Day 6, Lake Como Art Trek with Niki Gulley and Scott Williams

8" x 10" textured oil painting by Niki Gulley

Day 6, Lake Como - Varenna and Menaggio
 CINQUE TERRE / LAKE COMO ART TREK

Plein Air Painting and Photography Workshop with Niki Gulley and Scott Williams

On the sixth day of our Lake Como Plein-Air Painting and Photography Workshop, our group went in all different directions. Some folks decided to take an all day cooking class where they learned to make 

pastas, soups and entrees from scratch. While the rest of us visited Varenna castle in the morning and afterwards rode the ferry to Menaggio. We explored the town and treated ourselves to a fantastic lunch, dining al Fresco again before heading back to Varenna. With some down time in the afternoon, I enjoyed our amazing view of the lake and town from our balcony while completing this small palette knife oil painting of the colorful buildings below.

For dinner that night, we navigated the switchback roads to the tiny town of Perledo and were treated to a huge traditional seven-course Italian meal. With every plate being created from scratch with local ingredients, the food and wines were amazing. We left fat, happy and slept like the dead that night!

If you'd like to join us in Cinque Terre / Lake Como for our next Plein Air Painting and Photography Workshop Sept. 12th-21st, 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, 2014

Plein Air Painting / Photography Workshops

Led by Niki Gulley and Scott Williams

Workshops fill up fast, so don't wait to register!

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

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To see more of my contemporary landscape paintings and plein air oil paintings, please visit my website at NikiGulley.com.

If You Say So by Kay Wyne

If You Say So
24" x 24" Oil on Gallery Wrap Canvas
Contemporary Palette Knife Painting
Contact Kay for purchasing information.
Thanks for looking at the palette knife paintings
posted on this blog.  Kay

Dallas Arboretum Blue Iris Path by Texas Flower Artist Nancy Medina

Dallas Arboretum Blue Iris Path

by Nancy Medina

16X12

Textured Palette Knife/Oil on Archival Panel

Purchase Information

Flower Painting Workshops

Nancy Medina Web Site

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It was chilly but beautiful at the Dallas Arboretum last weekend. The hubby had been planning the trip for days to help me celebrate my birthday. I think he was disappointed there were not more flowers blooming yet, but I was so happy to be in the gardens snapping away photos I didn't mind a bit. I took a bit of artistic license with Blue Iris Path, adding thick applications of paint and extra purple flowers to create a pathway of irises that invites you to take a stroll, let go of your worries, and enjoy the gifts that are around us every day, if only we will choose to see them.

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I'm super excited to announce I will be teaching again in Collierville-Memphis, Tennessee in the fall. Sign up for my art newsletter for details and information on how to save your spot! I cannot wait to paint with a room full of southern gals again, what an absolutely delightful way to spend a long weekend!

"Road Trip" New textured oil painting by Niki Gulley

“Road Trip” ©2013 Niki Gulley

20” x 24” textured oil painting on wrap around canvas

We spend a lot of time in the car, between driving across country for art shows, exploring new places for inspiration, and traveling while teaching painting and photography workshops, so in this new series I've felt compelled to capture my views from the passenger seat. This particular painting was inspired by one of our plein air painting workshops we taught in Santa Fe. Not only do I love the various rock formations and dramatic New Mexico skies, but I relish the sense of open space after living in a city. Looking out on the expansive horizon, I get the feeling that anything is possible and a new discovery is just around the next bend. In "Road Trip" I combine this low angle of the road along with energetic diagonal strokes to give you the feeling of driving over the next hill in search for whatever your journey holds next.

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.