New Lavender Painting

“Summertime Bouquets” ©2010 Niki Gulley
20” x 30” acrylic on canvas

My husband and I have an uncanny sense of timing when it comes to the weather. We got married during a hurricane on the coast of Florida, we unknowingly planned our European workshop during the spewing of ash in Iceland, we’ve participated in art shows with 70 mph microbursts that destroyed 50 artist tents, and of course we chose to come home to Dallas after two months on the road during the hottest week of summer. With average temperatures around 103°, it wasn’t quite the home-coming I had in mind.

Making the best of it, I immersed myself in my air-conditioned studio and painted happier places – fantasizing about somewhere cooler, where plants grow profusely rather than wilting and withering in boiling temperatures and a beautiful location completely free of concrete. I remembered the gorgeous, aromatic lavender fields we’d seen in Europe a few years before at this exact time of year and through my painting I was transported back. I hope you experience that same bliss looking at “Summertime Bouquets.”

If you’re in the Chicago area this weekend, you can see “Summertime Bouquets” along with my other recent paintings at my booth #355 at the Gold Coast Art Show. For more information on the show, visit amdurproductions.com/f-goldcoast-public.html.

New Bluebonnet Oil Painting

“Rhapsody in Blue” ©2010 Niki Gulley
Oil on canvas • 30” x 40”

When I was a teenager my great aunts and grandmother moved to Texas and we would come down to visit them when we got the chance. I remember the first time I saw a massive field of bluebonnets and I was awestruck by the expanse of color and amazed that such tiny flowers when in mass could actually look like a large lake from a distance. I wanted to relive those family memories and recreate the exciting explosion of azure and crimson in Rhapsody in Blue, taking this cool weathered farm house in Marble Falls and painting it engulfed in one of our best bluebonnet and Indian Paintbrush displays.

Rhapsody in Blue has been chosen as the signature painting for my upcoming exhibition at the Frisco Municipal Complex, in honor of winning Best in Show at Frisco’s Arts in the Square. Located at 6101 Frisco Square Blvd., Frisco, TX 75034, I will be exhibiting 20 of my newest oil paintings for the month of September. Here is my interview in Frisco Style Magazine about the upcoming show and some background on myself and my paintings, friscostyle.com/index.php/component/content/article/43/189-august-2010-issue. I hope if you’re near Frisco, you can stop in and see the exhibit!

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

Turquoise Vortex oil painting

“Turquoise Vortex” ©2010 Niki Gulley
30” x 30” • oil on canvas

Growing up in Chicago, our brutally cold winters would feel like they lasted forever so my family tried to vacation along our tropical coasts whenever possible. I loved this week we spent together – the cathartic rhythm of the ocean waves lapping against the shore as dad and I tried to ride each crest as close to the beach as possible, feeling the cool sand squish between my toes and fingers while building sand castles together, and enjoying the peacefulness at sunset as the gorgeous fireball dropped down from the sky and cast diamond-like reflections across the ocean’s surface.

Turquoise Vortex recreates that magical moment as the sun starts to descend and illuminate the water’s peaks and makes everything sparkle. Using a circular composition and bold colors enhances that feeling of motion and rhythm while suggesting the awesome energy and power found in nature.

If you’d like to learn how to paint landscapes or “loosen up” your technique, join me this fall in my adult art classes. Registration is open and there are only a couple of spots left, so e-mail me at Niki@NikiGulley.com for more information,

Or, visit nikigulley.com/?page_id=13 for more details.

Fire and Gold oil painting

“Fire and Gold” ©2010 Niki Gulley
oil on canvas • 36″ x 48″

I used to love it as a kid when my parents would take me to the forest preserves near our home outside of Chicago. We would spend the whole day bike riding, picnicking and being immersed in nature and I relished this time with my family. In Fire and Gold I wanted to recreate those warm memories, choosing reds and yellows of autumn to heighten those happy feelings and using energetic strokes with my paint reminiscent of a carefree, simpler time.

“Transitional Tones” ©2010 Niki Gulley
12” x 12” oil on canvas

I created these birch trees with palette knife and extremely thick oil paint to achieve texture and suggest the energy found in nature. The image is painted around the sides of the 1.5 inch deep gallery wrap canvas so that it looks three-dimensional and can be hung as is without a frame for a contemporary look. These chunky birch paintings look great in pairs and threes.

If you’d like to learn how to create loose, vibrant paintings join us this fall in my adult art classes in Dallas. I am beginning registration and classes fill up quickly, so visit nikigulley.com/?page_id=13 or e-mail me at Niki@NikiGulley.com for more information.

Bountiful Bulbs oil painting

“Bountiful Bulbs” 2010 Niki Gulley
18” x 48” oil on canvas

Sometimes I like to paint places that I dream about and hope to one day experience, as is the case in “Bountiful Bulbs.” The tulip farms that I’ve seen in photos look so magnificent with their perfect vibrant rows of color combined with hearing my friends’ descriptions of seeing the overwhelming explosion of blooms both inspire me to paint a strawberry-and-lemon-lollipop-dipped world where all of your cares melt away.

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

Transitional Tones oil painting

“Transitional Tones” ©2010 Niki Gulley
12” x 12” oil on canvas

I created these birch trees with palette knife and extremely thick oil paint to achieve texture and suggest the energy found in nature. The image is painted around the sides of the 1.5 inch deep gallery wrap canvas so that it looks three-dimensional and can be hung as is without a frame for a contemporary look. These chunky birch paintings look great in pairs and threes.

Stop by my painting booth this weekend in Chicago at the Lincoln Park Arts & Music Festival to see more of my textured palette knife paintings in person. For more details, go to chicagoevents.com/event.cfm?eid=189.

Or, e-mail me at Niki@NikiGulley.com with any questions or comments.

Lincoln Park Arts & Music Festival – this weekend – Chicago, IL

Birch Study
5” x 7” oil painting by Niki Gulley

Fresh off the easel! Extremely thick oil paint with lots of movement and texture. If interested in purchasing or seeing other birch studies, contact me at Niki@NikiGulley.com. These miniature paintings look great in pairs and threes! Or, stop by my painting booth this weekend in Chicago at the Lincoln Park Arts & Music Festival. See http://www.chicagoevents.com/event.cfm?eid=189 for more information.

Tomorrow’s Promises oil painting

“Tomorrow’s Promises” ©2010 Niki Gulley
oil on canvas • 48″ x 60″
I wanted you to feel the joy and peacefulness of walking through a protective cathedral of branches on a beautiful autumn day. With the soft light illuminating the walkway and golden skylights above, the only sounds to be heard are the crunching of fallen leaves underfoot and a slight breeze flickering the leaves overhead. What lies ahead? The mysterious glow from beyond beckons you forward. Tomorrow’s promises await.
If you’d like to see “Tomorrow’s Promises” in person, visit me this weekend at the Lincoln Park Arts & Music Festival in Chicago, chicagoevents.com/event.cfm?eid=189, or e-mail me at Niki@NikiGulley.com.

Autumn Symphony pastel

“Autumn Symphony” ©2010 Niki Gulley
Pastel • 24” x 36”

This is a quiet, protected creek by our house that I like escaping to when I need a break from city life. On this perfect autumn day, there was the gentlest of breezes rustling the leaves, the vibrant fall foliage was at its peak and the only sounds to be heard came from the trickling of the nearby waterfall and the birds’ sweet melodies.

To see this pastel in person, visit my booth, #B212, at the State Street Art Show in Ann Arbor, MI that runs from today through Saturday. a2statestreetartfair.com