Plein Air Painting Workshop in Venice during Carnival with Niki Gulley and Scott Williams

September 6, 2013

“Tunnel Vision,” Venice ©2013 Niki Gulley
10″ x 8″ • textured oil painting
This February during our Venice Art Trek, we headed to the Rialto bridge and set up our easels by the morning market. Some of my students painted the clock tower, while others wandered the fruit, vegetable, meat and fish stands. I chose the vantage above because I liked the repetition of the arches in the negative space and how the back of the scene was flooded with light and activity on the Grand Canal.
If you’d like to join us in Venice for our next Art Trek during Carnival Feb. 22 – Mar. 1, please let me know. The registration deadline of Oct. 12th is quickly approaching! For more details, e-mail Niki Gulley or go to nikigulley.com/artreks.

ArtTreks

Venice, Italy – Carnivalé – Feb. 22-Mar. 1, 2014


Paris, France – June 19-27, 2014

 Provence, France – June 26 – July 4, 2014
Tuscany, Italy – Sept. 5-13, 2014
Cinque Terre & Lake Como, Italy – Sept. 12-21, 2014


Plein Air Painting / Photography Workshop
Led by Niki Gulley and Scott Williams

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


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New Sunflower Painting and Upcoming Provence Art Trek with Niki Gulley

September 4, 2013
“Sharing the Sun” ©2013 Niki Gulley
24″ x 12″ • textured oil on canvas

Inspired by our trip to Provence last summer, I was awestruck by these massive fields of sunflowers blooming. Seeing this brilliant carpet of gold, with its sea of faces smiling towards the sun, just made me feel happy and I wanted you to experience that joy, too. In person “Sharing the Sun” practically leaps off the canvas with its vibrant yellow petals and extremely thick three-dimensional oil paint.

Next summer we will be leading an Art Trek to Paris June 19-27 and Provence, France June 26-July 4, 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! The early registration deadline of Sept. 28th for a $600 savings is quickly approaching. For more details, visit nikigulley.com/artreks.

To purchase “Sharing the Sun,” please contact the Good Art Company Gallery at goodartcompany.com/gac/.
To see more of my contemporary impressionistic landscape and floral oil paintings, please visit NikiGulley.com.

E-mail – Niki Gulley

Plein Air Painting in Tuscany with Niki Gulley

September 2, 2013
“Breaking Through,” Tuscany ©2013 Niki Gulley
24″ x 12″ • Textured Mixed Media on canvas
This painting was inspired by one of our plein air painting workshops in Tuscany. I’ve always been attracted to this lone clump of cypress trees, and on this day the clouds in the sky parted just enough to allow the sun’s rays to pass through and illuminate the cypress grove below. I decided to have fun with the colors to add to the excitement and drama of the moment.
“Breaking Through” and several of Niki’s contemporary impressionistic landscapes are on display at the Good Art Company Gallery in Fredericksburg, TX. For more information, please contact goodartcompany.com/gac/.
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If you would like join us on our next Plein Air Painting / Photography Workshop to Tuscany Sept. 5-13, 2014, please check out nikigulley.com/artreks for more information. 
Other upcoming Art Treks include:
Venice, Italy – Carnivalé – Feb. 22-Mar. 1, 2014 (deadline approaching)
Paris, France – June 19-27, 2014
 Provence, France – June 26 – July 4, 2014
Tuscany, Italy – Sept. 5-13, 2014
Cinque Terre and Lake Como, Italy – Sept. 12-21, 2014

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E-mail Niki Gulley for more information.
Or, visit NikiGulley.com to see more of my contemporary landscape paintings.

Sept. 28th Registration Deadline for Paris Art Trek with Niki Gulley and Scott Williams

August 30, 2013
“Luminescent Radiance” ©2013 Niki Gulley
Two 48″ x 24″ canvases with one 48″ x 30″ canvas in the middle to form a 48″ x 78″ triptych
Textured oil painting on wrap around canvas

I decided it would be a fun challenge to create an extremely large painting, and I wanted the final piece to be very uplifting, colorful and full of energy. Opting for warm colors and working with extremely thick paint and palette knives, I chose this lily pond reference from our visit to Monet’s Gardens in Giverny, France. The grounds were breathtaking and I could actually see his paintings come to life. I was drawn to the energetic flow and yet calming serenity in this view, and I positioned the water lilies and my paint strokes in a curving pattern to add to that mood. The morning light peeking through the distant foliage added to a sense of mystery and promise that I wanted to capture in paint, and share with you that feeling of hope.

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If you would like join us on our next Plein Air Painting / Photography Workshop to Paris June 19-27, 2014 where we will be visiting Monet’s Gardens, please check out nikigulley.com/artreks for more information. Register by Sept. 28th for a $600 savings!
Other upcoming Art Treks include:
Paris, France – June 19-27, 2014
 Provence, France – June 26 – July 4, 2014
Tuscany, Italy – Sept. 5-13, 2014
Cinque Terre & Lake Como, Italy – Sept. 12-21, 2014

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Or, if you would like more information on “Luminescent Radiance” please contact my Dallas gallery, American Fine Art, americanfineart.com.

