Do you know how often I would run into another artist painting while I lived in Dallas for 30 years??? Pretty much never! So, I’m still surprised and delighted (after just living here over a year) when I come across artists painting in the same place where I set up in Asheville. Today I planned on capturing the bountiful sunflowers at the Biltmore Estate, and lo and behold I ran into #WilliamTaldone who also had his easel there!

His painting turned out beautiful and we got to talking about his attention to detail vs. my looser, impressionistic style. The irony is that Bill was an eye surgeon so he likes precision, while my father is completely blind so I work with palette knife to bring my subjects to life through textured paint. And, if you’ve ever worked with palette knife, you know there is only so much precision you can control with that much paint on your instrument!

So here I hope you enjoy the dimensionality of this one as it leaps to life off the canvas, and you can literally feel the joy and sunshine of these smiling beauties!

***

And, if you’d like to see this cheerful sunflower painting in person, please stop by the studio tour this weekend. My husband and renowned photographer, Scott Williams, and I are so excited to be a part of the Weaverville Art Safari, where 85 talented artists in our town, will be opening our studios to the public Sat. Nov. 7th and Sun. Nov. 8th. 

For more details on my other sunflolwer and floral paintings, please e-mail Niki Gulley.

 

Or, check out my website at nikigulley.com to see more of my contemporary landscape palette knife paintings.