Visiting Bellagio with Niki Gulley and Scott Williams, Plein Air Painting and Photography Workshop 2013

8" x 10" textured oil painting by Niki Gulley

Day 5, Lake Como - Afternoon location: Bellagio
 CINQUE TERRE / LAKE COMO ART TREK

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

After lunch, we rode the ferry to the famous town of Bellagio. Most folks chose to take the afternoon off from painting and shooting, and instead stroll the colorful town and do some shopping. Scott and I offered to take all the gear, and we snagged a bench to relax along the town's promenade. The location was beautiful with the pastel hued buildings set against the mountain backdrop and azure water in the foreground. Working with palette knife and thick paint, I quickly sketched in the scene before we caught the last ferry back to Varenna.

We finished the day with another amazing meal and new found friends!

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. The workshop is already half full and a final registration deadline of this Saturday is quickly approaching, so sign up soon! 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

Registration Deadline: Saturday Nov. 2nd

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

***

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

Day 5, Lake Como, Italy Plein Air Painting and Photo Workshop with Niki Gulley and Scott Williams

12" x 9" oil painting by Niki Gulley

Day 5, Lake Como: Villa Balbianello
 CINQUE TERRE / LAKE COMO ART TREK

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

On the fifth day of our Cinque Terre / Lake Como Art Trek, we awoke to a gorgeous morning. We rode the ferry to Lenno, and then arrived in style by private water taxi at the beautiful, lush Villa Balbianello. Perched on a cliff overlooking the lake, the manor and tropical gardens are immaculately maintained and exquisite. While difficult to figure out how to capture that beauty on film or canvas, we were up for the challenge and loved every minute of the idyllic setting. 

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. The workshop is already half full and a final registration deadline of this Saturday is quickly approaching, so sign up soon! 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

Registration Deadline: Saturday Nov. 2nd

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

***

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

Lake Como Art Trek with Niki Gulley and Scott Williams

9" x 12" oil painting by Niki Gulley

Day 4, Lake Como:  CINQUE TERRE / LAKE COMO ART TREK

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

The next day, we loaded everyone into the van and headed to the beautiful, peaceful town of Varenna on Lake Como. After checking into our hotel with incredible views of the lake and town below, we visited the lush Italian garden of Villa Monastero. It was a perfect afternoon and while the photographers strolled the gardens, we set up our easels by this gorgeous colorful flower bed and the ornate villa behind it. I loved the lion statues adorning the entry and set out to capture the scene before we lost our light. Finishing a little early, we grabbed a glass of prosecco and took in the tranquil views across the lake. For dinner that night, we sampled the local fish and pastas, washed down with a delicious red wine.

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. The workshop is already half full and a final registration deadline of next Saturday is quickly approaching, so sign up soon! 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

Registration Deadline: Saturday Nov. 2nd

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

***

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

Day 3, Cinque Terre Plein-Air Painting / Photo Workshop with Niki Gulley and Scott Williams

9" x 12" pastel by Niki Gulley

Day 3, Manarola:  CINQUE TERRE / LAKE COMO ART TREK

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

On our third day in the Cinque Terre, us painters set up our easels from the hiking trail to look back at the town of Manarola while the photographers hiked around the town of Cornelia in the morning and joined us in Manarola in the afternoon. Since we had more time today, we all decide to paint the intricate stacked buildings in front of us and once again, listen to the sound of the waves crashing below us.

For dinner, we dined al fresco along the waterfront with a fantastic meal of fresh seafood and grilled fish and a little red wine to wash it down! A perfect ending to our Cinque Terre portion of our Art Trek.

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. The workshop is already half full and a final registration deadline of Nov. 2nd is quickly approaching, so sign up soon! 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

These workshops are filling up quickly, so we encourage you to register soon!

