painting workshops

New “Simple Life IV” Palette Knife Painting by Niki Gulley

March 10, 2022

textured oil paint on canvas • framed in natural wood floater frame • 16″ x 20″

My husband and I were on a road trip when we came across a couple of these white house glowing on the horizon. Set among vibrant green gently rolling hills with the intense blue ocean in the distance, something beckoned us to stop. Maybe it was the quiet beauty of the scene, or the nostalgic tug at a simpler life, but we were both moved to capture the moment. To convey that feeling of a less congested life, I accentuated the the basic shapes of the homes against the simple repetive curves of the hills. Meanwhile a few wispy clouds drift by adding to the tranquility of the moment. I hope you are transported to this memory of our past, before modern life got so complicated.

To see more of my palette knife contemporary impressionistic landscape paintings, visit nikigulley.com.

E-mail – Niki Gulley

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If you’re interested in joining us on one of our upcoming Art Treks or Foodie Treks, please let us know. Spaces fill up quickly! For more information on upcoming Treks, please visit http://www.ArtTreks.org.

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E-mail Niki Gulley with any questions about my palette knife travel paintings.

To see more of my contemporary impressionistic landscape paintings, visit nikigulley.com.

New “Simple Life IV” Palette Knife Painting by Niki Gulley

January 9, 2020

textured oil paint on canvas • 16″ x 20″

My
husband and I were on a road trip when we came across a couple of these
white house glowing on the horizon. Set among vibrant green gently
rolling hills with the intense blue ocean in the distance, something
beckoned us to stop. Maybe it was the quiet beauty of the scene, or the
nostalgic tug at a simpler life, but we were both moved to capture the
moment. To convey that feeling of a less congested life, I accentuated
the the basic shapes of the homes against the simple repetive curves of
the hills. Meanwhile a few wispy clouds drift by adding to the
tranquility of the moment. I hope you are transported to this memory of
our past, before modern life got so complicated.

To see more of my palette knife contemporary impressionistic landscape paintings, visit nikigulley.com.

E-mail – Niki Gulley

***

If you’re interested in joining us on one of our upcoming Art Treks or Foodie Treks to Iceland or Tuscany, please let us know. Spaces fill up quickly!

Iceland – Aug. 2020

Foodie Trek – Tuscany – Oct. 2020

Paris – May 2021

Portugal – Sept. 2021

For more information on upcoming Treks, please visit http://www.ArtTreks.org.

****

E-mail Niki Gulley with any questions about my palette knife travel paintings.

To see more of my contemporary impressionistic landscape paintings, visit nikigulley.com.

New “Simple Life II” Palette Knife Painting by Niki Gulley

January 8, 2020

textured oil paint on canvas • 16″ x 20″

My
husband and I were on a road trip when we came across a couple of these
white house glowing on the horizon. Set amongst vibrant green gently
rolling hills with the intense blue ocean in the distance, something
beckoned us to stop. Maybe it was the quiet beauty of the scene, or the
nostalgic tug at a simpler life, but we were both moved to capture the
moment. To convey that feeling of a less congested life, I accentuarted
the the basic shapes of the homes against the simple repetive curves of
the hills. Meanwhile a few wispy clouds drift by adding to the
tranquility of the moment. I hope you are transported to this memory of
our past, before modern life got so complicated.

***

If you’re interested in joining us on one of our upcoming Art Treks or Foodie Treks to Iceland or Tuscany, please let us know. Spaces fill up quickly!

Iceland – Aug. 2020

Foodie Trek – Tuscany – Oct. 2020

Paris – May 2021

Portugal – Sept. 2021

For more information on upcoming Treks, please visit http://www.ArtTreks.org.

****

E-mail Niki Gulley with any questions about my palette knife travel paintings.

To see more of my contemporary impressionistic landscape paintings, visit nikigulley.com.

“Painting Outside the Lines” Workshop with Niki Gulley

October 24, 2012

Sold • 48” x 36” textured oil on canvas

Just Sold at the Good Art Company! 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 contrasted against a crystal blue sky and arranging the aspens in a circular pattern heightened by thick, curving paint strokes, both add to that joyful, playful feeling of hope and discovery.

If you would like to paint with more freedom, color and energy in your work, join me on Nov. 2nd – 4th when I’ll be teaching a “Painting Outside the Lines” workshop sponsored by the Good Art Company in Fredericksburg, TX. For more information, visit goodartcompany.com/gacart/index.php?.

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

Or, e-mail [email protected] for more information.

