palette knife painting

Contemporary Impressionist Niki Gulley Paints Vibrant Fall Foliage

January 5, 2024

SOLD! “Flowing into Fall” 20″ x 30″ textured acrylic painting on canvas

Today we are touring the Blue Ridge Parkway and Pisgah Forest outside of Asheville, NC. WOW!!!! The fall colors are amazing! I am in my happy place with inspiration at every turn. We finally found a large enough spot to pull over and park the RV so I could paint this gorgeous view. Hope you enjoy the scenery and escape as much as we did!

To see a video of the area as I was painting, check out https://www.instagram.com/p/CyyIZQ4Olse/.

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For more information on my textured palette knife paintings, please e-mail me at Niki Gulley.

Or, please visit my website at NikiGulley.com to see more of my contemporary landscape paintings.

“Perspective Control” Fall Aspen Painting by Niki Gulley

January 2, 2024

24” x 12″ textured mixed media painting

on 1.5″ wrap around canvas with the painting continuing around the edges

Enjoying the melodic tinkling of the aspen leaves rustling in the breeze, the trickling sounds of the babbling brook at our side, and the beauty of fall ablaze with color, I felt invigorated as I began painting this aspen forest. The setting was so peaceful and rejuvenating that I wanted to communicate that joyful feeling of discovery. Filling the canvas with energetic staccato strokes and bold colors, in addition to gently arching the tree trunks reaching towards the sky, add to that uplifting feeling. And then just a sliver of the trail cutting through the forest, suggests the excitement of the journey that is to come.

If interested in purchasing “Perspective Control,” please contact the The Statton Gallery:

The Statton Gallery

137 Spring Street

Eureka Springs, AR 72632

stattongallery.com

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For more information on my textured palette knife paintings, please e-mail me at Niki Gulley.

Or, please visit my website at NikiGulley.com to see more of my contemporary landscape paintings.

Contemporary Impressionist Niki Gulley Paints Maine’s Coasline

December 28, 2023

“Acadia Coastline”

SOLD • 18″ x 24″ textured acrylic painting on canvas panel

Just sold! Since the leaves are just barely turning and we are in Acadia National Park, after all, I just had to paint this gorgeous ocean view that screams we are in Maine! Fascinating rock cliffs surrounded by pine trees, an endless expanding horizon, and listening to the crashing waves as they approach the shore, are just what the doctor ordered. How does it make you feel?

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For more information on my textured palette knife paintings, please e-mail me at Niki Gulley.

Or, please visit my website at NikiGulley.com to see more of my contemporary landscape paintings.

“Cadillac Mountain” Painting from Acadia National Park by Niki Gulley

December 7, 2023

“Cadillac Mountain”

SOLD • 5″ x 7″ textured acrylic painting on panel

Just sold! Today we arrived in Acadia National Park in Maine and since no RV’s are allowed at the summit, we rode our scooter to the top of Cadillac Mountain. It was gorgeous! But there is not much room for art supplies in our little scooter’s storage compartment, so I packed my 5″ x 7″ paint gear and sat down on a fairly comfy boulder to paint this scenic view. With the first hints of fall in the ground cover adding a fun pop of red, I set out to capture this beautiful view of the rocks, pine trees, jagged hills and ocean.

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For more information on my textured palette knife paintings, please e-mail me at Niki Gulley.

Or, please visit my website at NikiGulley.com to see more of my contemporary landscape paintings.

“Rhythm Reflections” Palette Knife Painting by Niki Gulley

December 4, 2023

36″ x 60″ textured oil painting on canvas

I love being immersed in nature. After living in a city surrounded by concrete and noise, I find being surrounded by mother nature to be extremely cathartic, peaceful and rejuvenating. In Rhythm Reflections, I became fascinated with the mirror reflection on the aspen trees in the water below the horizon line. With the lake surface slightly blurring the individual leaves, patterns started emerging that created a sort of rhythm that I found mesmerizing. Working first with thin drippy paint, and then building up thick layers of oil paint with palette knives to achieve extreme dimension, this painting is loaded with movement, energy and color. Leaving the composition slightly abstracted gives you a chance to form your own contemplative narrative with nature.

For more information or to purchase “Rhythm Reflections,” please visit nikigulley.com/rhythm-reflections/.

To see more of my palette knife contemporary landscape paintings, check out nikigulley.com.

