Artists Of Texas Contemporary Paintings and Art

"Afternoon Laundry," Burano, Italy SOLD  • 7" x 5" • textured oil painting by Niki Gulley Just sold!  On the second day of our Venice Art Trek, we headed to the islands of Murano and Burano. First Murano, famous for its beautiful glass, to see a glass blowing demonstration and tour the museum. Then, onto Burano which is known as a fishing community (and for the homemade lace that they make there), and to help the fisherman find their houses while coming back from sea, they painted their homes every color of the rainbow. With the picturesque canals and so many great colored buildings to choose from, it's hard to pick a single subject matter! We were drawn to this quiet location, however, and the vibrant blue stucco wall with that morning's laundry being hung out to dry screamed to be painted. Today I chose to work with thick oil paint and palette knife to capture the rough surface of the walls, resulting in a final painting which is loaded wit...

Venice Art Trek, Day 3: Rialto Market 9" x 12" textured oil painting by Niki Gulley On the third day of our Venice Art Trek, we took a vaporetto tour of the island and got off at the Rialto bridge where we wandered the fruit, vegetable and fish markets. We left the photographers there to shoot while we set up our easels in this quiet spot marking the oldest restaurant in Venice. This bridge had so much character being made completely of wood, decorated in plantings and flanked by red and white poles that we just had to paint it! If you'd like to join us on one of our upcoming Art Treks, please let me know.  For more details, E-mail  Niki@NikiGulley.com  or go to  nikigulley.com/artreks. Upcoming Art Treks Paris, France – June 19-27, 2014  Provence, France – June 26 – July 4, 2014 - wait list only Tuscany, Italy – Sept. 5-13, 2014 Cinque Terre and Lake Como, Italy – Sept. 12-21, 2014 Athens and Santorini, Greece – M...

Venice Art Trek, Day 2: Murano and Burano 7" x 5" • textured oil painting by Niki Gulley On the second day of our Venice Art Trek, we headed to the islands of Murano and Burano. First Murano, famous for its beautiful glass, to see a glass blowing demonstration and tour the museum. Then, onto Burano which is known as a fishing community (and for the homemade lace that they make there), and to help the fisherman find their houses while coming back from sea, they painted their homes every color of the rainbow. With the picturesque canals and so many great colored buildings to choose from, it's hard to pick a single subject matter! We were drawn to this quiet location, however, and the vibrant blue stucco wall with that morning's laundry being hung out to dry screamed to be painted. Today I chose to work with thick oil paint and palette knife to capture the rough surface of the walls, resulting in a final painting which is loaded with texture and color. ...

"Wash and Dry," Burano ©2013 Niki Gulley 10" x 8" • textured oil painting On the third day of our Venice Art Trek, the weather turned fairly cold and misty so we were only able to get started on our paintings. (My sketch below shows you how much we could paint before the rain came in.) So not letting a few drops dampen our spirits, we stopped for a Venetian coffee and pastry on the way back to the hotel, and fueled by caffeine and sugar we finished up working back at home. Some chose to complete paintings they had been working on the day before, and I thought the decor was so elegant, I decided to paint our hotel room. Capping off the day, we went out for a delicious meal that night! If you'd like to join us on one of our upcoming European Art Treks, please let me know. Closer to home I'll be leading a Plein Air Painting Workshop sponsored through the Good Art Company gallery in Fredericksburg, TX, April 5-7. ArtTreks Tusca...

12x9 textured oil painting by Niki Gulley Day 2, Montepulciano - Tuscany Art Trek With a little more time before our afternoon winery tour, we decided to work on another painting. I chose this view of the tile rooftops below spreading out in front of the valley. I loved the puzzle piece feel of the buildings, zigzagging in all different directions, clinging to the steep drop below with the fields of crops also adding their criss crossing patterns to the jigsaw puzzle. 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 deadline and to receive a $500 savings for the Venice workshop is less than a month away. If you have questions about the Art Treks workshops or are interested in purchasing any of my plein air painti...

Eiffel Tower • 10" x 8" oil painting by Niki Gulley • SOLD Day 1 - Art Trek Paris For the first day of our painting & photography workshop in Paris, we had to visit the Eiffel Tower. After enjoying the panorama view from the tallest building in Europe, we grabbed some lunch at a Parisian café and nourished for the afternoon, set up our easels at this lovely park to paint the Eiffel Tower. Part of our group at the Eiffel Tower. While the morning was slightly chilly and overcast, the clouds parted and sun came out just in time to paint and shoot. All of our students agreed, this was the perfect spot to paint the Paris landmark – a little shade, a gentle path leading you to the subject, lush greenery and delicate pink, purple petals from the blooming lilac-like trees, tucked away from the crowds. Some of our painters with their travel easels, painting the Eiffel Tower. If you would like to come along on one of our upcoming  Plein Air Paintin...