On the morning of Tuesday, September 9, 2014 from 9 am until noon, Nature Artists’ Guild members will have an opportunity to paint, sketch and photograph from the private garden of Tanner Musso, 242 East 3rd Street, Hinsdale, IL.
Tanner’s beautifully artistic garden includes a pond, antique planters, benches, and garden accessories, as well as trees, shrubs and flowers that line the many paths that lead to “garden rooms”. How intriguing! You can see more photos of Tanner’s garden on her Pinterest board, “My Garden”, by clicking here.
Please contact Carol Jean Rogalski if you would like to attend. Nature Artists’ Guild members will find Carol Jean’s contact information in their Yearbook. This is the last “garden” paint-out of 2014 (our last paint-out of the year will take place in October at The Morton Arboretum). Thank you, Carol Jean, for arranging the opportunities for our members to experience some of the most beautiful gardens in the area this year!
The 2014 Nature Artists’ Guild “Artist Trio” evening was a huge success! Three wonderfully talented artist members of the Guild shared many of their artistic trials, tips and techniques.
Peggy McGahan shared some great new ideas for livening up watercolors, Mary Ann Jimenez showed us the fascinating art of Metalpoint, and Charlotte Doyle Leavitt created a fresh, lively watercolor collage inspired by paintings and objects from a recent seaside vacation.
Thank you, Gail Diedrichsen and Carol Jean Rogalski, for sharing these photos.
Yes, our Nature Artists’ Guild members create wonderful artwork, and that is definitely our focus, but a few of our activities are just for plain old fun!
Our annual scarecrow – On September 6, 2014, members are invited to meet at the Ginkgo Cafe at The Morton Arboretum at 10 am to plan our scarecrow contribution to The Morton Arboretum’s annual display. Patty Koenigsaecker, scarecrow designer extraordinaire, will be heading the committee, so please contact her if you have any questions or comments. This meeting is not for the actual construction of the scarecrow (which is not yet scheduled), but the design. Members are invited to attend either or both of these fun scarecrow events! You can type in “scarecrow” in the search box in the right column of this blog to find some previous creations.
Our annual holiday party – Check your e-mail soon for an announcement about the upcoming Nature Artists’ Guild Holiday Party. Our social chair, Irena Gintilas, is getting us started on preparations for this fun event, because believe it or not, the date will be here before we know it! More details are available in the e-mail, as well as contact information for Irena. This year, our celebration will feature Winter or Holiday Plants and Flowers. Let’s see what our creative members can do!
That was Carol Jean Rogalski’s comment about the photos she received from Catherine Donovan of Catherine’s garden. Luscious does indeed seem to be just the right word! On the morning of Tuesday, August 12, 2014, from about 9 am until noon, members of the Nature Artists’ Guild are invited to paint, draw, sketch and photograph in Catherine’s garden. This large garden, located at 320 South Waiola, La Grange, IL, features a wide variety of plants, as well as the water feature.
Luscious, yes!
Please contact Carol Jean if you would like to attend. Nature Artists’ Guild members will find her contact information in their Yearbook.
The Nature Artists’ Guild annual “Nature Artist Trio” presentation is one of our most popular and well-attended programs each year! From 7 until 9 pm on Thursday, August 7, 2014, each of three talented artists will share tips and techniques of their unique artwork process. This is a great opportunity for our members and visitors to learn some basics of a type of artwork they may never have tried before. Since attendees are divided into three smaller groups which rotate between presentations, it is a chance to get an up-close and often hands-on look at the techniques and materials. Each presentation is like a mini-class!
This year, we are featuring the talents of Peggy McGahan, Mary Ann Jimenez, and Charlotte Doyle Leavitt.
Peggy McGahan will be sharing some unique methods for ” adding water to colored pencil in different ways, including using water-soluble colored pencil, using water-soluble crayons, and combining water-color paints with colored pencils”. Sounds intriguing! You can see more of her work by clicking on this link to Peggy’s website.
From the Thorns, copyright Peggy McGahan
Mary Ann Jimenez will be working with silverpoint, a fascinating type of ancient drawing which is currently experiencing a revival. Wikipedia explains that “The initial marks of silverpoint appear grey as other metalpoints, but silverpoint lines, when exposed to air, tarnish to a warm brown tone. ” It is a delicate and subtly beautiful form of artwork. Mary Ann is a member of The Society of Metalpoint Artists.
