Just Sold - "Branching Out" New Textured Palette Knife Barn painting by Niki Gulley

“Branching Out” ©2013 Niki Gulley

SOLD • 18" x 24” textured oil painting

Having grown up in Chicago, my husband and I return to the Midwest every summer, driving through miles of farmland between Texas and Illinois. While sometimes stark, I also find a peacefulness in the wide open countryside, a nostalgic tug on a simpler time from my childhood, and a fascination with the rustic beauty of each barn. I find it inspiring that so many of the structures were built by the farmers themselves from nearby trees, cut down and fashioned by hand. Each one has its unique personality, both pragmatic and aesthetic, a symbol that's stood the test of time despite a disappearing way of life. In "Branching Out," I wanted to juxtapose this sturdy oak framing an iconic red barn in the background, inviting you to climb its branches and relive childhood memories.

For more information on my textured palette knife oil paintings, please e-mail me at Niki Gulley.

Or, please visit my website at  NikiGulley.com to see more of my contemporary landscape paintings.

Wandering Through by Kay Wyne

Wandering Through

48" x 60" Oil on Gallery Wrap Canvas

Contemporary Palette Knife Painting

This painting is drying at the studio...a contemporary floral landscape bursting with color and texture.  I have been working on this canvas for days...with layers and layers of paint.  The scene is a wide view of wildflowers wandering through the landscape.  The sky is heavy with paint and texture.  Because this painting is on thick stretcher bars/gallery wrap canvas, framing is optional.  This is a great size canvas to hang above a sofa or fireplace.  Contact Kay for more information on this painting.  Thanks for looking at this blog.  Kay

New Plein Air Painting from the Dallas Arboretum by Niki Gulley

“Water Wall," Dallas Arboretum ©2013 Niki Gulley

9" x 12" Plein Air Oil Painting

I painted this oil of the "Water Wall" at the Dallas Arboretum a couple of weeks ago as part of my demonstration during my plein-air painting workshop. I loved the golden light hitting the stucco and the interesting shadows that were created from the trellis above. Working with a combination of brush and palette knife, the final painting is full of color and texture.

If you'd like to join me for one of our Plein Air Painting / Photography Art Trek Workshops in Europe, please let me know and I can send you a brochure. Upcoming trips include Carnival in Venice, Paris, Provence during lavender season, Tuscany and Cinque Terre/ Lake Como, Italy. For more details, visit nikigulley.com/artreks.

To see more of my contemporary impressionistic landscape paintings, please visit nikigulley.com.

For more information on my plein air paintings and workshops, please e-mail Niki Gulley.

"Branching Out" New Textured Palette Knife Barn painting by Niki Gulley

“Branching Out” ©2013 Niki Gulley

18" x 24” textured oil painting

Having grown up in Chicago, my husband and I return to the Midwest every summer, driving through miles of farmland between Texas and Illinois. While sometimes stark, I also find a peacefulness in the wide open countryside, a nostalgic tug on a simpler time from my childhood, and a fascination with the rustic beauty of each barn. I find it inspiring that so many of the structures were built by the farmers themselves from nearby trees, cut down and fashioned by hand. Each one has its unique personality, both pragmatic and aesthetic, a symbol that's stood the test of time despite a disappearing way of life. In "Branching Out," I wanted to juxtapose this sturdy oak framing an iconic red barn in the background, inviting you to climb its branches and relive childhood memories.

For more information on my textured palette knife oil paintings, please e-mail me at Niki Gulley.

Or, please visit my website at NikiGulley.com to see more of my contemporary landscape paintings.

"Fire and Gold" Contemporary birch oil painting by Niki Gulley

"Fire and Gold" ©2012 Niki Gulley

oil on canvas • 36" x 48"

I love the first signs of fall – the crisp feel in the air, the crunching of leaves underfoot, the beautiful autumn colors, and being totally immersed in nature in the middle of a forest without a care in the world. In Fire and Gold I wanted to recreate that joyful feeling, choosing warm reds and yellows of autumn and using energetic strokes with my paint to heighten that mood. Building up first thin transparent layers and then thick textured layers of oil paint also add to a certain glow and magic in the final piece.