E-mail – Niki Gulley

“Fall Jamboree” Palette Knife Painting by Niki Gulley

December 1, 2023

36″ x 60″ textured oil painting on canvas

I love being immersed in nature. After living in a city surrounded by concrete and noise, I find being surrounded by mother nature to be extremely cathartic, peaceful and rejuvenating. In Fall Jamboree, I wanted to capture those feelings of happiness and tranquility. Working first with thin drippy paint, and then building up thick layers of oil paint with palette knives to achieve extreme dimension, this painting is loaded with movement, energy and color. I hope it lifts your spirits and recharges your batteries while bringing texture, joy and the outdoors inside your home.

To purchase “Fall Jamboree,” go to https://www.nikigulley.com/fall-jamboree/.

E-mail Niki Gulley with any questions.

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

New Uplifting Sunflower Painting by Contemporary Impressionist Niki Gulley

November 28, 2023

20″ x 30” textured mixed media painting on wrap around canvas

I wanted this piece to be uplifting and full of color and energy, just like how I feel to be surrounded by a joyful field of sunflowers! Perky, circular faces smile at you as their golden petals dance across the canvas. Painting these blooms full-sized helps to bring them to life and hopefully transport you to this happy location. Including surprising pops of vivid reds, purples and turquoises keep your eye moving throughout the scene, seeing new things each time you look at it, and adds to the jubilant feeling.

E-mail Niki Gulley with any questions about Happy Expressions or my contemporary sunflower and floral paintings.

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

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New “Passage of Our Ancestors” Palette Knife Painting by Niki Gulley

November 22, 2023

28″ x 16″ textured mixed media painting on canvas

In “Passage of Our Ancestors,” I was remembering when we visited the catacombs in Paris. Miles of bones all stacked on top of one another had quite the profound overwhelming effect on me. What if there was a way to flip that underground darkness into a celebration of life and death? Hispanic culture embraces the Day of the Dead, so why couldn’t I?see these lives lost in a diffrent light? Sorting through my photos, I was drawn to this section where the heads were arrranged in the shape of the cross. Femurs, tibias, etc. are stacked all around them, which I just hinted at in my painting. Painting the skulls in colorful technicolor starts to flip the narrative to a celebration of these precious souls. But, what I’m really looking forward to is hearing your interpretation.

E-mail Niki Gulley for more information on “Passage of Our Ancestors.”

Or, to see more of my textured palette knife paintings, please visit nikigulley.com.

“Cacophony” Textured Autumn Aspen Painting Niki Gulley

November 13, 2023

30” x 30″ textured mixed media painting

on 1.5″ wrap around canvas with the painting continuing around the edges

Enjoying the concert of aspen leaves rustling in the breeze and the beauty of fall ablaze with color, I felt invigorated as I began painting this aspen forest. The setting was so mesmerizing and rejuvenating that I wanted to communicate that joyful feeling of discovery. Filling the canvas with energetic staccato strokes and bold colors, in addition to gently arching the tree trunks reaching towards the sky, all add to that uplifting feeling of being immersed in nature’s symphony.

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For more details and to purchase “Cacophony,” visit https://ao5gallery.com/collections/niki-gulley.

For more information on my textured palette knife paintings, please e-mail me at Niki Gulley.

Or, please visit my website at NikiGulley.com to see more of my contemporary landscape paintings.

Fall Foliage in the Smoky Mountains by Palette Knife Painter Niki Gulley

November 9, 2023

Sadly, our Fall Foliage Freedom Tour has reached its end. What an amazing 6 week adventure!!! Fortunately, we might have saved the best for last, visiting Asheville, NC in all of its peak autumn glory the last week of October. I had to squeeze in one last painting opportunity at our gorgeous campsite.

Of course, one of the challenges of plein-air painting is you never know what is going to change in the scene you are capturing. For instance, our neighbors chose to park their black sedan right here in the middle of our picturesque view. Oh, well! The scenery beyond was still beautiful and I was able to take some photos on my camera to finish this one up at home. It also gave us a good excuse to take a scooter ride on that beautiful 70 degree day and check out the picturesque nature trails in the North Carolina Arboretum. Not a bad way to finish up our immersive autumn trip!

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For more information on my textured palette knife paintings, please e-mail me at Niki Gulley.

Or, please visit my website at NikiGulley.com to see more of my contemporary landscape paintings.