May 2013

“Reclining Thoughts” New Textured Aspen Tree Painting by Niki Gulley

May 31, 2013

48″ x 36” textured oil painting on wrap around canvas

In this painting, I wanted you to you to experience the wonderment of looking up into the treetops – just like you did when you were a kid. Lying on the ground, not a care in the world, you gaze in wonderment as the clouds drift by. Choosing playful colors and thick chunky staccato strokes add to that childlike whimsy and I hope you are transported back to a happy, carefree time and place.

For more information on my textured palette knife birch and aspen tree oil paintings, please e-mail Niki Gulley.

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

If you’re in the Chicago area, please stop by my booth at the 57th Street Art Fair:
Sat. June 1 • 11am – 6pm

Sun. June 2 • 10am – 5pm

On S. Kimbark, between 56th and 57th Streets • Booth # 827 (close to 56th St.) • Chicago, IL

57thstreetartfair.org

Niki Gulley at 57th Street Art Fair, Chicago, Il – this weekend

May 29, 2013

Three 48″ x 30″ canvases to form a 48″ x 90″ triptych

Textured oil painting on wrap around canvases

I wanted this large-scale painting 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 shoreline, shadows and reflections in a curving pattern to add to that mood. Dripping willow leaves frame the foreground as water lilies skim the pond’s surface. 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.

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

Or, if you’re in the Chicago area, please stop by her booth at the 57th Street Art Fair:

57th Street Art Fair

Sat. June 1 • 11am – 6pm

Sun. June 2 • 10am – 5pm

On S. Kimbark, between 56th and 57th Streets • Booth # 827 (close to 56th St.) • Chicago, IL

57thstreetartfair.org

E-mail – Niki Gulley

Red Roses Painting by Contemporary Impressionist Niki Gulley

May 27, 2013

textured oil painting on wrap around canvas
Can be hung horizontally 24″ x 48″ or vertically 48″ x 24″

I love the passion and energy in the color red, so I thought it would be fun to play with the still life I had set up of roses and make a painting where red was the dominant color. In person, seeing these roses at life size, I wanted the viewer to be swept up in the movement and emotion of this piece. Utilizing flowing spirals, weaving back and forth, playful thick and thin paint in bold, loose strokes, ruby petals emerging and disappearing, all meant to tease and excite your senses.

If you have any questions, please e-mail Niki Gulley.

To see more of Niki Gulley’s contemporary floral paintings, visit NikiGulley.com.

“Paved by Sunlight” New Aspen Painting by Niki Gulley

May 24, 2013

30″ x 40″ textured oil on canvas

I wanted you to feel the joy and peacefulness of walking through an aspen forest on a beautiful summer day in Colorado. With soft light illuminating the walkway and the distance sparkling in golden light, the only sounds to be heard are a slight breeze flickering the leaves overhead and the serenity of being immersed in nature. What lies ahead? The mysterious glow from beyond beckons you forward.

E-mail Niki Gulley for more information on her textured aspen and birch oil paintings.

NikiGulley.com

Ascension Sunset by Contemporary Landscape Painter Niki Gulley

May 22, 2013

JUST SOLD • 60″ x 36” textured oil on wrap around canvas

Lush. Exotic. Beauty Untamed.

Rugged and Wild. Rich and Velvety. Welcoming and Mystical.

Warm and Radiant.

Escaping the high-traffic tourist areas, we found Hawaii truly enchanting. While these steps really existed, I incorporated them into my painting because of what they could represent, beckoning you on a personal journey of discovery and hope.

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

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

New Textured Birch Painting by Niki Gulley

May 20, 2013

textured oil on canvas • 36″ x 48″

I love the first signs of fall – the crisp feel in the air, the crunching of leaves underfoot, the beautiful autumn colors, and being totally immersed in nature in the middle of a forest without a care in the world. In Fire and Gold I wanted to recreate that joyful feeling, choosing warm reds and yellows of autumn and using energetic strokes with my paint to heighten that mood. Building up first thin transparent layers and then thick textured layers of oil paint also add to a certain glow and magic in the final piece.

E-mail Niki Gulley for more information.

Or, please visit NikiGulley.com to see more of her contemporary landscape paintings.

New Textured Oil Painting from New Mexico by Contemporary Impressionist Niki Gulley

May 17, 2013

48″ x 36″ • Textured oil painting on canvas

During one of our plein air painting workshops that we lead in Santa Fe, we chose this beautiful location near Georgia O’Keefe’s home of Ghost Ranch. I loved the way the sun illuminated the rocky cliffs and the robust, fluffy clouds that drifted above us. Reaching for the sky, hopeful and steadfast, this one lone tree persevered despite the odds.

If you’d like more information on my contemporary landscape paintings, please e-mail Niki Gulley.

NikiGulley.com

“Heightened Awareness” Palette Knife Aspen Tree Painting by Niki Gulley

May 15, 2013

48″ x 36″ • Textured mixed media on canvas

In this painting I wanted you to feel that child-like wonder of staring up in into the treetops and the heavens above. I chose vibrant, cheerful yellows contrasted against a violet blue sky filled with big, puffy clouds. And, by arranging the aspens in a circular pattern heightened by thick, curving paint strokes, that joyful, playful feeling of hope and discovery are enhanced.

If you’d like more information on my textured aspen and birch tree paintings, e-mail Niki Gulley.

NikiGulley.com

Just sold – “Stop!” palette knife oil painting by Niki Gulley

May 13, 2013

Just SOLD • 16″ x 20” textured oil painting on wrap around canvas

While driving from Santa Fe to Taos, this scene literally stopped me in my tracks. Something about that giant rocky mound rising up from the surrounding flat expanse contrasted against the complimentary colored sky was so graphic and surreal. Add to that the bizarre juxtaposition of the stop sign encroaching on what once was uninhabited desert landscape, and I felt like this painting had something to say.

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.

“Golden Transitions” textured Aspen Tree oil painting by Niki Gulley

May 10, 2013

textured oil on canvas • 36″ x 60″

In “Golden Transitions,” I wanted you to feel like you were deep in the middle of the woods surrounded by nature in all of its beautiful autumn glory. I painted these aspen trees with extremely thick oil paint so that the texture and colors leap off the canvas.

To see more of my contemporary landscape paintings, visit my website at NikiGulley.com.

Or, e-mail Niki Gulley for more information.