Day 1, morning location: Echo Canyon

We just got back from our week long workshop we taught in Santa Fe, NM, and what a beautiful week we had! While near 90 degrees, it sure beat our 100s here in Texas, and we avoided the humidity. We lucked out all week, and it never rained while we were painting. Most everyone in the group was either new to painting or it was their first time to sketch outdoors on location, and they did great! While our group was a little nervous the first day, I started them out with an oil demo so everyone could see how easy it is to jump in and just get something down on their blank canvas.

I chose this close-up view of the cliffs because the rock formations were so unusual, and the light hitting them was beautiful. Working only 9×12 and with a quick half hour demo, I wanted to keep the scene as simple as possible. Blocking in cool, transparent purples and blues for the shadow colors and distant mountains, I then added opaque, warm, thick highlights to the rocks and clouds to capture the soft, glowing morning light.

If you’d like more information on our upcoming

Plein-Air Painting & Photography Workshops, please e-mail me at Niki Gulley,

or visit my website at nikigulley.com/?page_id=13.

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

or to purchase this plein air study from Santa Fe, e-mail me at Niki Gulley.