fall foliage – Page 28

Autumn Birch painting series

December 28, 2011

textured painting on board

I painted these autumn birches with extremely thick paint and palette knives to achieve extreme texture. The resulting image comes to life and is loaded with color and energy. This birch series can be propped up on an easel without a frame, or I have a 5″ black frame with a gold inner lip or a solid gold plein air frame that sets the small painting off beautifully. To purchase or see examples framed, e-mail Niki Gulley.

Pictured above, Monday’s 5″ x 7″ birches next to today’s birches.

To see more of my 12″ x12″ and large scale contemporary birch and aspen tree paintings, visit nikigulley.com/?page_id=1343. The 5″ x 7″ and 12″ x 12″ squares look great hung in pairs and threes!

NikiGulley.com

5×7 birch study

December 26, 2011

textured painting on board

NikiGulley.com

Textured Birch Oil Painting

December 16, 2011

SOLD • 48” x 60” textured acrylic on wrap around canvas

I wanted this painting to be about the power and energy in nature to invigorate your spirit more so than an exact replica of the forest, so I chose to use warm vivid colors and thick staccato strokes to add to that feeling. I placed the foliage in diagonal sweeping shapes to create a sense of movement, so that you can feel the wind gently rustling the leaves and causing them to dance.

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

NikiGulley.com

“Reflections in Time” – Autumn oil painting

December 10, 2011

Oil on canvas • 24” x 36”

This painting is inspired by one of my favorite spots just ten minutes from our home in Dallas. It was a perfect autumn day – about 70° with a slight breeze and the peaking autumn colors were more vibrant than usual. With such a gentle wind, the vivid foliage and gorgeous fluffy clouds were reflected fairly clearly in the water and yet at the same time, I chose to create fluid moving strokes to suggest the peaceful energy in that moment.

E-mail Niki Gulley for more information on my fall foliage oils.

“Ivory Refrain” textured aspen oil painting

November 28, 2011

24” x 30” textured oil on canvas

Scrolling bark peels back like white washed parchment revealing secrets in the deeply textured wood below. A painting of grace and beauty, it’s verticality offset by embracing branches wound round as a sheltering arm. Each stroke is crisp, vivid, defined by thick textured oil, rich colors strike a reververberating chord – purple and the compliment of gold create a visual vibration that resonates in an optical song.

To see more of my aspen and birch tree oil paintings, please visit my website at nikigulley.com/?page_id=1343.

E-mail Niki Gulley for more information.

“Life’s Journey” – 46″ x 44″ oil painting

November 23, 2011

46” x 44” oil on canvas

Follow the deep wood’s path and wander under a canopy of sheltering leaves, light shifts through each branch and twig. Long, late rays of sunlight pierce the dreaming autumn forest, as you enter shadows dapple your journey. You are walking down a loamy path, filled with color-drenched leaves that invite you into the purple shadows where you may seek your dreams. This oil painting of a tranquil wood’s trail inspires your journey and your dreams with lush colors and rich images of beauty ahead.

E-mail Niki Gulley for more information on my contemporary landscape paintings.

Or visit my website at NikiGulley.com.

November 21, 2011

“Colorful Transformation” ©2011 by Niki Gulley
textured oil painting • 36″ x 48″

Now showing at American Fine Art Gallery in Dallas, in Colorful Transformation, I wanted to focus on brilliant color and simple shapes to see if I could communicate the excitement I feel when surrounded by nature. Using energetic diagonal strokes and thick, textured paint, I hope you get a sense of the motion in the leaves and the power of nature to invigorate your spirit. I just love how this piece captured that essence!

To see this birch painting, visit americanfineart.com.

To see more of my contemporary landscape paintings, go to nikigulley.com/?page_id=33.

E-mail me at Niki Gulley.

Painting at the Dallas Arboretum with Niki Gulley

October 21, 2011

pastel on board • 10″ x 19″

The Dallas Arboretum is one of my favorite spots in the metroplex to paint, and last fall it was ablaze with color. I love being there late in the day when the crowds have thinned and the light is softer. In this pastel, I wanted to capture the intense fall foliage and the dramatic purple shadows cast by those trees along this path, which beckons you to wander down it.

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Join us Oct. 29th and 30th at the Arboretum and White Rock Lake if you’d like to experience nature first hand while improving your painting skills. Even though working in your home or studio might feel quite comfortable, there’s nothing like painting the subject that is in front of you. The sights, sounds, and smells of your surroundings actually go into your work!

Capturing the light quickly adds to the excitement and spontaneity of your final piece, while observing values from life will take your painting to a whole new level. Often times don’t you wonder when you look back through your photos, “What was I thinking when I took this one?” When you paint en plein air, you’ll be able to capture the scene accurately and the magic in that moment, versus being disappointed with your photos. Also, training your eye to see light and shadow accurately on location, will greatly help your studio work by learning to correct what you are seeing in your photos. With only a couple of spots left, I hope you can join us next weekend for this exciting workshop!

Visit nikigulley.com/?page_id=13, which tells you about my upcoming Painting Workshop at the Dallas Arboretum and White Rock Lake, Oct. 29th and 30th. Space if filling up quickly, so e-mail Niki@NikiGulley.com for more information and to register.

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If you would like to join us on future ART TREKS to Paris, France in May or Tuscany, Italy in September,visit nikigulley.com/?page_id=1420, which goes into detail about our upcoming European Plein Air Painting and Photography Workshops.

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

Just Sold – “Autumn Splendor” textured oil painting

October 19, 2011

36” x 48” textured oil on wrap around canvas • Sold

Just sold! Shimmering colors of autumn: Aspen trees quiver, their light graceful leaves tremble and quake, silver and gold, silver and gold with each light breeze.

There is the quiet energy of change coming and vibrant color charges the woods. Crisp fall mountain air, clean bright skies overhead, a band of slender straight trucks cut bright strokes of white against a dazzling tumble of green, crimson and gold.

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

“Flowing Light” at Madison Art Fair on the Square

July 4, 2011

36” x 60” textured oil on canvas

You walk down a path sheltered by autumn drenched trees, intrigued by the light flowing through the leaves and branches, casting shadows, colors changing with each gentle breeze, sunlight cascading down your pathway. Peaceful, tranquil, this painting flows around the canvas capturing the memory of autumn: lush crisp colors, crunchy leaves and a walk through the woods Walt Whitman would have envied.

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

Or, to see more of her work, stop by her booth at Art Fair on the Square in Madison, WI next weekend, (July 9 & 10).

mmoca.org