NikiGulley.com

Feb. 18th Painting Workshop

February 10, 2012

SOLD • 30” x 30” textured oil on canvas

Growing up in Chicago, our brutally cold winters would feel like they lasted forever so my family tried to vacation along our tropical coasts whenever possible. I loved this week we spent together – the cathartic rhythm of the ocean waves lapping against the shore as dad and I tried to ride each crest as close to the beach as possible, feeling the cool sand squish between my toes and fingers while building sand castles together, and enjoying the peacefulness at sunset as the gorgeous fireball dropped down from the sky and cast diamond-like reflections across the ocean’s surface.

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,” at my studio in Dallas, TX. See nikigulley.com/?page_id=13 for more details and to register.

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

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

Tuscany Painting & Photography Workshop

February 23, 2010

24″ x 36″ pastel

After my husband, Scott Williams, and I finished teaching our painting/photography workshop in Venice last May, we headed south to my next favorite part of Italy, Tuscany. I thoroughly enjoy the beauty of the rolling hills and the peacefulness (especially when compared to Venice) in this region. On this night, we lucked out with a gorgeous sunset, so we pulled over to capture the exploding colors in the sky behind this typical Tuscan stone farmhouse. When I finished the painting, I thought it needed a little more warmth, so I turned a light on in the villa and that provided the life I was looking for!

If you’d like to join us in picturesque Tuscany this September for our next Painting & Photography Workshop,

e-mail me at [email protected],

Or visitÂ nikigulley.com/ng2/?page_id=13.

Color Explosion Workshop Wrap Up

January 31, 2010

“Afternoon in Taos” by Niki Gulley

14″ x 11″ oil painting â€¢ SOLD

I just finished teaching my Color Explosion workshop and it turned out great! Here is one of the paintings I completed, which demonstrated one of the color schemes we talked about â€“ how two sets of complementary colors work together. Starting with a black and white photo so that I could invent my own colors and not to be married to my photographic reference, I selected orange and blue for my dominant colors to suggest later afternoon sun on the adobe building and adding to a sense of it glowing in the sun. For my second pair of complimentary colors, I chose red and green for the hollyhocks, giving the overall scene a warm, summery feel.

January 29, 2010

Venice oil painting â€¢ 10″ x 8″ â€¢ by Niki Gulley â€¢ SOLD

This is one of my favorite paintings I completed during our Venice workshop last spring. I found us the perfect quiet spot to paint with almost no onlookers, however it turned out to be a major thoroughfare for the gondolas. We were serenaded the whole time by various baritone gondolier voices breaking into “AmorÃ©” and curious passengers craning to see what we were painting. It only added to the ambience!

Once I blocked in the background of this piece I started painting the gondola, which was quite a challenge since they didn’t stay still for more than a few seconds. Luckily there was a constant stream of boats so if I waited a little bit, another one would come floating into the scene. Painting moving gondoliers also proved to be difficult, and I was struggling with his hair when right at that moment, a new driver came into view with this great hat and navy scarf wrapped around it. VoilÃ ! Problem solved.

If you’d like to join us for our next painting / photography adventure in Venice this May, e-mail me [email protected]. There are only 2 days left to sign up for this amazing workshop!

Visit nikigulley.com/ng2/?page_id=13 for more information.

Oil Painting Demonstration Tuscany

January 24, 2010

12″ x 12″ oil painting â€¢ Tuscany â€¢ by Niki Gulley

The NLAPW invited me to demonstrate my technique and approach to oil painting this weekend. With only 30 minutes for the demo, I thought about what I could actually paint that quickly when it usually takes me a lot longer to finish an oil painting in the studio or on location, and often times I have to complete the final layers a couple of days later when the earlier paint has dried. So I thought if I stuck with a small canvas, started with squeezing out more paint that I’d need, premixing my colors, having the underpainting and drawing completed, and stuck with a subject I was familiar with, I could accomplish enough for the group to take away a nugget or two of information.Having visited Tuscany a couple of times and painted numerous scenes plein air and from photos and memories, I chose this Tuscan landscape with the lone clump of cypress. I love the rolling hills, wildflowers in the foreground, and especially that bizarre grouping of trees in the distance. Why are they planted that way? How come they are the only trees for a mile around? The site intrigues me, so I was excited about sharing it with the group. Thank you for having me as your guest, ladies! I hope you enjoyed the demo.

For more information about my paintings from Italy or about upcoming painting/photography workshops in Tuscany and Venice, e-mail me at [email protected].

Details are soon to come on my website, www.nikigulley.com/ng2/?page_id=13.