niki gulley plein air painting workshops

Visiting Peña Palace with Niki Gulley and Scott Williams Art Treks

April 16, 2024

8″ x 6″ textured acrylic painting on panel

Portugal Art Trek:

Plein Air Painting and Photography Workshop led by Niki Gulley and Scott Williams

Day 3 – Sintra: Peña Palace

Since Sintra is filled with so many beautiful palaces and castles, one day is not enough time to absorb it all, so we returned the next day to continue exploring everything it has to offer. First stop was its star attraction, Peña Palace, which dazzles with bright colors and fairytale design. While our photographers and tourists explored the interior and its surroundings, us painters set out to paint its dramatic, red and yellow facade.

To see more of my impressionistic plein air landscape paintings, visit nikigulley.com.

E-mail Niki Gulley for more information on my Portugal painting series.

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Iceland Art Trek
August 6-13, 2024
Only 2 spots left!

Greece Art Trek
May 17-24, 2025
Early Deadline for a $600 savings: May 11th

Switzerland Art Trek
July 26 – August 2, 2025

Only 2 spots left!
Early Deadline for a $600 savings: May 11th

Tuscany Foodie Trek Trek
September 27 – October 4, 2025
Early Deadline for a $600 savings: May 11th

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

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

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Art Treks Paints and Photographs Sintra, Portugal

April 15, 2024

SOLD • 6″ x 8″ textured acrylic painting on panel

Portugal Art Trek:

Plein Air Painting and Photography Workshop led by Niki Gulley and Scott Williams

Day 2 – Afternoon Location – Sintra: Monseratte

That afternoon we headed to another amazing palace, Monserrate. It is a visually striking blend of Arabic, gothic and Indian influences, and once again is surrounded by beautiful, lush, exotic vegetation. While most everyone explored the palace’s interior, I set up outside to capture its distinct architecture.

After finishing our tour in Sintra, we headed back to Cascais for a little downtime and an amazing dinner. The perfect ending to an adventure filled day!

To see more of my impressionistic plein air landscape paintings, visit nikigulley.com.

E-mail Niki Gulley for more information on my Portugal painting series.

***

Iceland Art Trek
August 6-13, 2024
Only 2 spots left!

Greece Art Trek
May 17-24, 2025
Early Deadline for a $600 savings: May 11th

Switzerland Art Trek
July 26 – August 2, 2025

Only 2 spots left!
Early Deadline for a $600 savings: May 11th

Tuscany Foodie Trek Trek
September 27 – October 4, 2025
Early Deadline for a $600 savings: May 11th

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

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

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Portugal Art Trek with Niki Gulley and Scott Williams

April 12, 2024

6″ x 8″ textured acrylic painting on panel

Portugal Art Trek:

Plein Air Painting and Photography Workshop led by Niki Gulley and Scott Williams

Day 1 – Sintra

On our first full day of our Portugal Art Trek, we hit the ground running by visiting the fairy tale town of Sintra filled with exotic gardens, palaces and castles. First stop was La Quinta de Regaleira, decorated in an ornate facade and surrounded by enchanting gardens filled with gothic turrets, carved gargoyles and hidden tunnels. We chose this view grand view of the gardens with one of the palaces in the backgrounds and began capturing our first painting of the trip. It was a truly magical setting!

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

E-mail Niki Gulley for more information on my France painting series.

***

Iceland Art Trek
August 6-13, 2024
Only 2 spots left!

Greece Art Trek
May 17-24, 2025
Early Deadline for a $600 savings: May 11th

Switzerland Art Trek
July 26 – August 2, 2025

Only 2 spots left!
Early Deadline for a $600 savings: May 11th

Tuscany Foodie Trek Trek
September 27 – October 4, 2025
Early Deadline for a $600 savings: May 11th

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

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

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

June 5, 2023

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.

E-mail Niki Gulley for more information on my France painting series.

***

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

Venice Art Trek with Niki Gulley and Scott Williams – Day 3, Rialto Market

March 16, 2023

9″ x 12″ textured oil painting

Venice Art Trek with Niki Gulley and Scott Williams – Day 3: Rialto Market

After breakfast, we took a vaporetto tour of the island and got off at the Rialto bridge where we wandered the fruit, vegetable and fish markets. We left the photographers there to shoot while we set up our easels in this quiet spot marking the oldest restaurant in Venice. This bridge had so much character being made completely of wood, decorated in plantings and flanked by red and white poles that we just had to paint it!

If you’d like to join us on one of our upcoming Art Treks, please let me know. For more details, E-mail Niki@NikiGulley.com or go to ArtTreks.org.

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To see more of my travel paintings, visit nikigulley.com.

Or, E-mail Niki Gulley for more details.

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Capturing Sunset, Venice Art Trek with Niki Gulley and Scott Williams

March 13, 2023

Venice Carnivalé Art Trek – Led by Niki Gulley and Scott Williams

Day 1 – San Georgio Island

After we finished painting that morning, the photographers joined us for lunch when they were done shooting. We enjoyed a delicious pizza al fresco and afterwards the photographers kept shooting, the painters had some down time, and we reconnected late that afternoon to take the ferry across the canal to San Giorgio Island where a full masquerade of characters were gathered for sunset. My painters opted to just bring their sketchbooks and practice their quick drawing skills, capturing the costumed spectacle. That night we dined on delicious seafood pasta, fresh fish and a delicious local red wine. A great first day!

