plein-air painting classes Europe

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

June 24, 2025

Day 6, Greece Art Trek with Niki Gulley and Scott Williams

SOLD • 12″ x 9″ textured acrylic painting by Niki Gulley

On the last day of our Plein Air Painting and Photography Workshop in Greece, some folks shopped, some relaxed by the pool, others continued photographing. For our last painting, we just had to paint one of the white churches with its iconic blue dome. Sparkling dappled light danced along the textured ivory stucco, which was so much fun to capture in palette knife. Once again this beautiful sycamore framed the scene and I had to capture its beauty, too.

To cap off the evening, we treated ourselves to a delicious seafood dinner with another gorgeous view of the ocean, catching up with new friends and savoring our last night. A perfect ending to a perfect trip!

Dinner with an amazing view on our last night.

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Please check out my website at NikiGulley.com to see more of my contemporary impressionist paintings.

E-mail Niki Gulley for more information.

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If you’ve always dreamed of painting, photographing and sightseeing in Europe, please join us for one of these amazing Art Treks!

Switzerland Art Trek
July 26 – August 2, 2025
Full

Tuscany Foodie Trek Trek
September 27 – October 4, 2025
2 Spots Left!

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

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/

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

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

June 18, 2025

Day 4 – Greece Art Trek: Imerovigli and Oia

9″ x 12″ textured acrylic painting by Niki Gulley

On day 4, we visited the town next door. So many interesting white washed buildings with unique shapes framing the beautiful ocean views! Today was definitely a study in whites and greys. It’s amazing how even though the buildings look white, when you start really looking and painting them, only a few reflected edges were pure white and everything else was shades of grey. With palette knife, I was able to capture the texture and subtleties in the shading so as to create interest in the rather monochromatic scene. A fantastic learning day for my painters!

Enjoying a delicious lunch, fueling up in between painting and photography sessions!

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If you’ve always dreamed of painting, photographing and sightseeing in Europe, please join us for one of these amazing Art Treks!

Switzerland Art Trek
July 26 – August 2, 2025
Full

Tuscany Foodie Trek Trek
September 27 – October 4, 2025
2 Spots Left!

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

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/

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

***

Please check out my website at NikiGulley.com to see more of my contemporary impressionist paintings.

E-mail Niki Gulley for more information.

Day 2, Greece Art Trek with Niki Gulley and Scott Williams

June 16, 2025

Day 2, Greece Art Trek: Santorini

12″ x 9″ textured acrylic painting by Niki Gulley

On the second full day of our Greece Art Trek, we flew to Santorini and gawked at the amazing view from our hotel overlooking the caldera. Our painters set up their easels right there since the scenery was so beautiful, while the photographers toured through town, shooting the white washed architecture and fantastic views of the ocean below. I chose this vantage of the rocky cliff dotted with dessert plants framing the vivid blue water and the town of Oia in the distance. Everything had a nice soft light that created subtle shadow and intense colors. The cool breeze and great company of our students made for the perfect afternoon painting.

Painting from the pool deck or our hotel!

View of Fira, Santorini

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Please check out my website at NikiGulley.com to see more of my contemporary impressionist paintings.

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

***

If you’ve always dreamed of painting, photographing and sightseeing in Europe, please join us for one of these amazing Art Treks!

Switzerland Art Trek
July 26 – August 2, 2025
Full

Tuscany Foodie Trek Trek
September 27 – October 4, 2025
2 Spots Left!

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

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/

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

“True Blue” Palette Knife Oil Painting from Santorini, Greece by Niki Gulley

November 10, 2017

10″ x 8″ oil painting • SOLD

Just Sold! On our Art Trek to Greece, we chose to paint this iconic view of Santorini with the white orthodox church crowned by its blue dome, overlooking the ocean. The photographers dropped us off, as they continued back to Oia to shoot some more. While the scenery seemed simple, it proved challenging to paint the round dome on top of a hexagon base, and the three men removing the bells from the tower kept interrupting our scene (which we chose not to paint into the composition), but overall it was a beautiful morning and we were pretty happy with the results!