Silverpoint drawing, copyright Mary Ann Jimenez
Charlotte Doyle Leavitt is one of our most talented watercolorist members, but it appears that she will be mixing things up for this presentation, and working on collage featuring some of those watercolor images. We are looking forward to seeing what creative techniques she has been working on!
We welcome visitors and guests to this informal and fun meeting, and it is a wonderful chance to meet and talk with some of our Nature Artists’ Guild members. There is no charge for attendance or parking, so just let the gate attendant know you are there for the Nature Artists’ Guild meeting and you will be directed to Thornhill.
We understand how busy our members are, especially with the beautiful weather we’ve been enjoying, but don’t forget to set aside a little time for your art! We have a number of exciting events coming up for our Nature Artists’ Guild members, so you may want to mark your calendars. More details about these events will be posted and e-mailed to members as the dates approach.
On Sunday, July 20, 2014, please join Nature Artists’ Guild members and Morton Arboretum Photographic Society members at the Bloomingdale Park District Museum, 108 S. Bloomingdale Road, Bloomingdale, Il, for an artists’ reception from 2 until 4 pm. Don’t forget, your fellow artists are some of your most loyal supporters, and they need your support, too! Plus, we hear that those MAPS photographers are a lively bunch, and it promises to be a fun gathering. The public is invited to attend, so please feel free to bring some friends or family members.
On Thursday, August 7, 2014, from 7 until 9 pm at Thornhill, three Nature Artists’ Guild artists, Peggy McGahan, Charlotte Doyle Leavitt and Mary Ann Jiminez, will share some of their techniques and tips. This is a great chance to see fellow artists at work and pick up some new techniques. As always, guests and visitors are welcome!
On Tuesday, August 12, 2014, Nature Artists’ Guild members will meet about 9 am at the gorgeous garden of Catherine Donovan in LaGrange, Il. Please let Carol Jean Rogalski know if you’d like to attend.
On Tuesday, September 9, 2014, at 9 am, Tanner Musso of Hinsdale, IL, will host Nature Artists’ Guild members in her garden for the first time. Please contact Carol Jean Rogalski if you’d like to attend this wonderful new paint-out.
More than 50 artists of the Nature Artists’ Guild will be exhibiting over 100 pieces of art in this joint exhibit with the Morton Arboretum Photographic Society at the Bloomingdale Park District Museum. This promises to be one of the largest exhibits of fine nature art and photography in the area this summer!
Please join the artists and photographers at a reception on July 20, 2014 from 2 to 4 pm. For details, dates, times and the address, please click on the postcard below to enlarge.
The Nature Artists’ Guild Paint-Out at the garden of Susan and Kenneth Beard in Oak Brook, Illinois, has become an annual favorite. Space is limited at this nationally renowned private garden, so members are encouraged to contact Carol Jean Rogalski (you can find her contact information in your Yearbook) as soon as possible to reserve their spot! The paint-out is scheduled for Tuesday, July 8, 2014 from 9 am until noon.
We have already received some photos from Carol Jean Rogalski from yesterday’s Nature Artists’ Guild paint-out at Mayslake Peabody Estate. Just click on any photo to enlarge. Enjoy!
Karen Johnson shares her thoughts and photos from the paint-out on her blog. Please click on this link to Karen’s Nature Art to read more.
Our Nature Artists’ Guild President, Susan Bartlett, has a request for our members –
Hello Members! We have a great opportunity to participate in the Gardener’s Art Festival at The Growing Place garden center in Naperville, Illinois, on Saturday, June 21, 2014. There will be approximately 40 artists there throughout the day, but the Nature Artists’ Guild is their main feature. We have a great relationship with The Growing Place and we really want to support this event for them.
We need five to six artists to paint or draw in their gardens. There are two shifts to pick from, 12 to 2 pm or 2 to 4 pm. This event lets you draw and paint some wonderful specimens and have fun meeting fellow artists and gardeners. If you are interested, please contact Susan Bartlett as soon as possible. You will find the contact information in your Yearbook.
Please click on the following link to read more about this and other festivals at The Growing Place.
Nature Artists' Guild 