It should be a work of art … In short, it should be a beautiful place, affecting one like a beautiful painting.

O.C. Simonds

The creation of Lake Marmo (named after Joy Morton’s wife, Margaret Morton) at The Morton Arboretum began in the autumn of 1922 with crews using teams of mules and dredges to widen and deepen a small tributary of the DuPage River. Working with those crews was renowned landscape designer O.C. Simonds, who believed that an arboretum should be more than a museum of trees. He wrote that it should also be a “work of art … like a beautiful painting.”

Just over one hundred years later, at 9:30 on the morning of Wednesday, October 4, 2023 (rain date October 11), Nature Artists’ Guild members will meet at Lake Marmo to attempt to capture the stunning autumn colors of the lake, sky, and surrounding landscape in their own “beautiful paintings,” drawings, or photographs. Members can register here to be added to the email list for paint-out details and updates.

This paint-out would be a wonderful opportunity for Guild members to find inspiration for the special exhibit of 8 x 8 small works, Joy’s Vision, at the Sterling Morton Library during the 2023 Autumn Nature Art Exhibit.