Tag: Art Treks Italy

“Dreamlike Journey” Pastel from Venice by Contemporary Impressionist Niki Gulley

March 2, 2023

 

“Dreamlike Journey,” Venice, Italy ©2012 Niki Gulley

12” x 9” pastel

 

I created this pastel during a workshop my husband and I taught in Venice. We love the city, and there is so much inspiration there between the art, architecture, canals and magical light that it’s really hard to narrow down what to paint! On this day, we decided to stick with a classic view of the canals. I like the way light peeks through the narrow passageway and leads your eye from building to building, and the gondola that happened into the scene created the perfect finishing detail.
 
If you’d also like to experience the beauty, history and culture of Italy, join me and my husband / travel photographer, Scott Williams, for our Plein Air Painting and Photography Art Treks.. Our unique Art Treks afford you the option to choose which aspects interest you, whether it is painting, photography, both or neither, thereby giving you an opportunity to make the most of your experience. Our trips are designed to hone your skills and expand your creativity, all while you further your artistic voice and immerse yourself in the region’s culture and lifestyle. Non-participating partners are encouraged to join us for a reduced price, and we’ll help with travel arrangements, tours, transportation, etc. while we’re painting and photographing.
 
E-mail Niki Gulley for more information or go to ArtTreks.org.

 

Visiting Bellagio with Niki Gulley and Scott Williams, Plein Air Painting and Photography Workshop 2013

October 30, 2013
8″ x 10″ textured oil painting by Niki Gulley
Day 5, Lake Como – Afternoon location: Bellagio
 CINQUE TERRE / LAKE COMO ART TREK
Plein Air Painting and Photography Workshop with Niki Gulley and Scott Williams

After lunch, we rode the ferry to the famous town of Bellagio. Most folks chose to take the afternoon off from painting and shooting, and instead stroll the colorful town and do some shopping. Scott and I offered to take all the gear, and we snagged a bench to relax along the town’s promenade. The location was beautiful with the pastel hued buildings set against the mountain backdrop and azure water in the foreground. Working with palette knife and thick paint, I quickly sketched in the scene before we caught the last ferry back to Varenna.
We finished the day with another amazing meal and new found friends!
If you’d like to join us in Cinque Terre / Lake Como for our next Plein Air Painting and Photography Workshop Sept. 12th-21st, please let me know. The workshop is already half full and a final registration deadline of this Saturday is quickly approaching, so sign up soon! For more details, e-mail Niki Gulley or go to nikigulley.com/artreks.
Upcoming Art Treks
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 and Lake Como, Italy – Sept. 12-21, 2014



Plein Air Painting / Photography Workshops
Led by Niki Gulley and Scott Williams
Registration Deadline: Saturday Nov. 2nd

E-mail me at [email protected] for more information.
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To see more of my contemporary landscape paintings and plein air oil paintings, please visit my website at NikiGulley.com.

Deadline this week for Venice Art Trek

November 14, 2012
“Dreamlike Journey,” Venice, Italy ©2012 Niki Gulley
12” x 9” pastel

I created this pastel during a workshop my husband and I taught in Venice. We love the city, and there is so much inspiration there between the art, architecture, canals and magical light that it’s really hard to narrow down what to paint! On this day, we decided to stick with a classic view of the canals. I like the way light peeks through the narrow passageway and leads your eye from building to building, and the gondola that happened into the scene created the perfect finishing detail.

If you’d also like to experience the beauty, history and culture of Venice, join me and my husband / travel photographer, Scott Williams, for our Plein Air Painting and Photography Art Trek to Venice during Carnivalé, Feb. 2-9. Our unique Art Treks afford you the option to choose which aspects interest you, whether it is painting, photography, both or neither, thereby giving you an opportunity to make the most of your experience. Our trips are designed to hone your skills and expand your creativity, all while you further your artistic voice and immerse yourself in the region’s culture and lifestyle. Non-participating partners are encouraged to join us for a reduced price, and we’ll help with travel arrangements, tours, transportation, etc. while we’re painting and photographing.

Plein Air Painting and Photography Workshop
Carnivalé – Venice, Italy
Feb. 2-9, 2013
Taught by Niki Gulley and Scott Williams
Final Registration deadline: Nov. 18

E-mail Niki Gulley for more information or go to nikigulley.com/artreks.

Deadline for Niki Gulley’s “Coloring Outside the Lines” Workshop

October 14, 2012
“Room with a View,” Tuscany ©2012 Niki Gulley
10″ x 30″ textured oil painting of our villa in Tuscany

Last night – Tuscany Art Trek

On the last evening of our Tuscany Art Trek, we gathered for show and tell (which everyone prefers calling it over a critique) with some wine and treats that we’d picked out throughout the week. It was so much fun seeing the spiral “stairway of art” grow each day as my student’s added their completed paintings to the display, and amazing to watch the progression in each’s work as they got more confident with their paint and letting their individual voices out. Scott assembled a slide show for each of the photography student’s top shots, and we thoroughly enjoyed getting to see Tuscany through each photographer’s unique perspective. It’s always fascinating to me how two artists (or in this case 9) can stand in the same place, and capture something completely different. 
We ended the night with one last delicious Italian meal, complete with truffles, bruschetta, homemade pastas and vin santo for dessert, enjoying the company of new friends. A perfect end to the trip!
My student’s paintings from the week on the spiral stairway of art.

