Time to Take a Photo and Find a Framer!

Members of the Nature Artists’ Guild who are participating in the 2021 Autumn Art Exhibit may want to finish up those details and get their piece to the framer. The exhibit is only two weeks away!

Screech Owl Chick, copyright Jill Adzia

Artists should also remember to photograph their work. These photos will be useful for numerous reasons – for entering future competitions or exhibits, for sharing with friends and family, and for sharing on this website or in the Nature Artists’ Quarterly (a members-only publication of the Nature Artists’ Guild.)

Most phones take excellent photographs, but it would be worth it to take a peek at the instructions online if unfamiliar with the settings. Some phones have a default setting that will make colors more vivid, blur the background, or incorrectly adjust the lighting. Learning to avoid some of these issues by choosing appropriate settings before taking the photos can save a lot of time trying to correct them later. Professional photographers will often remind beginners to take many photos (changing settings or lighting in between.) This increases the odds that at least one of the photos will accurately represent the artwork (or require less editing.)

We will post a few photos of the exhibit artwork as a preview on this website in the coming weeks and the rest after the exhibit closes. Guild members will receive an email soon with instructions for submitting images.

Before Autumn Begins

Summer may be coming to an end soon, but nature artists still have time to enjoy the beautiful weather while beginning to prepare for the colder months. (As always, please click on the highlighted links for more information and important details.)

Links to the prospectus for the Autumn 2021 Exhibit have been emailed to all members. This long-awaited in-person exhibit at The Morton Arboretum in November 2021 will have extended hours to better accommodate artists and visitors. Much more about this exhibit and Featured Artist Jill Adzia will be coming soon.

2021 Nature Artists’ Guild Exhibit poster. Artwork by Jill Adzia, poster design by Jane Kellenberger.

A paint-out at the Peck Farm Park is scheduled for Friday, September 10, 2021. The park’s Butterfly House closes soon, so it may be one of the last chances to capture an image of these beauties this year!

Jeanne’s Garden, copyright Linda C. Fairbanks

Tuesday Morning Coffee Club gatherings continue at the Visitor Center of The Morton Arboretum every week beginning at 9 am. All members are welcome to stop by but will need a timed-entry ticket to enter the arboretum.

Exterior of Ginkgo Restaurant and Cafe facing Meadow Lake at The Morton Arboretum. Photo credit mortonarb.org.

Online workshops by Visiting Artist Betsy Rogers-Knox and one of the guild’s own talented members, Carrie Carlson, are open for registration at The Morton Arboretum. Members of the Nature Artists’ Guild will receive an additional discount for the Visiting Artist class if they register by phone and mention their guild membership.

Holiday card in watercolor, copyright Carrie Carlson

Visions of Nature Exhibit Closes Soon

Colorful Iris, copyright Linn Eldred

There is still time to enjoy Visions of Nature, an in-person exhibit at the McCord Gallery in Palos Park, IL. The exhibit features approximately thirty works of art by members of the Nature Artists’ Guild. The gallery is open weekdays from 10 am until 4 pm and Saturdays from 11 am until 4 pm and the exhibit will be open until September 5, 2021. The gallery is closed on Sundays.

Summer’s End Art Events for 2021

The Nature Artists’ Guild would like to share a number of ways to spend some of the remaining days of summer making and enjoying art-

This weekend, August 21 and 22, 2021, visitors to the Wine and Art Walk at The Morton Arboretum can meet and talk with a member of the Nature Artists’ Guild and view the artist at work. The guild’s table will be set up inside the Visitor Center.

Photo credit mortonarb.org

This Sunday, August 22, 2021, artists, friends, family, and all those who appreciate nature art are invited to attend a reception for the Nature Artists’ Guild’s in-person exhibit, Visions of Nature, at the McCord Gallery in Palos Park, IL between 2 and 4 pm.

Postcard artwork by Karen A Johnson

Next Tuesday, August 24th, 2021, the weekly meeting of the Nature Artists’ Guild’s Coffee Club will begin at 9 am. There is so much to see and sketch within a few yards of the Visitor Center of The Morton Arboretum and all guild members are invited.

