9×12 oil painting by Niki Gulley
Day 1, Morning Location – Tuscany Art Trek
On the first full day of our Plein Air Painting and Photography Workshop in Tuscany, we painted right outside the door of the villa where we were staying. The scenery was so amazing, with 360 degree views of the rolling hills and valleys, that we wanted to stay there and take it all in. With so many interesting vistas, it was hard to choose what to paint, but I decided to narrow my focus to this red roofed home and the sunlit hills leading up to it. I began my demo by quickly sketching out the scene and then blocking in my major colors and values. Once the canvas was filled, I concentrated on the focal point, adding details, highlights and shadows to the building and cypress trees. Next I started giving the hills dimension and defined the lone cypress on the right to break up the foreground and increase the sense of depth. A perfect morning to start out the trip!
After our flight, we finally arrived at our villa in Tuscany where the owners had put out a delicious spread of locally grown fruits and vegees – so delicious and a welcome treat!
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].
