Dallas Arboretum painting

“Golden Moment” pastel by Contemporary Impressionist Niki Gulley

September 1, 2014

12″ x 24″ pastel

I painted this pastel at the Dallas Arboretum last fall to capture the gorgeous fall colors, and the mysterious long shadows cast by the sun as it was nearing sunset. I loved the vivid reds and oranges of the foliage, and the way the sun was causing those colors to glow along with the highlights on the path.

For more information on “Golden Moment,” please e-mail Niki Gulley.

Fall Foliage Pastel

December 5, 2012

12″ x 24″ pastel

This pastel along with several others will be available at our “Adopt – a – Art” party on Dec. 7th and 8th. As some of you may know, we are planning to move to a larger studio space and while we would love to take all of our precious friends with us, we would rather not move everything and start with a clean studio space. Consequently, we are going to do something this year that we have never done before and may never do again, we are going to have an adoption weekend. There will be nominal fees associated with some of these to cover the care and feeding of them over the years and all of our little friends will be available for viewing, ready to go to new homes. We hope that you can make it!

Adopt – a – Art

One time only art sale and auction of Niki Gulley’s pastels/paintings and Scott Williams’ photographs

Fri. Dec. 7th 7pm – 9pm

Sat. Dec. 8th 1pm – 4pm

Gulley / Williams Studio – Dallas, TX

RSVP Niki Gulley for address and directions

NikiGulley.com

Painting at the Dallas Arboretum

November 9, 2011

Bamboo Forest – 8″ x 10″ oil painting by Niki Gulley

Afternoon Location: the Dallas Arboretum, Bamboo Garden

In the afternoon of my Plein Air Painting Workshop that I taught at the Dallas Arboretum last weekend, we found another quiet painting spot at the furthest end of the gardens. Again, it was really interesting to see how half a dozen painters all view the scene differently. Some students chose to paint roses, some potted plants and tucked away benches, and others the dappled light coming through the trees highlighting some of the mums and pathways.

My EasyL pochade box and palette set-up.

I’ve always loved the bamboo garden, so that’s what I chose for my subject. I like the feeling of being protected by the tall stalks and the canopy they form overhead. There is a peacefulness back there, so that you feel like you are immersed in the middle of a forest. I also liked the way the light was filtering through in just a couple of places to illuminate the walkway and the distant clearing.

One of my students, Ann McCann, painting the Arboretum’s beautiful rose bushes.

If you’d like more information about my upcoming workshops in the US and Europe, visit nikigulley.com/?page_id=13.

Or, to see more of my local Dallas and travel paintings, please stop by the Bath House Cultural Center for my last show of the year, Nov. 18th – 20th. dallasculture.org/bathhouseculturecenter/index.asp

E-mail [email protected].

Plein Air Painting Workshop at the Dallas Arboretum

November 7, 2011

Purple Clematis, 8″ x 10″ oil painting by Niki Gulley

Morning Location: the Dallas Arboretum, Poetry Garden

On the first morning of the Plein Air Painting Workshop I taught at the Dallas Arboretum last weekend, we found one of the most quiet locations we could on such a busy, beautiful morning at the Arboretum. While a little chilly at the start of the day, it quickly warmed up to a beautiful 68 degrees. The gardens were in full fall bloom, and it was difficult to narrow down just a single subject to paint, but each painter picked out something that spoke to them – from a single flower, to a sun-lit path framed by trees, to the architecture in the private garden or a quiet bench framed by flowering pots.

So that my students wouldn’t miss out on the morning light, I started a quick demo that I had sketched out the previous day of these clematis. To save time, I had also laid out my palette colors, working with water-soluble oil paints, the night before and stored them in the freezer to keep them from drying out. Pre-mixing some of the purple values in the flowers, the greens of the leaves, and the stucco colors in the background so that I could just paint, and not have to stop and mix colors in the process, I quickly laid in a thin coat of the stucco wall and shadow colors so they could be drying.

Then, I established the darks in the flowers with brush and came on top with lighter colors and palette knife to give the flowers dimension. Normally I would work around the whole canvas, but with plein air painting, your time is so short between when your light changes, that at this stage, I went ahead and finish out the details in my focal point, the two main flowers. Lastly, if there is time left, I finish up the painting, in this case adding leaves, vines, and thick painter to the stucco wall to suggest the sun reflecting off its surface. At this point, it’s best to stop and not overwork the spontaneity of the sketch – you can always go back and tweak things back in the studio later.

Check out some of my students’ morning paintings. Even though we were set up within 20 feet of each other, I love how each painter sees things differently.

If you’d like more information about my upcoming workshops in the US and Europe, visit nikigulley.com/?page_id=13.

Or, to see more of my local Dallas and travel paintings, please stop by the Bath House Cultural Center, for my last show of the year, Nov. 18th – 20th. dallasculture.org/bathhouseculturecenter/index.asp

E-mail [email protected].

NikiGulley.com

Painting at the Dallas Arboretum with Niki Gulley

October 21, 2011

pastel on board • 10″ x 19″

The Dallas Arboretum is one of my favorite spots in the metroplex to paint, and last fall it was ablaze with color. I love being there late in the day when the crowds have thinned and the light is softer. In this pastel, I wanted to capture the intense fall foliage and the dramatic purple shadows cast by those trees along this path, which beckons you to wander down it.

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Join us Oct. 29th and 30th at the Arboretum and White Rock Lake if you’d like to experience nature first hand while improving your painting skills. Even though working in your home or studio might feel quite comfortable, there’s nothing like painting the subject that is in front of you. The sights, sounds, and smells of your surroundings actually go into your work!

Capturing the light quickly adds to the excitement and spontaneity of your final piece, while observing values from life will take your painting to a whole new level. Often times don’t you wonder when you look back through your photos, “What was I thinking when I took this one?” When you paint en plein air, you’ll be able to capture the scene accurately and the magic in that moment, versus being disappointed with your photos. Also, training your eye to see light and shadow accurately on location, will greatly help your studio work by learning to correct what you are seeing in your photos. With only a couple of spots left, I hope you can join us next weekend for this exciting workshop!

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. Space if filling up quickly, so e-mail [email protected] for more information and to register.

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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 European Plein Air Painting and Photography Workshops.

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E-mail me at [email protected] for more information.