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.

Painting in Tuscany with Contemporary Impressionist Niki Gulley

November 12, 2025

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.

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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.

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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.

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

July 22, 2025

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.

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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!

https://www.arttreks.org/tuscany-foodie-2025/

Carnivalé Art Trek – Venice, Italy 2026
Feb. 8-14, 2026
Early Registration Deadline for $600 savings – Aug. 9th

https://www.arttreks.org/carnival-2026/

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.

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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.

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

June 2, 2025

9″ x 12″ textured acrylic painting on canvas panel

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If you’d like to join us on one of upcoming Art Treks or Foodie Treks, please let us know. Spaces fill up quickly!

Greece Art Trek
Full

Switzerland Art Trek
Full

Tuscany Foodie Trek 2025
September 20-27, 2025
Only 2 spots left!
https://www.arttreks.org/tuscany-foodie-2025/

2026

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/tuscany-foodie-2026/

Coming Soon:
Croatia & Slovenia Art Treks – May/June 206

Portugal & Spain Foodie Treks – March 2027

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.

Highly Textured Texas Wildflower Paintings by Niki Gulley

May 26, 2025

16″ x 16″ textured mixed media collage on panel • framed in black

I hope my new square textured paintings bring joy, color and energy to your day! Designed to lift your spirits and add a burst of brightness to your walls, these wildflower ablstractions allow your imagination to wander and fill in your own story. These paintings look great hung alone or in a grouping.

For details on more of my poppy, bluebonnet and sunflower paintings in this series, please e-mail Niki Gulley.

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

Artist Niki Gulley’s Creates Contemporary Texas Bluebonnet Paintings

May 23, 2025

24″ x 24″ Textured Mixed Media Collage on Canvas

Loaded with thick, textured paint over multiple layers of color, these Texas wildflowers are bursting to life with dimension and energy. Whimsical blooms seem to dance in nature’s kaleidoscope of spring hues bringing joy and sunshine to everyone they greet.

To purchase this palette knife bluebonnet painting, go to https://www.nikigulley.com/springs-palette-iii/.

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E-mail Niki Gulley for more details.

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

“Rosy Surprise II” Palette Knife Painting by Impressionist Niki Gulley

May 21, 2025

24″ x 24″ Textured Acrylic on Canvas

What a beautiful surprise to have these roses blooming in my garden this winter! Of course the next night it was supposed to freeze and I couldn’t let these beauties go to waste. After cutting and assembling them in a vase, I just kept staring at them as they were bringing so much color and joy to the grey day. Despite several projects on my plate, I had to take a break and capture these rosy fleeting blooms. May they bring some vibrancy to your winter days, too.

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

For more information on my large floral paintings, please e-mail Niki Gulley.

Artist Niki Gulley Paints Contemporary Bluebonnet Painting

May 19, 2025

24″ x 24″ Textured Mixed Media Collage on Canvas

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E-mail Niki Gulley for more details.

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

Palette Knife Rose Garden Painting by Niki Gulley

May 15, 2025

SOLD • 8″ x 8″ acrylic painting on panel by Niki Gulley

Just Sold! Our generous friends and one of my former students invited us to stay at their home in the Texas Hill Country while I was painting bluebonnets this year. Their property was so beautiful and I loved her rose garden, so I just had to paint it!

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

For more information on my palette floral paintings, please e-mail Niki Gulley.

Painting in the Texas Hill Country with Impressionist Niki Gulley

May 13, 2025

24″ x 12″ textured acrylic painting on canvas

“For me, wildflowers are joy-giving. They have enriched my life and fed my soul and given beautiful memories to sustain me.”
– Lady Bird Johnson

Surrounded by a sea of blue – Scott captured me in my element here! Not only were the bluebonnets and wildflowers beautiful this year, but I just adore the live oaks, too. Their massive stature, their gnarly, twisting branches and the umbrella of shade they cast, just make me want to paint them over and over again. Leaving bluebonnets large and prominent in the foreground, rows and rows of cobalt lift your spirits and lead you back to the shelter of the grand old oaks. I hope you, too, can enjoy the beauty of Texas in all of its spring glory.

E-mail Niki Gulley for more information on her textured palette knife landscape paintings.

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