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

***

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

Painting and Photographing in Cinque Terre, Italy with Niki Gulley and Scott Williams

9" x 12" Textured Oil Painting by Niki Gulley

Day 2, Afternoon Location: Vernazza
CINQUE TERRE / LAKE COMO ART TREK

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

After a delicious lunch of fresh seafood, homemade pasta and pesto sauce and the ripest tomatoes and vegetables, we rode the train north to the picturesque village of Vernazza. Again, situating ourselves near the calming ocean sounds, we decided to paint this colorful view back towards town. The bold array of hues in the umbrellas, boats and buildings, were so much fun to paint!

That night we enjoyed a beautiful sunset view from our restaurant's terrace.  

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. The workshop is already half full and a final registration deadline of Nov. 2nd is quickly approaching, so sign up soon! 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

These workshops are filling up quickly, so we encourage you to register soon!

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

***

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

Day 2, Cinque Terre Art Trek with Niki Gulley and Scott Williams

Day 2, Riomaggiore: CINQUE TERRE / LAKE COMO ART TREK

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

On the second day of our plein-air painting and photography workshop in Cinque Terre, Italy, the sun was shining and we rode the train to the southern-most city of Riomaggiore. Setting up our easels right near the water, we enjoyed the cathartic sounds of the waves crashing against the rocky shore as we painted. I chose this view looking back at the intricate puzzle of stacked houses lining the hills while some of my students chose to paint the rocky cliffs and ocean surf. While I couldn't quite finish this piece before our morning light disappeared, you can see my progress below.

12" x 9" oil painting by Niki Gulley

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. The workshop is already half full and a final registration deadline of Nov. 2nd is quickly approaching, so sign up soon! 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

These workshops are filling up quickly, so we encourage you to register soon!

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

***

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

First Day of the Cinque Terre / Lake Como Art Trek with Niki Gulley and Scott Williams

10" x 8" pastel by Niki Gulley

Day 1, Monterosso: CINQUE TERRE / LAKE COMO ART TREK

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

Our first morning in the Cinque Terre, we ended up painting right at the courtyard of our hotel since it was raining and we had a perfect covered patio there. The colored buildings of Monterosso proved to be the ideal backdrop for this three-tiered Italian fountain.

In the afternoon, we visited a lovely winery in the terraced hills that put out an amazing spread of wines, cheeses, tomatoes and desserts. Later that afternoon, the sun even came out and gave us a rainbow, and we ended the day with another delicious Mediterranean meal.

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. The workshop is already half full and a final registration deadline of Nov. 2nd is quickly approaching, so sign up soon! 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

These workshops are filling up quickly, so we encourage you to register soon!

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

***

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

Tuscany, Cinque Terre Lake Como Art Treks with Niki Gulley and Scott Williams

8" x 10" textured oil by Niki Gulley • SOLD

Day 7, Transitional Day:  TUSCANY / CINQUE TERRE / LAKE COMO ART TREK

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

The next day, some of our group left to go back to the states and a few stayed with us another week to be a part of our Cinque Terre / Lake Como Art Trek. For those staying on the second week, we had a leisurely morning at the villa to relax, swim in the pool, pack, etc. I had time to work on one last painting, a view that I had been admiring for the week from the back of our villa. I was attracted to this stone house with its window awning casting the diagonal shadows across its facade, nestled in between cypress, and the rolling countryside as a backdrop behind it.

That afternoon we headed to the airport to collect the rest of our group and drive to the Cinque Terre, five hill towns that are connected by a hiking trail on the west coast of Italy. After we checked into our hotel, we looked around Monterosso and grabbed a delicious seafood dinner that night.

If you'd like to join us in Tuscany for our next Plein Air Painting and Photography Workshop Sept. 5th-13th, please let me know. Early registration deadline of Nov. 16th for a $600 savings is quickly approaching! And, the final deadline to register for our Cinque Terre / Lake Como Art Treck, Sept. 12th-21st is Nov. 2nd. 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

These workshops are filling up quickly, so we encourage you to register soon!

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

***

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