E-mail Niki Gulley for more information.
Or, visit NikiGulley.com to see more of my contemporary landscape paintings.

Upcoming Art Trek to Paris, France with Niki Gulley and Scott Williams

August 28, 2013
“Dancing on Water,” Monet’s Gardens, Giverny, France  ©2013 Niki Gulley
36″ x 60″ textured oil painting 
Sunlight sparkles across aqua blue water, diamonds of purple glitter the pond’s surface; water lilies lift their faces toward the sun and gently dance across the water.
Golden sunlight filters through the brambles and ferns, a touch of cardinal red peeks through purple and pink foliage while azure skies reflect in the water.

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If you would like join us on our next Plein Air Painting / Photography Workshop to Paris June 19-27, 2014 where we will be visiting Monet’s Gardens, please visit nikigulley.com/artreks for more information. Register by Sept. 28th for a $600 savings!
Other upcoming Art Treks include:
Paris, France – June 19-27, 2014
 Provence, France – June 26 – July 4, 2014
Tuscany, Italy – Sept. 5-13, 2014
Cinque Terre & Lake Como, Italy – Sept. 12-21, 2014

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Or, if you would like more information on “Dancing on Water” please contact my Dallas gallery, American Fine Art, americanfineart.com.

E-mail Niki Gulley for more information.
Or, visit NikiGulley.com to see more of my contemporary landscape paintings.

Texas Hill Country Bluebonnet Oil Painting by Contemporary Impressionist Niki Gulley

August 26, 2013
“Traveling Together,” Texas Hill Country ©2013 Niki Gulley
36″ x 60″ textured oil painting

Inspired by a trip to the hill country, I wanted you feel the warmth and beauty on this perfect spring day while out for a leisurely drive among the bluebonnets and Texas wildflowers. Painted with thick oil paint and palette knives to achieve extreme texture, the resulting image comes to life and is loaded with color, movement and energy.

“Traveling Together” and several of Niki’s landscape oil paintings are available the Good Art Company Gallery in Fredericksburg, TX. For more information, please contact goodartcompany.com/gac/.

“Raising Sunshine” Red Barn oil painting by Niki Gulley

August 23, 2013
“Raising Sunshine” ©2013 Niki Gulley
18″ x 24” textured oil painting

Full of fun and whimsy, in my next painting from this barn series, I not only wanted to show the personality of this red barn but also make you feel like a kid again, climbing trees, swinging from their branches and returning to a simpler time in your childhood. Hinting that the barn has humanlike features, I feel like it, too, is inviting you to come play inside. Using vivid colors, distorted perspective and energetic thick oil paint strokes, I hope “Raising Sunshine” brings joy to your home and reminds you of the simpler pleasures when you were a kid.

For more information on my textured palette knife oil paintings, please e-mail me at Niki Gulley.

Or, please visit my website at NikiGulley.com to see more of my contemporary landscape paintings.

“Textures of Time” New Palette Knife oil painting

August 21, 2013
“Textures of Time” ©2013 Niki Gulley
18″ x 24” textured oil painting

In my next painting from this barn series, I wanted to show the personality and individuality of this red barn, since it was built by hand from nearby trees on the property by the owner’s family. I almost feel like it has a playful twinkle in its windows, inviting us to come closer and check out it’s hand-carved timbers and discover what stories it holds. Juxtaposed behind this sturdy oak, two enduring souls, are loaded with character, texture and rustic beauty, monuments to a simpler disappearing way of life.

For more information on my textured palette knife oil paintings, please e-mail me at Niki Gulley.

Or, please visit my website at NikiGulley.com to see more of my contemporary landscape paintings.

“Branching Out” New Textured Palette Knife Barn painting by Niki Gulley

August 19, 2013
“Branching Out” ©2013 Niki Gulley
18″ x 24” textured oil painting

Having grown up in Chicago, my husband and I return to the Midwest every summer, driving through miles of farmland between Texas and Illinois. While sometimes stark, I also find a peacefulness in the wide open countryside, a nostalgic tug on a simpler time from my childhood, and a fascination with the rustic beauty of each barn. I find it inspiring that so many of the structures were built by the farmers themselves from nearby trees, cut down and fashioned by hand. Each one has its unique personality, both pragmatic and aesthetic, a symbol that’s stood the test of time despite a disappearing way of life. In “Branching Out,” I wanted to juxtapose this sturdy oak framing an iconic red barn in the background, inviting you to climb its branches and relive childhood memories.

For more information on my textured palette knife oil paintings, please e-mail me at Niki Gulley.

New Whimsical Palette Knife Painting by Contemporary Impressionist Niki Gulley

August 16, 2013

“Soaring on a Dream,” ©2013 Niki Gulley

18″ x 24″ textured oil painting


I wanted this painting to be full of joy and energy, reminiscent of a simpler time. Working with palette knife, I moved thick oil paint around in long sweeping circular strokes to add to that feeling of movement and excitment, while choosing vivid primary colors to communicate a time of youth, innocence and freedom.