Painted with thick oil paint and palette knives, I wanted to capture the craggy mountains and dense sage brush indicative of the unique New Mexico landscape.

On our last trip to New Mexico, we pulled over to photograph and paint this magnificent river gorge below. The clouds and light were just beautiful and I loved the contrast between the sun’s orange cast on the rock formations, the blue sky above and the deep purple hues on the distant hills and dramatic shadows. The two rivers converging created a perfect flowing composition, while the foreground rocks and scrub brush nicely anchored the corners of the painting. After being in Dallas surrounded by buildings and concrete, I just love getting to New Mexico with its vast open spaces, gorgeous skies and wild natural landscape, and I hope I can share those feelings with you in “Convergence.”

My husband and I have been teaching painting and photography workshops in Italy for the last four years, but since we love New Mexico so much, we decided to share our enthusiasm with our students and stay a little closer to home by teaching a week-long workshop in Santa Fe this August.

Not the traditional view of Rancho de Taos, but I loved this adobe wall and archway and how the colors set against the turquoise blue sky contrasted beautifully. I liked how the hollyhocks angled into the scene and softened up the adobe mass, while continuing the theme of rounded edges found in the architecture and again in the gorgeous fluffy clouds.

Santa Fe is the muse of many famous artists and photographers, and that could be you, too! Join us for our Plein-Air Painting and Photography Workshop this August in Santa Fe, New Mexico. You will work at different picturesque locations, painting and (or) photographing scenes that inspired Georgia O’Keeffe and Ansel Adams. Santa Fe offers breathtaking vistas; sunny, dry weather, world class restaurants, galleries and shopping ensconced in a charming, 400 year old Spanish Colonial city that welcomes the new and exciting and never grows old.
This is a not to be missed workshop in “The Land of Enchantment.”

To see more of Niki Gulley’s contemporary landscape paintings in person, please stop by her booth at the 57th Street Art Fair in Chicago this weekend. Visit 57thstreetartfair.org for more information.

On our last trip to New Mexico, we were enjoying the scenic route along the high road to Taos from Santa Fe, and marveling at the wide open vistas and beautiful rugged landscape when we came upon these lone sagebrush set against the dramatic white billowing clouds in the background, and we just had to paint and photograph it. Choosing pastels to capture the fleeting moment quickly, I got the scene blocked in just before the wind blew those beautiful clouds away, and the reason why plein air painting is so magical!

Santa Fe is the muse of many famous artists and photographers, and that could be you, too! Join us for our Plein-Air Painting and Photography Workshop this August in Santa Fe, New Mexico. You will work at different picturesque locations, painting and (or) photographing scenes that inspired Georgia O’Keeffe and Ansel Adams. Santa Fe offers breathtaking vistas; sunny, dry weather, world class restaurants, galleries and shopping ensconced in a charming, 400 year old Spanish Colonial city that welcomes the new and exciting and never grows old.
This is a not to be missed workshop in “The Land of Enchantment.”

To see more of Niki Gulley’s contemporary landscape paintings in person, please stop by her booth at the 57th Street Art Fair in Chicago this weekend. Visit 57thstreetartfair.org for more information.

Capturing the sunny mesas and the red bluffs of Abiquiu, this pastel painting brings to mind Santa Fe and the high desert: endless blue skies, rugged mountains, mesas filled with yucca, cactus and flowering spring grasses.

Capturing the sunny mesas and the red bluffs of Abiquiu, this pastel painting brings to mind Santa Fe and the high desert: endless blue skies, rugged mountains, mesas filled with yucca, cactus and flowering spring grasses.