Art Classes Dallas

Day 2, Santa Fe Art Trek with Niki Gulley

August 24, 2012

SANTA FE ART TREK: Plein Air Painting / Photography Workshop with Niki Gulley and Scott Williams
Day 2, morning location – downtown Santa Fe
9″ x 12″ textured oil by Niki Gulley

On day 2 of our Santa Fe Art Trek, we visited this peaceful little street where each home is postcard perfect. Between the unique adobe architecture, the dramatic morning light, and the beautiful plantings surrounding each home, it was hard to choose what to paint! Each student found something different that excited them, and I became fascinated with this window and rain spout, and the deep shadows they were casting. I also loved the glowing Russian sage against the golden terra cotta wall and the beautiful plum tree in the distance.

Above: Painting in Santa Fe.

Visit nikigulley.com/artreks/ for upcoming Art Treks and Workshops or

E-mail Niki Gulley for more information.

“Long Shadows,” White Rock Lake by Niki Gulley

August 15, 2012

12” x 24” oil on canvas

Sunset draws lengthening shadows across the grassy waters edge at Sunset Bay, White Rock. The lake shimmers in the evening glow as sky high above fills with deep blues and before you the soft, moody colors stretch out, long lines beckoning you into the complex diagonal composition. Rich texture models the leaves, branches and tree trunk rimmed in the sunset and shadow. Vivid masses of color form the foliage on the opposite bank, fall at its peak. The long cast shadows draw you into the tranquil landscape and the peaceful, dreamy sunset at White Rock Lake.

E-mail Niki Gulley for more information on her contemporary landscape paintings.

Santa Fe Art Trek – Aug. 12-18 with Niki Gulley

July 27, 2012

SOLD • 9″ x 12″ textured oil

Santa Fe is the muse of many famous artists and photographers, and that could be you, too! Join us for our Plein-Air Painting and Photography Workshop this August in Santa Fe, New Mexico.We will transport you to different picturesque locations, where you will be painting and (or) photographing scenes that inspired Georgia O’Keeffe and Ansel Adams. Santa Fe offers breathtaking vistas; sunny, dry weather, world class restaurants, galleries and shopping ensconced in a charming, 400 year old Spanish Colonial city that welcomes the new and exciting and never grows old. This is a not to be missed workshop in “The Land of Enchantment.”

Santa Fe Art Trek

Plein Air Painting and/or photography workshop taught by Scott Williams and Niki Gulley

Santa Fe, New Mexico

August 12 -18, 2012

See nikigulley.com/art-classes for more details

or e-mail Niki Gulley with any questions and to register.

Above: Our students painting this scenic overlook of the Rio Chama from last year’s Santa Fe Art Trek.

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To see more of Niki Gulley’s textured oil paintings, visit NikiGulley.com.

http://issuu.com/cfai.co/docs/visual_language_vol_1_no__6_ll

Plein-Air Painting at Versailles with Niki Gulley

June 20, 2012

Versailles, 5″ x 7″ pastel by Niki Gulley

Day 5, Afternoon – Art Trek Paris with Niki Gulley and Scott Williams

Thoroughly enjoying the sunshine and this peaceful hidden garden, we scoped out another view and tried to capture more of the sense of being in France in our next sketch. Manicured, organized, and adorned with statues and urns as focal points, this vantage communicated the idea of the French formal garden that I was looking for. At the end of the day, the French groundsman was kind enough to offer us pastel artists fixative for our drawings! That definitely breaks the misconception we have of the French not being friendly! A perfect ending to a perfect day.

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If you would like to come along on one of our upcoming Plein Air Painting / Photography Workshops to

Santa Fe, NM Aug. 12 – 18 (see nikigulley.com/art-classes) or

Tuscany, Italy Aug. 31 – Sept. 8 (visit nikigulley.com/artreks),

please e-mail Niki Gulley for more information. Registration deadlines are quickly approaching. We’d love to have you join us!

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To see more of my contemporary impressionistic landscape paintings, please go to my website at NikiGulley.com.

“Vertical Aspirations” textured aspen oil painting

February 8, 2012

SOLD • 48” x 36” textured oil painting

In this painting I wanted you to feel that child-like wonder of staring up in into the treetops and the heavens above. Choosing vibrant, cheerful yellows and reds contrasted against a deep violet sky and arranging the aspens in a circular pattern heightened by thick, curving paint strokes, all add to that joyful, playful feeling of hope and discovery.

If you’d like to create paintings with more freedom and expression, please join me Feb. 18th and 19th for a workshop I’m teaching on “Loosening Up.”

