Artists Of Texas Contemporary Paintings and Art

Day 1, Greece Art Trek:  The Acropolis, Athens 9" x 12" oil painting by Niki Gulley On the first full day of our plein air painting and photography workshop in Greece, we visited the Acropolis in Athens along with several other ancient sites. It was truly awe inspiring to see a part of history from the fifth century BC and to imagine what life must have been like as democracy was beginning. In the afternoon, the painters set up their easels on top of the beautiful balcony at our hotel to paint this beautiful view of the Parthenon while the photographers continued touring the city. In this oil painting, I wanted to capture a sense of scale with the Acropolis, and suggest how it rises above the city on this massive mound, towering majestically over the city, kissed by the clouds above. Breakfast from the terrace of our hotel. What a view of the Acropolis! *** If you're interested in joining us on one of our upcoming Art Treks or Foodie Treks to Ice...

"True Blue"©2017 Niki Gulley 10" x 8" oil painting  •  SOLD Just Sold!  On our Art Trek to Greece, we chose to paint this iconic view of Santorini with the white orthodox church crowned by its blue dome, overlooking the ocean. The photographers dropped us off, as they continued back to Oia to shoot some more. While the scenery seemed simple, it proved challenging to paint the round dome on top of a hexagon base, and the three men removing the bells from the tower kept interrupting our scene (which we chose not to paint into the composition), but overall it was a beautiful morning and we were pretty happy with the results! That afternoon we rode the cable cars to the port below and caught a boat cruise that ferried us across the bay and around the island at sunset. Stopping at the volcano, we hiked to the top, which was quite intriguing with its sci-fi type lava rock. Next we stopped at a hot spring for anyone who wanted to swim. And, finally we cruised a...

Day 1, Greece Art Trek:  The Acropolis, Athens 9" x 12" oil painting by Niki Gulley On the first full day of our plein air painting and photography workshop in Greece, we visited the Acropolis in Athens along with several other ancient sites. It was truly awe inspiring to see a part of history from the fifth century BC and to imagine what life must have been like as democracy was beginning. In the afternoon, the painters set up their easels on top of the beautiful balcony at our hotel to paint this beautiful view of the Parthenon while the photographers continued touring the city. In this oil painting, I wanted to capture a sense of scale with the Acropolis, and suggest how it rises above the city on this massive mound, towering majestically over the city, kissed by the clouds above. Breakfast from the terrace of our hotel. What a view of the Acropolis! Next summer we will be leading an Art Trek to Spain and the following year we will be headed to Tuscany, Engla...

Day 5 - Greece Art Trek:  Oia and Sunset Cruise 10" x 8" oil painting by Niki Gulley • SOLD On day 5, we chose to paint this iconic view of Santorini with the white orthodox church crowned by its blue dome, overlooking the ocean. So the photographers dropped us off, as they continued back to Oia to shoot some more. While the scenery seemed simple, it proved challenging to paint the round dome on top of a hexagon base, and the three men removing the bells from the tower kept interrupting our scene (which we chose not to paint into the composition), but overall it was a beautiful morning and we were pretty happy with the results! That afternoon we rode the cable cars to the port below and caught a boat cruise that ferried us across the bay and around the island at sunset. Stopping at the volcano, we hiked to the top, which was quite intriguing with its sci-fi type lava rock. Next we stopped at a hot spring for anyone who wanted to swim. And, finally we cruised aroun...

Day 1, Greece Art Trek:  The Acropolis, Athens 9" x 12" oil painting by Niki Gulley On day one and two of our plein air painting and photography workshop in Greece, we landed in Athens and visited the Acropolis along with several other ancient sites. It was truly awe inspiring to see a part of history from the fifth century BC and to imagine what life must have been like as democracy was beginning. In the afternoon, us painters set up our easels on top of the beautiful balcony view from our hotel to paint the Parthenon while the photographers continued touring the city. In this oil painting, I wanted to capture a sense of scale with the Acropolis, and suggest how it rises above the city on this massive mound, towering majestically over the city, kissed by the clouds above. Next summer we will be leading an Art Trek to Paris and Provence, France so if you've always dreamed of painting, photographing and sightseeing during lavender and sunflower season in France, a...

9x12 textured oil painting by Niki Gulley Day 1, afternoon location - Tuscany Art Trek That afternoon it started to drizzle, so we picked a location that was covered where we could still paint and photograph. With the sky fairly overcast and the hues rather dull that afternoon, we used the cypress as our subject, but had fun playing with color. I think the results were even better than had it been a sunny day! Everyone's paintings turned out beautiful, and that evening we treated ourselves to a fabulous tuscan dinner of pastas, pecorinos, meats and a little vino to treat ourselves. A great end to a fun filled day! One of our photographers getting into the shot! An amazing dinner with new friends. 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 ...

9x12 textured oil painting by Niki Gulley Day 1 - Tuscany Art Trek We had so much fun painting at the villa in the morning, that we decided to paint another farmhouse in a different direction next. With so much to choose from, it was had to pick just one subject! This time, we all decided to work with palette knife and thick juicy oil paint, enjoying creating texture and the exciting color combinations that occur while working wet in wet with the paint. As a treat when we were finished, we met up with the others in the group for a delicious lunch of local proscuittos, pecorino cheeses, fruits and vegees, and of course, a little vino for afternoon fuel! Two of our painters, Sheri Jones (above) and Pat (below) also working with palette knife in Tuscany. 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 infor...

"Framed in Wisteria," Giverny, France • 7 " x 5" oil painting by Niki Gulley Day 7 - Art Trek Paris with Niki Gulley and Scott Williams The last few days of our Art Trek, we checked out of our hotel in Paris and headed to the peaceful countryside, near Giverny. The b&b we stayed at was straight out of a storybook, and the grounds themselves looked like an impressionist painting. We loved the setting so much, we stayed right there and painted outside our rooms the last day. Our b&b outside of Giverny. One of our students painting on the last day of our Paris Art Trek, on the grounds of our b&b. *** If you would like to come along on one of our upcoming  Plein Air Painting / Photography Workshops  to  Santa Fe, NM Aug. 12 - 18 (see  nikigulley.com/art-classes ) or   Tuscany, Italy Aug. 31 - Sept. 8   ( visit nikigulley.com/artreks ) , please e-mail  Niki Gulley  for more information. Registration dea...

"A Day in Paris V" ©2012 Niki Gulley •  7" x 5" oil painting Day 3 and 4 - Art Trek Paris with Niki Gulley and Scott Williams On day 3 and 4 of our Paris Art Trek, we concentrated more on site seeing, museum hopping, and of course, eating, with just a little painting and shooting in between. We saw everything from the Mona Lisa at the Louvres to an amazing collection of Monet's at the Marmottan Museum, from Rodin's sculpture garden to the incredible impressionist exhibit at the Musee d'Orsay. Some of our group toured the Champ Elysees while others visited the catacombs and Napolean's Tomb. Stopping for an espresso  at a corner café, we relaxed and people watched in Paris style. We topped off the day with an amazing dinner where every morsel was lovingly prepared and each course is a work of art on the plate, accompanied by delicious French wine, discussing our adventures from the day.  *** If you would like to come along on on...