E-mail Niki Gulley for more information.

Or, visit NikiGulley.com to see more of her contemporary landscape paintings.

Magic by Kay Wyne

Magic

36" x 36" Oil on Heavy Duty Gallery Wrap Canvas

I wanted to convey the magic in the colors of nature in this contemporary landscape painting.  I used the palette knife and the brush on this textured canvas.  Contact Kay at kay@kwyne.com for information on purchasing. Thanks for viewing!

Passage of Illumination by Niki Gulley

“Passage of Illumination” ©2011 Niki Gulley

SOLD • 48” x 60” textured oil on canvas

Just Sold! Wander down this path that beckons you and lift your eyes heavenward to that cobalt vault lined by a rainbow of vivid greens and golds and gleaming crimson, purposely choosing these warm vibrant colors to suggest a hopeful future. Like an ancient chorus these joyful trees sing with dazzling colors, a call and respond to each other across the enticing path that traces verses of light and dark, hue and color, an alluring siren song leading you into the depths of this radiant, vanishing horizon. A painting rich in color and light, joy and energy its double bowed composition gently leads gently you into this magical, blissful destination.

To see more of my contemporary landscape paintings, visit NikiGulley.com.

E-mail Niki Gulley for more information.

"Kaleidoscope of Dreams" - Large aspen tree painting by Niki Gulley

"Kaleidoscope of Dreams" ©2012 by Niki Gulley

textured oil painting
Four 36" x 36" canvases to form a 72" x 72" quadriptych

In this painting, I wanted you to feel like a little kid again – laying on the ground and staring up into the treetops without a care in the world. I hope you experience the joy of being surrounded by nature and the beauty in this autumn kaleidoscope of colors.

If you are in Madison, WI this weekend, please stop by my booth at Art Fair on the Square to see more of my textured birch and aspen tree paintings.

Art Fair on the Square

Sat. July 14 • 9am – 6pm

Sun. July 15 • 10am – 5pm

Madison, WI • 227 State. St.

Booth # 826, 828

on Mifflin St. between State St. and Wisconsin Ave.

mmoca.org

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To see more of my contemporary landscape paintings, visit NikiGulley.com.

E-mail Niki Gulley for more information.

Passage of Illumination oil painting by Niki Gulley

“Passage of Illumination” ©2011 Niki Gulley

48” x 60” textured oil on canvas

Wander down this path that beckons you and lift your eyes heavenward to that cobalt vault lined by a rainbow of vivid greens and golds and gleaming crimson, purposely choosing these warm vibrant colors to suggest a hopeful future. Like an ancient chorus these joyful trees sing with dazzling colors, a call and respond to each other across the enticing path that traces verses of light and dark, hue and color, an alluring siren song leading you into the depths of this radiant, vanishing horizon. A painting rich in color and light, joy and energy its double bowed composition gently leads gently you into this magical, blissful destination.

To see more of my contemporary landscape paintings, visit NikiGulley.com.

E-mail Niki Gulley for more information.

"Aqua Dreams" textured oil painting by Niki Gulley

“Aqua Dreams” ©2011 Niki Gulley

36” x 60” textured oil on canvas

When we arrived at this tranquil spot, the early morning light was very cool in color, but as the sun began to rise from the horizon, it shone this beautiful warm light that shimmered on the water’s surface and cast its hope of what was to come from the brand new day. I remember the peacefulness I felt in that moment, and a sense that anything was possible. In Aqua Dreams, by showing the contrast in the cool aqua/blues in the foreground waters against the warm golden glow on the distant pond’s edge, I wanted to share that feeling of hope and promise communicated by nature.

E-mail Niki Gulley for more information on her textured oil aspen and birch tree paintings.

Or, to see more of her artwork, go to NikiGulley.com.

