Cottonwood Art Festival this weekend

“Bridge to Tomorrow,” White Rock Lake ©2011 Niki Gulley
12” x 24” textured oil on canvas

White Rock Lake sparkles in the evening sunset encompassed by the dark silhouette of the downtown Dallas skyline and the cresting bridge that carries cyclists around the lake’s bike trail. Forefront dense shrubs, pampas grasses and trees frame the image and hold it in a mirror reflection of the bridge – an intriguing and complex composition that is designed to move you, the viewer, into the painting and carry your eye around this picturesque view of Dallas’s cherished White Rock Lake. Rich with texture, thick palette knife strokes build lights and shadows; selecting saturated colors to suggest hope and optimism about upcoming days and using mysterious darks to define the lush foliage and offset the lowering sun.

To see this painting of downtown Dallas and more of Niki Gulley’s textured palette knife oil paintings in person, please stop by her booth at the Cottonwood Art Festival this weekend.

Saturday May 7 from 9 am to 6 pm and
Sunday May 8 from 9 am to 6 pm.
Richardson, TX, Cottonwood Park is at the corner of Coit and Beltline.
Visit CottonwoodArtFestival.com for details.

E-mail Niki Gulley for more information.

Time Passages oil painting of White Rock Lake by Niki Gulley

“Time Passages” ©2011 Niki Gulley
12” x 24” textured oil on wrap around canvas
Near to sunset at White Rock Lake.
Sparkling sunlight peeks through the trees in the late afternoon.
Two paths present themselves to you:
one is broad – straight forward, comfortable, quick, drawing you into the lowly darks;
another path curves and winds, less known, slower, meandering, toward the autumn brightness. Such is life. Which path is yours? It is a delightful dilemma,
a problem you will solve by making this one of a kind original oil painting your own.

This intriguing art of White Rock Lake and many other paintings by Niki Gulley
are available for purchase.

To see “Time Passages” and more of Niki Gulley’s textured palette knife oil paintings in person, please stop by her booth at Cottonwood Art Festival next weekend.

Cottonwood Art Festival
Saturday May 7 from 9 am to 6 pm and Sunday May 8 from 9 am to 6 pm.
Richardson, TX, Cottonwood Park is at the corner of Coit and Beltline.
Visit CottonwoodArtFestival.com for details.
E-mail Niki Gulley for more information on her landscape oil paintings.

Life’s Journey oil on canvas by Niki Gulley

“Life’s Journey” ©2011 Niki Gulley
46” x 44” traditional oil on wrap around 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.

To see “Life’s Journey” and more of my oil paintings, stop by my booth at Cottonwood Art Festival, Saturday May 7 from 9 am to 6 pm and Sunday May 8 from 9 am to 6 pm in Richardson, TX. Cottonwood Park is at the corner of Coit and Beltline. Visit CottonwoodArtFestival.com for details.

E-mail Niki Gulley for more information on my contemporary landscape paintings.
Or visit my website at NikiGulley.com.

Textured Poppy Oil Painting – Just Sold!

“What Dreams May Come” ©2011 Niki Gulley
SOLD • 36” x 48” oil on canvas

Just sold! I painted this field of poppies and wildflowers with extremely thick paint and palette knives to create extreme texture, and to make the colors and strokes come to life.

E-mail Niki Gulley for more information on my poppy and floral fields series.
See NikiGulley.com for more of my textured palette knife oil paintings.

New Texas Hill Country oil painting at Art in the Square

“Blue Horizon” Painting of the Texas Hill Country ©2011 Niki Gulley
Textured Oil on Wrap Around Canvas, 30” by 48”

Vivid indigo: when thick clusters of bright blue cover the rolling bluffs of our Texas Hill Country – you know spring is here! Texas Bluebonnets splash across the fields interspersed with fiery Indian Paintbrush and bright yellow Coreopsis. Wildflowers, winding paths and wind-tested live oaks fill this canvas with the joy of a clear spring day in the hill country.

This bluebonnet painting and many others will be available for you to see this weekend at Art in the Square in Southlake, TX, Booth #J5. Visit artinthesquare.com/default.aspx for details.

E-mail Niki Gulley for more information on Texas-inspired paintings.

New “Surrounded by Bluebonnets” Oil Painting

“Surrounded by Bluebonnets” ©2011 Niki Gulley
12″ x 24″ oil painting
A beautiful bluebonnet display from Ennis, Texas. I loved the contrast of the bright red barn against the sea of blue wildflowers and the azure skies above.
To see “Surrounded by Bluebonnets” and more of my Texas inspired oil paintings, stop by my booth at Art City Austin, the premier juried outdoor art festival in Austin, TX, April 2-3. I’ll be at booth #328 – on Cesar Chavez St. between San Antonio & Guadalupe Streets. Visit artallianceaustin.org/art_city_austin.html for details.
E-mail Niki Gulley for more information.

Texas Bluebonnets & Indian Paintbrush painting at Artscape

“Rhapsody in Blue” ©2011 Niki Gulley
Oil on canvas • 30” x 40”

When I was a teenager my grandparents moved to Texas and I loved coming down from Chicago to visit them. I remember the first time I saw a massive field of bluebonnets and I was awestruck by the expanse of color. It was amazing that such tiny flowers when planted in mass could form a solid sea of blue. I wanted to relive those fond family memories by recreating those exciting bluebonnet and Indian Paintbrush displays I remember seeing for the first time in “Rhapsody in Blue.” Using this interesting weathered farm house in Marble Falls and painting it engulfed in one of our prolific bluebonnet and Indian Paintbrush displays perfectly captures those memories.

To see more of my Texas wildflower paintings, stop by my booth at Artscape, an outdoor art show at the Dallas Arboretum this weekend http://www.dallasarboretum.org/artscape/index.htm.

To see more of my textured oil paintings, visit my website at NikiGulley.com/?page_id=33 or
e-mail Niki Gulley for more information.

What Dreams May Come – poppy oil painting at the Dallas Arboretum Artscape

“What Dreams May Come” ©2011 Niki Gulley
36″ x 48″ oil on canvas
In this painting I wanted to create a dream-like feel using one of my favorite flowers, the poppy, so I chose to paint this landscape at dusk as the sun is starting to set over the distant hills to add to that mood. I love the wildflower masses in the foreground creating waves of color, and the curving shapes adding to the sense of tranquility. I was mesmerized watching the cinematography in the movie “What Dreams May Come” and my painting reminded me a little of those magical graphics, so I decided to title my piece the same.
Please stop by my booth at the Dallas Arboretum’s Artscape art show next weekend, (March 18-20), dallasarboretum.org/artscape/index.htm, where I will be exhibiting “What Dreams May Come” along with several of my other new palette knife paintings.
E-mail me at Niki Gulley if you would like more information.

Transformation oil painting

“Transformation” ©2011 Niki Gulley
SOLD • 48″ x 60″ oil painting

Rather than create an exact replica of the forest, 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 more of my textured oil paintings, go to NikiGulley.com.
Or, e-mail me at Niki Gulley if you would like more information.