If you’d like to join us for next year’s Art Trek to Venice in February, Greece in May, Tuscany in September or Cinque Terre / Lake Como in September, please visit NikiGulley.com/Artreks for more information. Workshops fill up quickly, so please let us know if you are interested. Registration deadlines for some of the trips are less than a month away!

If you’d like to learn how to paint with more color and freedom, please join me for my upcoming workshop, “Coloring Outside the Lines,” in Fredericksburg, TX, Nov. 2-4. Registration deadline is Oct. 15th. For details, visit nikigulley.com/art-classes.


If you have questions about the Art Treks workshops or are interested in purchasing any of my plein air paintings, please e-mail me at [email protected].

Day 2, Tuscany Art Trek with Niki Gulley

September 26, 2012
12×9 oil painting by Niki Gulley

Day 2, Montepulciano – Tuscany Art Trek

We woke up the next morning to beautiful blue skies with gorgeous puffy white clouds. We set up our easels at this amazing overlook in Montepulciano, with the whole valley spreading out before us. With so much to choose from for our subject, we decided to focus in on the church below. Our light was constantly changing from the beautiful clouds above so we had to paint quickly, and consequently each of our reactions to the scene came out differently on our canvases. I loved the variety in each artist’s work!

Pat Lautner and Sheri Jones painting at the gorgeous Montepulciano overloook.

If you’d like to join us for next year’s Art Trek to Venice in February, Greece in May, Tuscany in September or Cinque Terre / Lake Como in September, please visit NikiGulley.com/Artreks for more information. Workshops fill up quickly, so please let us know if you are interested. The early deadline and to receive a $500 savings for the Venice workshop is less than a month away.



If you have questions about the Art Treks workshops or are interested in purchasing any of my plein air paintings, please e-mail me at [email protected].

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US Classes and Workshops – nikigulley.com/art-classes.

Travel Art Treks and Plein Air Workshops – nikigulley.com/artreks/
Available Paintings – NikiGulley.com

Plein Air Painting in Tuscany with Niki Gulley and Scott Williams

September 24, 2012
9×12 textured oil painting by Niki Gulley

Day 1, afternoon location – Tuscany Art Trek

That afternoon it started to drizzle, so we picked a location that was covered where we could still paint and photograph. With the sky fairly overcast and the hues rather dull that afternoon, we used the cypress as our subject, but had fun playing with color. I think the results were even better than had it been a sunny day! Everyone’s paintings turned out beautiful, and that evening we treated ourselves to a fabulous tuscan dinner of pastas, pecorinos, meats and a little vino to treat ourselves. A great end to a fun filled day!

One of our photographers getting into the shot!

An amazing dinner with new friends.
If you’d like to join us for next year’s Art Trek to Venice in February, Greece in May, Tuscany in September or Cinque Terre / Lake Como in September, please visit NikiGulley.com/Artreks for more information. Workshops fill up quickly, so please let us know if you are interested. The early deadline and to receive a $500 savings for the Venice workshop is less than a month away.



If you have questions about the Art Treks workshops or are interested in purchasing any of my plein air paintings, please e-mail me at [email protected].

***




US Classes and Workshops – nikigulley.com/art-classes.

Travel Art Treks and Plein Air Workshops – nikigulley.com/artreks/
Available Paintings – NikiGulley.com

Cinque Terre Plein-Air Painting Workshop

January 4, 2011
“Adrift,” Cinque Terre, Italy ©2011 Niki Gulley
SOLD • pastel 36″ x 24″
Inspired by our trip to the Cinque Terre (or translated, 5 lands) along Italy’s west coast, “Adrift,” shows one of the peaceful harbors among these 5 cities that hug the shoreline and are linked by an exhilarating hiking trail. I liked the lone boat anchored in this cove, leading your eye to the beach, and the contrast of the yellow against the crystal blue waters. The buildings, all brightly painted stack miraculously up the mountains in the distance, and create a colorful backdrop suggesting you are no longer in the United States. Cinque Terre is simply breathtaking!

If you’d like to join us in Cinque Terre and Lake Como, Italy this Sept. 8th – 16th for our next Plein-Air Painting / Photography Workshop, e-mail Niki Gulley for more information or visit nikigulley.com/?page_id=1420. Sign up by Jan. 13th for a $500 discount. We’d love to have you join us.
To see more of my paintings from Italy visit NikiGulley.com.