“Loosening Up” Painting Workshop

Feb. 18 and / or Feb. 19

Dallas, TX

See nikigulley.com/?page_id=13 for details and to register.

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

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

“Tuscan Drive” pastel

January 9, 2012

pastel • 14″ x 11″

This quintessential Tuscan farmhouse framed by the cone-shaped cypress trees is so indicative of Tuscany and the area that we stay in that it’s hard not to paint it! This scene is just around the corner from where we stay while we’re teaching our Plein Air Painting / Photography Workshop each September and I’ve always liked how the curving lines of the gravel driveway lead you up the hill. I wanted to add a lot of color and energy to the foreground grasses to create a joyful feeling, much like most everyone experiences being in Tuscany.

If you’d like to come along Aug. 31 – Sept. 8 for our next Tuscany Plein-Air Painting / Photography Workshop, e-mail Niki Gulley for more information or visit nikigulley.com/?page_id=1420. Register by Jan. 13th for a $500 discount. We’d love to have you join us!

To see more of my plein-air paintings, visit NikiGulley.com.

October 12, 2011

“Magical Light, Tuscany” • 8” x 10″ oil by Niki Gulley

Day 4, afternoon location – ART TREKS: TUSCANY
with Niki Gulley and Scott Williams

After we finished a delicious antipasto lunch of prosciuttos, local pecorino, and fresh fruits and vegetables, we headed into the hills for our afternoon painting location. Starting fairly late in the day, we timed it so that the light would be soft and golden as we were putting the finishing details on our paintings. For this painting, we focused in closer on one of the tuscan farmhouses, with just a suggestion of the peaks and valleys in the background. Between the quiet surroundings, the quintessential Tuscan vineyard behind us and the perfect weather conditions, this proved to be a very inspiring afternoon.

Niki Gulley and one of her students painting the agriturismos and rolling hills in Tuscany.

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If you would like to join us on future ART TREKS to Paris, France in May or Tuscany, Italy in September,visit nikigulley.com/?page_id=1420, which goes into detail about our upcoming Plein Air Painting and Photography Workshops.

Or, if you’d be interested in learning how to paint “plein air” or improve your location painting a little closer to home, visit nikigulley.com/?page_id=13, which tells you about my upcoming Painting Workshop at the Dallas Arboretum and White Rock Lake, Oct. 29th and 30th. Sign up by the end of today for a $40 savings!

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E-mail me at Niki@NikiGulley.com for more information.

August 4, 2010

12” x 12” oil on canvas

I created these birch trees with palette knife and extremely thick oil paint to achieve texture and suggest the energy found in nature. The image is painted around the sides of the 1.5 inch deep gallery wrap canvas so that it looks three-dimensional and can be hung as is without a frame for a contemporary look. These chunky birch paintings look great in pairs and threes.

If you’d like to learn how to create loose, vibrant paintings join us this fall in my adult art classes in Dallas. I am beginning registration and classes fill up quickly, so visit nikigulley.com/?page_id=13 or e-mail me at Niki@NikiGulley.com for more information.

Painting Workshop Saturday

March 24, 2010

“Beyond the Trees” by Niki Gulley
18″ x 24″ pastel â€¢ sold

I love the way sunlight trickles through tangled branches and creates mystery, and capturing that light is such a fun challenge as in the case with “Beyond the Trees.”

If you’d like to learn how to translate the fleeting light outdoors onto canvas, join me in my plein-air painting workshop this Saturday. I still have 2 spots left and I’d love to have you paint with us! Visit nikigulley.com/ng2/?page_id=13 or e-mail me at Niki@NikiGulley.com for more information.

Painting Workshops Dallas

February 26, 2010

“Afternoon Impressions” by Niki Gulley
14″ x 11″ oil painting

I am so anxious for spring to be here, that I just had to get out of the studio yesterday and paint outdoors. Pretending that winter is actually over, it turned out to be a lovely afternoon for a few hours and I decided to set up at one of my favorite locations in Dallas, Turtle Creek.

While right now it’s still too early for the azaleas to be in bloom, I really love the peacefulness of the trickling water sounds from the creek, the intertwining branches in the tree limbs above, and the dappled shadows created from the sunlight peeking though them. I only had a short time so I had to capture the scene and light quickly!

If you’d also like to paint this beautiful part of Dallas, join me March 27th when I teach my next workshop, “Conquering Cabin Fever: Expand your painting into a whole new world outside the studio,” let me know. For more information, visit nikigulley.com/ng2/?page_id=13

Or e-mail me at Niki@NikiGulley.com.