Pastel Demonstration by Texas Artist Niki Gulley for the Mid Cities Art League

“Tuscan Dreams” ©2014  Niki Gulley
14″ x 11″ pastel
Inspired from one of our Art Treks to Tuscany, I chose to paint this cypress grove for my pastel demonstration for the Mid Cities Art League last week. First creating an underpainting in the complimentary reds and oranges, I then layered and cross hatched my pastels allowing some of the underneath layers to show through. The resulting image is loaded with uplifting color, energy and movement!

If you’d like to join us in Tuscany for our next Plein Air Painting and Photography Workshop Sept. 5th-13th, please let me know. For more details, e-mail Niki Gulley or go to nikigulley.com/artreks.
Upcoming Art Treks
Venice, Italy – Carnivalé – Feb. 22-Mar. 1, 2014
Paris, France – June 19-27, 2014
 Provence, France – June 26 – July 4, 2014
Tuscany, Italy – Sept. 5-13, 2014

Cinque Terre and Lake Como, Italy – Sept. 12-21, 2014



Plein Air Painting / Photography Workshops
Led by Niki Gulley and Scott Williams
These workshops are filling up quickly, so we encourage you to register soon!

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

“Autumn Morning,” Tuscany Plein Air Painting by Niki Gulley

“Autumn Morning,” Tuscany ©2014 Niki Gulley
9″ x 12″ textured oil painting

Created on our Tuscany Art Trek in September, I decided to paint this view from villa, since I’d been admiring it every day of the trip. It was a gorgeous morning with beautiful puffy white clouds that gave the landscape a beautiful soft filtered light. Working with palette knife, this Tuscan landscape is loaded with texture, color and movement!
For lunch that afternoon, we feasted on fresh local fruit and vegees, pecorinos, cured meats and a little wine and prosecco at the villa. Bon appetito!

If you’d like to join us in Tuscany for our next Plein Air Painting and Photography Workshop Sept. 5th-13th, please let me know. The final registration deadline of Jan. 25th is quickly approaching! For more details, e-mail Niki Gulley or go to nikigulley.com/artreks.
Upcoming Art Treks
Venice, Italy – Carnivalé – Feb. 22-Mar. 1, 2014
Paris, France – June 19-27, 2014
 Provence, France – June 26 – July 4, 2014
Tuscany, Italy – Sept. 5-13, 2014

Cinque Terre and Lake Como, Italy – Sept. 12-21, 2014



Plein Air Painting / Photography Workshops
Led by Niki Gulley and Scott Williams
These workshops are filling up quickly, so we encourage you to register soon!

***

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

Tuscany Plein-Air Painting and Photography Workshop with Niki Gulley and Scott Williams

9″ x 12″ textured oil painting by Niki Gulley

Day 4:  TUSCANY ART TREK
Plein Air Painting and Photography Workshop with Niki Gulley and Scott Williams

On the next day of our Tuscany Art Trek, we took it easy and painted right at the villa while the photographers and the rest of the group went exploring in Montalcino. I decided to paint this view from our breakfast table, since I’d been admiring it every day of the trip. It was a gorgeous morning with beautiful puffy white clouds that gave the landscape a beautiful soft filtered light. Working with palette knife, this rolling hills scene is loaded with texture, color and movement!
For lunch we feasted on fresh local fruit and vegees, pecorinos, cured meats and a little wine and prosecco at the villa. Bon appetito!

If you’d like to join us in Tuscany for our next Plein Air Painting and Photography Workshop Sept. 5th-13th, please let me know. Early registration deadline of Nov. 16th for a $600 savings is quickly approaching! For more details, e-mail Niki Gulley or go to nikigulley.com/artreks.
Upcoming Art Treks
Venice, Italy – Carnivalé – Feb. 22-Mar. 1, 2014
Paris, France – June 19-27, 2014
 Provence, France – June 26 – July 4, 2014
Tuscany, Italy – Sept. 5-13, 2014

Cinque Terre and Lake Como, Italy – Sept. 12-21, 2014



Plein Air Painting / Photography Workshops
Led by Niki Gulley and Scott Williams
These workshops are filling up quickly, so we encourage you to register soon!

E-mail me at [email protected] for more information.
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To see more of my contemporary landscape paintings and plein air oil paintings, please visit my booth
at the Cottonwood Art Festival in Richardson, TX this weekend.
Cottonwood Art Festival
Sat. Oct. 5th • 10am – 7pm
Sun. Oct. 6th • 10am – 6pm

 Cottonwood Park at Beltline Rd. and Coit • Richardson, TX





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Deadline for Niki Gulley’s “Coloring Outside the Lines” Workshop

“Room with a View,” Tuscany ©2012 Niki Gulley
10″ x 30″ textured oil painting of our villa in Tuscany

Last night – Tuscany Art Trek

On the last evening of our Tuscany Art Trek, we gathered for show and tell (which everyone prefers calling it over a critique) with some wine and treats that we’d picked out throughout the week. It was so much fun seeing the spiral “stairway of art” grow each day as my student’s added their completed paintings to the display, and amazing to watch the progression in each’s work as they got more confident with their paint and letting their individual voices out. Scott assembled a slide show for each of the photography student’s top shots, and we thoroughly enjoyed getting to see Tuscany through each photographer’s unique perspective. It’s always fascinating to me how two artists (or in this case 9) can stand in the same place, and capture something completely different. 
We ended the night with one last delicious Italian meal, complete with truffles, bruschetta, homemade pastas and vin santo for dessert, enjoying the company of new friends. A perfect end to the trip!
My student’s paintings from the week on the spiral stairway of art.

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. Registration deadlines for some of the trips are less than a month away!

If you’d like to learn how to paint with more color and freedom, please join me for my upcoming workshop, “Coloring Outside the Lines,” in Fredericksburg, TX, Nov. 2-4. Registration deadline is Oct. 15th. For details, visit nikigulley.com/art-classes.


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].