Artists Of Texas Contemporary Paintings and Art

Venice Art Trek, Day 4, Doge's Palace and Painting the back canals 12" x 9" textured oil painting by Niki Gulley On our fourth day of our Plein Air Painting and Photography Workshop, we visited the Doge's Palace, in all of its glory and were awed by its impressive art collection by Italian masters. Taking the "Secret Tour" we learned about parts of the Palace that you can't normally see, including the prisons, the torture room and stories of Casanova. That afternoon we chose another back canal to paint while the photographers covered off the beaten path parts of the island. I liked the way the sunlight reflected across the water's surface, and I really wanted to capture a gondola in the distance, but since they move so quickly that was no easy task! Luckily there was a steady stream of gondolas passing by our location late in the day. I found myself painting as quickly as I could while one came into my composition, and if I didn'...

"Wash and Dry," Burano ©2013 Niki Gulley 10" x 8" • textured oil painting On the second day of our Venice Art Trek, we headed to the islands of Burano and Murano. Burano 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 red 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. If you'd like to join us on one of our upcoming Art Treks, please let me know. The final registration deadline of ...

"Romantic Passage," Venice ©2013 Niki Gulley 12" x 9" • textured oil painting We just got back from teaching our latest Painting and Photography Art Trek in Venice during Carnivalé and had the most amazing time! The weather was ideal our first day there, and we found our way to this quiet landing to paint a typical Venetian canal. I liked the way the sunlight reflected across the water's surface, and I really wanted to capture a gondola in that lit space, but since they move so quickly that was no easy task! Luckily around 11am, there was a steady stream of gondolas passing by our location. I found myself painting as quickly as I could while one came into my composition, and if I didn't capture it in time, fortunately another vessel would come into view shortly afterwards, and I was really pleased with the results. If you'd like to join us on one of our upcoming Art Treks, please let me know. The final registration deadline of ...