Tag: palette knife landscape oil painting
New “Black Beach Sunrise” Palette Knife Painting of Iceland by Niki Gulley
Just Sold! My husband and I visited Iceland this August and fell in love with its beauty. On this morning, we got up early to capture sunrise in the south along the Black Beach. The rock formations and caves that formed next to the water are fascinating. Giant basalt columns stacked one right after the other dominate the shoreline. I wanted to capture their texture and the peaceful glow as the morning sun rose above the horizon in this little painting.
“Painted Harbor” Palette Knife Painting from Portree, Scotland by Niki Gulley
Scotland Art Trek – Days 3 and 4: Isle of Skye – Portree
Led by Niki Gulley and Scott Williams
Just Sold! Following our two days in Edinburgh, we drove to the Isle of Skye for our next stop on our Scotland Art Trek. Making home base in the picturesque town of Portree, we checked in that night, grabbed a delicious dinner and crashed so that we could get an early start the next day. We spent that morning exploring the unique, other-worldly, lush area known as Fairy Glen. Returning to Portree for lunch, the weather cleared just in time for us to start painting and photographing. We set up our easels at this postcard-perfect overlook of the colorful painted harbor below. Meanwhile the photographers visited Old Man of Storr to hike up to the amazing overlook and capture Isle of Skye’s unique beauty. That evening we reconnected for an amazing dinner and a perfect end to the day.
New Lupine Palette Knife Painting from Iceland by Niki Gulley
On our way back to Reykavik at the end of our Iceland journey, I had one small canvas left when we came across this beautiful patch of lupine blooming in front of this dramatic mountain. I’d really wanted to see a massive field of the blue buds while we were there, but whenever we would find the plants, the flowers had already bloomed and didn’t have much color left. So Scott pulled over long enough for me to capture these beauties, a perfect way to end the trip. Created with palette knife and oil paint, this piece is filled with joy, color and texture.
New Waterfall Palette Knife Painting from Iceland by Niki Gulley
Across from the unique Kirkjufell mountain is the Kirkjufellsfoss waterfall. Mult-tiered water flows and cascades from one layer to the next into the pool below, creating a river that eventually flows out to sea. Since it was a rather grey evening, I decided to play with the colors to create a more uplifting, fantastical scene. Using juicy, thick, diagonal strokes creates energy and movement adding to the sense of rushing water. Created with palette knife and oil paint, this piece is loaded with color, texture and joy.
“Falling Water VI” Palette Knife Painting of Iceland by Niki Gulley
Next up on our Iceland trek, was you guessed it – another waterfall! We had to fit in at least one more before heading back to the concrete jungle of Dallas. These falls were really special, cascading almost perfectly vertical from the tallest mountain around. From high above, the rushing water cuts through rock and lush grasses as it winds its way down from the heavens above to the rushing rapids below. To capture the water’s enormous length and height, I chose a vertical composition. Working with energetic diagonal strokes and thick paint, I hope you can feel the rush of the rapids and the surge of energy being surrounded by nature.
New Textured Waterfall Painting by Contemporary Impressionist Niki Gulley
Just Sold! My husband and I both LOVE waterfalls, and we try to visit them whenever we can find them on our adventures. This beautiful cascade turned out to be right in my husband’s backyard where he grew up. We were in New York visiting his hometown, and having grown up in a city, I couldn’t believe this gorgeous spectacle was right outside his door! Not far from Niagara falls, this massive water flow crashed and glided along the intricate rock formations rushing into the river far below. The sound of water rushing was so energetic and peaceful at the same time, and I wanted to capture that invigorating feeling in my painting. Setting up my easel at its base, I set out to recreate the energy and flow of the cascades while showing some of the lush vegetation surrounding them. Creating strokes in diagonal sweeping shapes to enhance that feeling of movement and rhythm, I hope you, too, can hear the flowing water’s music and feel the gentle spray from its mist.
New “Rural View IV” Palette Knife Painting by Contemporary Impressionist Niki Gulley
Continuing our journey along the west coast of Iceland, I was taken by their simplistic architecture, often topped with bright red roofs to add a pop of color to the natural landscape. In the next several paintings, you’ll see I chose a different house or barn each day and set out to capture its shape, the colors and light hitting the structure, and the picturesque, idyllic, quiet scenery surrounding the building in all directions. Here is my last one, where we got up to capture sunrise. The setting had such a beautiful glow to it that I wanted to recreate that warmth in the foreground and sky contrasted against the cool distant mountains. Created with palette knife and oil paint, this piece is full of surprising pops of color, texture, energy and joy.
New Mini Barn Painting from Iceland by Palette Knife Artist Niki Gulley
Continuing our journey along the west coast of Iceland, I was taken by their simplistic architecture, often topped with bright red roofs to add a pop of color to the natural landscape. In the next several paintings, you’ll see I chose a different house or barn each day and set out to capture its shape, the colors and light hitting the structure, and the picturesque, idyllic, quiet scenery surrounding the building in all directions. Here is my next one, another small 5” x 7” study where I came in close so you get a sense of scale for the size of the barn and the mountain behind it. My main focus for this painting was contrasting simplistic objects, repeating shapes and direction, texture and movement in my strokes.
New “Rural View II” Palette Knife Painting by Niki Gulley
Continuing our journey along the west coast of Iceland, I was taken by their simplistic architecture, often topped with bright red roofs to add a pop of color to the natural landscape. In the next several paintings, you’ll see I chose a different house or barn each day and set out to capture its shape, the colors and light hitting the structure, and the picturesque, idyllic, quiet scenery surrounding the building in all directions.
Here is my second painting, where I was drawn to the complimentary color palette of orange/gold grasses contrasted against a beautiful blue sky reflecting into the pond behind the barn. Playing off those colors in the distant mountains, I wanted this piece to be full of texture, joy and energy.