fall foliage freedom tour

Capturing Vermont’s Fall Foliage with Palette Knife Painter Niki Gulley

December 9, 2025

24″ x 18″ textured acrylic painting on canvas panel

The color explosion in northern Vermont was out of this world, and I just had to capture its fleeting beauty. So, we found a nice big place to park the RV and I was able to work larger again today. The reds were so vibrant and intense on this maple that it had to be my focus. Feeling like a kid with the excitement of the colors, I chose this uplifting view reminiscent of laying on the ground as a child and staring up into the treetops and sky. Totally lost in the moment and not a care in the world, I hope you are transported to a similar happy memory from your youth!

To purchase “Climbing to the Sky,” please visit https://www.nikigulley.com/climbing-to-the-sky/.

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For more information on my textured palette knife paintings, please e-mail me at Niki Gulley.

Or, please visit my website at NikiGulley.com to see more of my contemporary landscape paintings.

“Fall’s Arrival” in Maine – Palette Knife Painting by Niki Gulley

March 21, 2025

9″ x 12″ textured acrylic painting on canvas panel

Oh Maine! Such rugged beauty! In this piece I painted just outside of Bar Harbor, you can see the beginnings of fall hues. Birch trees are starting to vibrate with color, foreground grasses and wildflowers are bursting with joy and views over the vast ocean show glimpses of Bar Island nestled in Frenchman Bay.

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For more information on my textured palette knife paintings, please e-mail me at Niki Gulley.

Or, please visit my website at NikiGulley.com to see more of my contemporary landscape paintings.

Contemporary Impressionistic Ocean Painting by Niki Gulley

March 20, 2025

SOLD • 5″ x 7″ textured acrylic painting on panel

I love everything about going to the beach. I love gazing into the endless horizon while listening to the rhythmic sounds of waves crashing against the shore. I love feeling the warmth of the sun against my skin while the cool sand squishes between my toes. And, I love how all of my cares disappear and I feel completely at peace engulfed in the moment.

So, getting to paint along the shoreline is almost as close as it gets to perfection! I hope you, too, can feel the joy and serenity of gazing at the ocean in this piece.

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For more information on my textured palette knife paintings, please e-mail me at Niki Gulley.

Or, please visit my website at NikiGulley.com to see more of my contemporary landscape paintings.

Serenity Now! Escape with Artist Niki Gulley to the Outer Banks

March 18, 2025

12″ x 24″ textured acrylic painting on canvas

After nine days of grey, cold and sometimes rainy weather, I really needed to warm up and soak up some Vitamin D sunshine. So, we took a detour from fall foliage and headed to North Carolina’s Outer Banks. We found an amazing campsite right on the water, and this was our view out our window for the next 2 days! While a little windy our first night, the next morning I woke to beautiful, calm blue waters and I just had to paint that serene view. Those 2 hammocks were calling my name to just relax. I hope you can escape with me into this peaceful, cathartic seascape.

To purchase, go to https://www.nikigulley.com/serenity-now/.

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For more information on my textured palette knife paintings, please e-mail me at Niki Gulley.

Or, please visit my website at NikiGulley.com to see more of my contemporary landscape paintings.

Palette Knife Abstract Seascape Painting by Artist Niki Gulley

March 17, 2025

24″ x 24″ textured acrylic painting on canvas

We’re taking a break from fall foliage to soak up some warmth and sunshine along North Carolina’s Outer Banks coast. Listen to those rhythmic ocean waves! Talk about relaxing and just what the doctor ordered. Letting the sounds guide me and going with the flow of the moment, I left this one loose with abstract passages. I hope you can feel the joy and energy in this painting, and escape with me.

To see a video of this painting and location, visit https://www.instagram.com/p/Cyn0LbiOUhw/.

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For more information on my textured palette knife paintings, please e-mail me at Niki Gulley.

Or, please visit my website at NikiGulley.com to see more of my contemporary landscape paintings.

Fall Foliage in the Smoky Mountains by Palette Knife Painter Niki Gulley

March 13, 2025

24″ x 30″ textured acrylic painting on canvas

Here is Asheville, NC in all of its peak autumn glory the last week of October. Of course, one of the challenges of plein-air painting is you never know what is going to change in the scene you are capturing. For instance, our neighbors at our campsite chose to park their black sedan right here in the middle of our picturesque view. Oh, well! The scenery beyond was still beautiful and I was able to take some photos on my camera to finish this one up at home. It also gave us a good excuse to take a scooter ride on that beautiful 70 degree day and check out the picturesque nature trails in the North Carolina Arboretum. Not a bad way to finish up our immersive autumn trip!

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For more information on my textured palette knife paintings, please e-mail me at Niki Gulley.

Or, please visit my website at NikiGulley.com to see more of my contemporary landscape paintings.

“Portland Head Lighthouse” Palette Knife Painting by Niki Gulley

November 18, 2024

“Portland Head Lighthouse”

SOLD • 9″ x 12″ textured acrylic painting on canvas panel

After we left Acadia on our Fall Foliage Freedom Tour, we stopped in Portland, Maine to visit friends and Portland Head Lighthouse. The setting is so idyllic as it’s perched on a rocky cliff surrounded by the ocean. I thought I was setting up in an out of the way spot, but I ended up having quite the audience and an endless stream of photographers composing the scene!Even with the distractions, I still thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon and hope you feel the beauty of this spot, too.

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For more information on my textured palette knife paintings, please e-mail me at Niki Gulley.

Or, please visit my website at NikiGulley.com to see more of my contemporary landscape paintings.

“Reflecting Fall” Palette Knife Painting by Niki Gulley

November 7, 2024

9″ x 12″ textured acrylic painting on panel

We are loving the peaceful surroundings of Old Orchard Beach, Maine. We booked this picturesque campsite where we have our own dock and lake view. This morning we woke up to this serene scene, and of course, I just had to paint it! Golden light illuminating the beginnings of fall with a gentle ripple causing the reflections to meld into a beautiful symphony of colors.

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For more information on my textured palette knife paintings, please e-mail me at Niki Gulley.

Or, please visit my website at NikiGulley.com to see more of my contemporary landscape paintings.

“Fall’s Arrival” in Maine – Palette Knife Painting by Niki Gulley

November 6, 2024

9″ x 12″ textured acrylic painting on canvas panel

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For more information on my textured palette knife paintings, please e-mail me at Niki Gulley.

Or, please visit my website at NikiGulley.com to see more of my contemporary landscape paintings.

Textured Birch Trees Painting by Palette Knife Artist Niki Gulley

November 5, 2024

Can you really get enough birch trees??? I love their white peeling bark and vivid changing leaves. Hugging the shoreline of this peaceful lake, may these vertical beauties lift your spirits and bring some joyful color to your day!

And, it turns out this was my last time to paint in Acadia National Park due to a truck hitting and destroying our side mirror (which led us down a several hour repair mission.) Luckily Scott cobbled something together and we’re all set for the next part of our Fall Foliage Freedom Tour. Stay tuned…

“Toes in the Water”

24″ x 12″ textured acrylic painting on 1.5″ canvas with the painting continuing around the edges

Availabe at the Good Art Company Gallery

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For more information on my textured palette knife paintings, please e-mail me at Niki Gulley.

Or, please visit my website at NikiGulley.com to see more of my contemporary landscape paintings.