Artists Of Texas Contemporary Paintings and Art

“A Pause in Time” Venice, Italy ©2012 Niki Gulley 18” x 24” pastel This piece won an award at the Southwest Pastel Society's 31st National Juried Show Exhibit. It  will be on display at the Eisemann Center in Richardson, TX through Dec. 2nd Mysterious, enchanted, dreamlike – Venice is a fairytale at night. Evening has drawn its starry cloak over the city, the crowds and pigeons are gone and three women enjoy the evening at a café in Piazza San Marco. This changeling city, this artist’s muse now is unhurried, relaxed and romantic and this one perfect moment in time is held in artful pastels, satiated colors–rich velvet textures capture ebony/violet chairs that Peggy, Pollock or Cole Porter may have sat in, paintings of angels from old Venice and three modern women of today complete this delicate balance in a point of time. If you’d also like to experience the beauty, history and culture of Venice, join me and travel photographer, Scott Williams, for our P lein ...

"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 ...

Versailles ,  5" x 7" pastel by Niki Gulley Day 5, Afternoon - Art Trek Paris with Niki Gulley and Scott Williams Thoroughly enjoying the sunshine and this peaceful hidden garden, we scoped out another view and tried to capture more of the sense of being in France in our next sketch. Manicured, organized, and adorned with statues and urns as focal points, this vantage communicated the idea of the French formal garden that I was looking for. At the end of the day, the French groundsman was kind enough to offer us pastel artists fixative for our drawings! That definitely breaks the misconception we have of the French not being friendly! A perfect ending to a perfect day. *** 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...

Notre Dame • 10" x 8" oil painting by Niki Gulley Day 2 - Art Trek Paris with Niki Gulley & Scott Williams On day 2 of our plein-air painting and photography workshop in Paris, we led our group to Notre Dame Cathedral, known for its flying buttress and gargoyles overlooking the city. Since our group had never been before, they visited inside the church and hiked up to the clock tower for amazing views of the city, while I kept everyone's gear down below. I found a nice, quiet bench and had enough time to paint this view of the backside of the cathedral until everyone finished touring. The church is so complex, I focused in on this view of the nave with it's stained glass windows and the tops of a couple of the flying buttress to simplify the scene for an 8x10 canvas. 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   ...