Artists Of Texas Contemporary Paintings and Art

"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, 201...

"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 ...

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. 1...

"Morning Overlook," Montepulciano 9" x 12" oil by Niki Gulley  TUSCANY ART TREK Plein Air Painting and Photography Workshop with Niki Gulley and Scott Williams During our Tuscany Art Trek, we visit the picturesque hill town of Montepulciano, known for its delicious red wines. We set up at this beautiful scenic overlook to paint the valley below. Narrowing down a subject to paint is challenging since the whole scene is amazing, but impossible to capture all of it on our small travel canvases. An amazing morning! 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 ...

"Peaceful Harbor," Lake Como, Italy ©2013 Niki Gulley SOLD • oil on canvas • 24" x 36" Lake Como, Italy is probably my favorite spot from all of our travels. The vistas are simply breathtaking with the alps in the background, the gorgeous blue of the lake, the brightly colored unique buildings and the lush foliage dotting the magnificent gardens. I love this little laid back town of Varenna, which is so peaceful that all of your cares just melt away.  Now we can't wait to share the Italian experience with other painters, photographers and anyone interested in traveling, so we are leading an Art Trek to Lake Como and Cinque Terre this September. If you’d also like to experience the beauty, history and culture of Italy, join me and travel photographer, Scott Williams, for our P lein Air Painting and Photography Workshop  to Cinque Terre and Lake Como from Sept. 6th - Sept. 14th . Our unique Art Treks afford you the option to cho...

"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...

"La Foce" Tuscany ©2012 Niki Gulley SOLD • 5" x 7" textured oil painting Day 4, afternoon location, La Foce - Tuscany Art Trek That afternoon, we were planning on painting this unique winding road dotted with cypress trees, but it started drizzling. So we decided to tour the gardens next door instead. Extremely formal and organized with clipped boxwoods and plantings in symmetrical stone urns, impressive travertine column staircases, and the largest indoor potted citrus grove in the area, it was interesting to see the contrast between an Italian garden and an American garden, and the challenges of getting irrigation to the remote property. That evening we hung out at the villa again, enjoying the beautiful views and sunset while sampling some delicious authentic Italian pizza. A perfect end to the day! If you'd like to see my paintings from Tuscany and more of my contemporary landscape paintings, please stop by my booth at the Cottonwood Art ...

"Lemon Tree" Tuscany ©2012 Niki Gulley 12" x 9" textured oil painting Day 4 - Tuscany Art Trek On Day 4 of our Tuscany painting and photography workshop, we decide to take it easy after a busy day in Siena the day before and paint again at the villa. It was a gorgeous morning with bright puffy clouds and soft golden sunlight hitting the back of our villa. So while we set up our easels just a few feet away from one another, each painter picked a different subject. From the highly textured stone farm house, to this lemon tree that was so lush and tall that I chose for my painting, to a random bed that was on the property, to the terra cotta steps and quintessential Tuscan architectural details, to the ancient well and delicate geraniums, each student's paintings turned out beautifully. After a peaceful morning of painting and photographing, we all reconvened on the patio of the villa for another delicious lunch of locally grown fruits, meats, cheeses ...

12x9 oil painting by Niki Gulley Day 2, Montepulciano - Tuscany Art Trek We woke up the next morning to beautiful blue skies with gorgeous puffy white clouds. We set up our easels at this amazing overlook in Montepulciano, with the whole valley spreading out before us. With so much to choose from for our subject, we decided to focus in on the church below. Our light was constantly changing from the beautiful clouds above so we had to paint quickly, and consequently each of our reactions to the scene came out differently on our canvases. I loved the variety in each artist's work! Pat Lautner and Sheri Jones painting at the gorgeous Montepulciano overloook. 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. The early d...