Scott Williams photograph of one of the costumes during Carnivalé.

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If you’d like to join us on one of our upcoming Art Treks, please let us know. For more details, E-mail Niki@NikiGulley.com or go to ArtTreks.org.

Upcoming Art and Foodie Treks

Provence, France – June / July 2023 – wait list only

Spain Foodie Trek – March 2024

Portugal Art Trek – Mar. 2024

Iceland Art Trek – Aug. 2024

Tuscany, Italy Foodie Trek – Oct. 2023

These workshops are filling up quickly, so we encourage you to register soon!

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To see more of Niki Gulley’s contemporary textured landscape paintings, please visit nikigulley.com.

For more information, please e-mail Niki Gulley.

Watching Sunset, Venice Art Trek with Niki Gulley and Scott Williams

March 7, 2023

Venice Art Trek
8″ x 12″ pastel by Niki Gulley

After we finished painting that morning, the photographers joined us for lunch when they were done shooting. We enjoyed a delicious pizza al fresco and afterwards the photographers kept shooting, the painters had some down time, and we reconnected late that afternoon to take the ferry across the canal to San Giorgio Island where a full masquerade of characters were gathered for sunset. We chose this quiet location looking back at Venice framed by the docked boats for our paintings. That night we dined on delicious seafood pasta, fresh fish and a delicious local red wine. A great first day!

Scott Williams photograph of one of the costumes during Carnivalé.

If you’d like to join us on one of our upcoming Art Treks, please let me know. For more details, E-mail Niki@NikiGulley.com or go to arttreks.org.

Plein Air Painting / Photography Workshops

Led by Niki Gulley and Scott Williams

These workshops are filling up quickly, so we encourage you to register soon!

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www.NikiGulley.com

Portugal Art Trek with Niki Gulley and Scott Williams

February 10, 2023

SOLD • 9″ x 12″ textured oil painting

Portugal Art Trek:

Plein Air Painting and Photography Workshop led by Niki Gulley and Scott Williams

Day 1 – Cascais

Once we finished researching our 2022 Art Trek to Alsace, France, we flew to Portugal to begin leading this summer’s Art Trek to our intrepid group. Our first afternoon was rather leisurely since most of our group was arriving from the United States and shaking off their jet lag. So once everyone checked into our oceanside hotel and took a short nap, we set out on a walking tour of our home base town, Cascais. The Atlantic Ocean hugs its coastline, and there is a great walking trail all along the city. Above, you can see how I wanted to capture the gorgeous rock formations and the beautiful colors in the ocean.

After finishing taking in the beautiful scenery along the water, we wandered the maze of tiled streets throughout town, soaking in the architecture and energy, and finished the night with a delicious dinner of Portuguese tapas. A great way to start the trip!

View from our hotel

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

E-mail Niki Gulley for more information on my France painting series.

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If you’d like to join us on one of upcoming Art Treks or Foodie Treks, including Portugal and Spain in 2024, please let us know.

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

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Last Day of Niki Gulley’s and Scott Williams’ Alsace Art Trek

December 14, 2022

12″ x 12″ textured acrylic painting on canvas panel

Day 6, Alsace, France Art Trek: Colmar or Strasbourg

Plein Air Painting and Photography Workshop
with Niki Gulley and Scott Williams

As always, this Art Trek flew by and it was already the last day. So, we decided that we had so much fun painting earlier in the week in Colmar, that we would revisit that beautiful spot and paint in another direction since the scenery was inspiring all around. 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. Meanwhile below you can see some of my talented students’ paintings working in watercolor, pastel and acrylic.

Painting amongst the Russian sage and Black-eyed Susans

Students’ pastel, watercolors and acrylics

While we painted the rest of our group hopped a train to Strasbourg and toured the town, and others just enjoyed their last free day in Colmar. That night we gathered for one more delicious dinner, enjoying the company of new friends. What an amazing Trek!

Toasting to our last night!

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

E-mail Niki Gulley for more information on my France painting series.

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

Painting and Photographing Alsace Wine Towns with Niki Gulley and Scott Williams

December 13, 2022

12″ x 9″ textured acrylic painting on canvas panel

Day 5, Alsace, France Art Trek: Ribeauvillé

Plein Air Painting and Photography Workshop
with Niki Gulley and Scott Williams

After a relaxing day in Colmar, we ventured forth on day 5 to visit the next picturesque village on the Alsatian wine route, Ribeauvillé. My painters and I set up in this beautiful park to capture the surrounding beauty while the photographers went in search for the perfect shot and the tourists grabbed the train, which toured the area and gave them some history on the region. I loved all of these colorful planted flowers, so working more loosely and impressionistically today, I set out to capture the joy of the moment.

Gardens in Ribeauvillé

After lunch, we then toured the Trimbach winery to learn about their wine-making process, and of course, sample some of their famous wines. Delicious!

Wine tasting with our group

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

E-mail Niki Gulley for more information on my France painting series.

***

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