That afternoon we rode the cable cars to the port below and caught a boat cruise that ferried us across the bay and around the island at sunset. Stopping at the volcano, we hiked to the top, which was quite intriguing with its sci-fi type lava rock. Next we stopped at a hot spring for anyone who wanted to swim. And, finally we cruised around the island enjoying the view from the water, sipping some Greek wines and nibbling on some local meats and cheeses. A great end to the day!

On top of the volcano with Santorini in the background.

If you are interested in joining us on a future art trek, check out ArtTreks.org for details about upcoming trips.

Please check out my website at NikiGulley.com to see more of my contemporary impressionistic paintings.

E-mail – Niki Gulley

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

June 24, 2013

Day 5 – Greece Art Trek: Oia and Sunset Cruise

10″ x 8″ oil painting by Niki Gulley • SOLD

On day 5, we chose to paint this iconic view of Santorini with the white orthodox church crowned by its blue dome, overlooking the ocean. So the photographers dropped us off, as they continued back to Oia to shoot some more. While the scenery seemed simple, it proved challenging to paint the round dome on top of a hexagon base, and the three men removing the bells from the tower kept interrupting our scene (which we chose not to paint into the composition), but overall it was a beautiful morning and we were pretty happy with the results!

On top of the volcano with Santorini in the background.

Next summer we will be leading an Art Trek to Paris and Provence, France so if you’ve always dreamed of painting, photographing and sightseeing during lavender and sunflower season in France, and following in the footsteps of Monet, Van Gogh and Cezanne, please join us for this amazing trip! Details will be coming soon on nikigulley.com/artreks.

E-mail – Niki Gulley

Florence, Day 5 Tuscany Art Trek with Niki Gulley and Scott Williams

October 9, 2012

25″ x 19″ pastel

Day 5, Florence – Tuscany Art Trek

After a leisurely day near our villa, we picked up the pace the next day and ventured into the bustling city of Florence, birthplace of the Renaissance. Highlights from the day include gazing at Michelangelo’s David, visiting the Uffizi Gallery with all of its famous Renaissance paintings, marveling at the marble Duomo and baptistry, wandering the streets in search of leather goods and momentos, and dining al Fresco to cap off the day.

If you’d like to join us for next year’s Art Trek to Venice in February, Greece in May, Tuscany in September or Cinque Terre / Lake Como in September, please visit NikiGulley.com/Artreks for more information. Workshops fill up quickly, so please let us know if you are interested. Registration deadlines for some of the trips are less than a month away!

Our Tuscany group overlooking the city of Florence.

If you’d like to learn how to paint with more color and freedom, please join me for my upcoming workshop, “Coloring Outside the Lines,” in Fredericksburg, TX, Nov. 2-4. Registration deadline is Oct. 15th. For details, visit nikigulley.com/art-classes.

If you have questions about the Art Treks workshops or are interested in purchasing any of my plein air paintings, please e-mail me at Niki@NikiGulley.com.

NikiGulley.com

Painting Florence, Italy with Niki Gulley

September 20, 2010

Pastel 25” x 19”

Sadly our Tuscany workshop has come to an end. Everyone had a wonderful time, and I thank you guys for making this such a memorable trip! From the amazing Tuscan vistas dotted with cypress, wildflowers and grape-vines, to the cobbled medieval hill towns, to the world-class museums & history-filled architecture, to the mouth-watering pastas, cheeses, meats & of course, wines, we will treasure the memories forever.

Plein Air Painting & Photography Workshop

Tuscany, Italy – September 2010 & 2011

Athens & Santorini, Greece – May 2011

Led by Niki Gulley & Scott Williams

Our trip to Tuscany for this year is full, but please join us next September in Tuscany or May 2011 in Greece.

Visit nikigulley.com/ng2/?page_id=13 for more details.

E-mail me at Niki@NikiGulley.com.