Rocky Mountain Aspens oil painting by Niki Gulley

"Rocky Mountain Aspens" ©2011 Niki Gulley

oil on board • 11" x 14"

I painted these brilliant golden aspen trees from Colorado with brush, palette knife and plenty of oil paint. I love the contrast and intensity of the colors created between the foreground forest and background blues.

For more information on this painting, e-mail Niki Gulley

or to see more of my artwork, visit NikiGulley.com.

New Aspen Tree oil paintings by Niki Gulley

5" x 7" Aspen oil paintings by Niki Gulley

I painted these miniature aspen trees with palette knife and extremely thick oil paint so that the resulting paintings are filled with color, texture and movement. These oils look great in pairs and threes, and the wide black frame really draws your eye into the artwork and sets each one apart. If you'd like additional information or would like to purchase my aspen tree paintings, e-mail Niki Gulley.

To see more of my paintings, visit nikigulley.com.

Mountain Hideaway oil painting by Niki Gulley

"Mountain Hideaway" ©2010 Niki Gulley

SOLD • 18" x 48" oil on canvas

I just sold this painting to a collector in Chicago and it's one of my favorites. A few years back, I visited Colorado to be inspired by the aspens turning color and to see the gorgeous mountains and scenery. I love it there! My husband and I ventured off the main roads and were exploring back in ranch land where there were hardly any signs of city life. At a couple of points, we even had to wait for the ranchers to round up their cattle herds out of the middle of the roads in order for us to drive in deeper – not something we witness in Dallas!

I wanted to capture that feeling of nostalgia in "Mountain Hideaway." I particularly liked this one ranch – their barn and wood post fence had so much character. I liked how the mountains surrounded the property and created such a beautiful backdrop. The panorama format really worked well to give you a sense of scale and the sprawling landscape. I liked how the road zigged and zagged next to the property, too, leading you back to the house. Also, it was just slightly overcast and the sun would peak out once in a while, creating this beautiful dramatic lighting that I had to capture.

If you'd like to see more of my oil paintings, visit NikiGulley.com

or e-mail me at Niki@NikiGulley.com with any questions.

Skyward Bound oil painting by Niki Gulley

"Skyward Bound" ©2010 Niki Gulley

oil on canvas • 30" x 40"

In "Skyward Bound," I wanted you to feel like a little kid again looking up into the treetops, enjoying the beautiful sky and colors above. We forget to do that as adults - we're so focused on straight ahead! Choosing vivid reds, yellows, blues and greens in addition to the perspective from below adds to that playful mood.

If you'd like more information on Skyward Bound, e-mail me at Niki@NikiGulley.com.

To see more of my paintings, visit my website at NikiGulley.com.

Lavender painting by Niki Gulley

“Summertime Bouquets” ©2010 Niki Gulley

20” x 30” acrylic on canvas

My husband and I have an uncanny sense of timing when it comes to the weather. We got married during a hurricane on the coast of Florida, we unknowingly planned our European workshop during the spewing of ash in Iceland, we’ve participated in art shows with 70 mph microbursts that destroyed 50 artist tents, and of course we chose to come home to Dallas after two months on the road during the hottest week of summer. With average temperatures around 103°, it wasn’t quite the home-coming I had in mind.

Making the best of it, I immersed myself in my air-conditioned studio and painted happier places – fantasizing about somewhere cooler, where plants grow profusely rather than wilting and withering in boiling temperatures and a beautiful location completely free of concrete. I remembered the gorgeous, aromatic lavender fields we’d seen in Europe a few years before at this exact time of year and through my painting I was transported back. I hope you experience that same bliss looking at “Summertime Bouquets.”

If you’re in the Chicago area this weekend, you can see “Summertime Bouquets” along with my other recent paintings at my booth #355 at the Gold Coast Art Show. For more information on the show, visit amdurproductions.com/f-goldcoast-public.html.

E-mail me at Niki@NikiGulley.com for more information

Or, visit my website at NikiGulley.com.