Exterior of Visitor Center facing Meadow Lake at The Morton Arboretum. Photo credit mortonarb.org.

Please click on any of the highlighted links for more information and the latest updates.

Nature Artists’ Guild Exhibit Opens Tomorrow, August 5, 2021 at McCord Gallery

Artwork by Karen Johnson. Postcard design by Jane Kellenberger.

McCord Gallery is open to all on weekdays from 10 am until 4 pm and Saturdays from 11 until 4 pm (closed on Sundays.) There will be a reception for artists, friends, family, and other visitors on Sunday, August 22, 2021 from 2 until 4 pm.

Seeds of Inspiration by Members of the Nature Artists’ Guild on August 5, 2021

Participants in Seeds of Inspiration will be sharing some of their experiences and artwork in an online meeting of the Nature Artists’ Guild of The Morton Arboretum on Thursday evening, August 5, 2021 beginning at 7 pm. Here is a small sample of the work –

Details of works by (clockwise) Alice Wych, Catherine Stacy, Terrie McComb, and Betsy Edwards.

Images of artwork for the presentation should be emailed to Terrie McComb by July 31, 2021.  All Nature Artists’ Guild members will be emailed instructions for attending the meeting.

Also coming up –

  • The artwork drop-off date for the McCord Gallery exhibition is Monday, August 2, 2021. Participants can check their prospectus for details. Nature Artists’ Guild members are asked to help spread the word about this exciting in-person exhibit by sharing the digital postcard and inviting friends and family to a reception at the gallery on Sunday, August 22, 2021 at 2 pm. Postcard design by Jane Kellenberger and artwork by Karen Johnson.

Please share with friends and family

  • Interested guild members will be meeting at The Morton Arboretum for the Tuesday Morning Coffee Club. The gathering takes place rain or shine, but the weather forecast looks promising! Please click on the highlighted link for details.

Tuesday Morning Coffee Club at 9 am tomorrow

  • A paint-out has been scheduled for the morning of August 18, 2021 at The Gardens at Ball in West Chicago, IL. Details will be coming soon to members’ emails and on this website. Photo by Linn Eldred.

Gardens at Ball paint-out on August 18

A Busy Summer for the Nature Artists’ Guild

Members enjoyed lovely weather and spectacular views at last week’s Nature Artists’ Guild paint-outs at The Morton Arboretum (Tuesday Morning Coffee Club) and the Gardens at Cantigny. Tommorow’s gathering of the Coffee Club is open to all members and meets at the cafe in the Visitors Center of The Morton Arboretum at approximately 9 am.

Plein Air painting in oil at the Gardens at Cantigny, copyright Terry Niccoli

A link to the prospectus for the guild’s upcoming exhibit, Visions of Nature, at McCord Gallery has been emailed to all members. Completed prospectuses must be returned by this Saturday, July 17, 2021.

Postcard for Nature Artists’ Guild exhibit at the McCord Gallery, 2021

The next program of the Nature Artists’ Guild will take place online on Thursday, August 5, 2021 beginning at 7 pm and will feature fellow members sharing artwork and experiences from the Seeds of Inspiration project. More details and instructions for attending will be emailed to all members closer to the program date.

Coleus, acrylic, copyright Ann Lamoureux (artwork from previous exhibit, not Seeds of Inspiration)

Nature Artists’ Guild at the McCord Gallery, August 2021

The Nature Artists’ Guild is excited to announce that there will be an exhibit of members’ work at the McCord Gallery in Palos Park, IL throughout the month of August, 2021. The exhibit, Visions of Nature, will feature artwork that has been previously exhibited at The Morton Arboretum and will take place from August 5 until September 5. A reception will be held on Sunday, August 22 at 2 pm.

Guild members will receive an email soon with a link to the prospectus and all the details and instructions for participating.

The McCord Gallery & Cultural Center is located in the stately pre-Civil War McCord House and is an integral part of the Palos Park community, educating music and visual-arts students in addition to serving as a gallery. The gallery is open every day except Sunday.

McCord Gallery & Cultural Center, Palos Park, IL. Image credit mccordgallery.org.