Category: Exhibitions

An Opportunity for Local Nature Artists

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Friends of Danada will be accepting entries for the 2013 Danada Nature Art Show, at Danada House in Wheaton, Illinois, on Monday, October 7 and Tuesday, October 8, 2013 between 3 and 8 pm.  Entry forms may be picked up at the same time the artwork is delivered to Danada House.  The exhibit is open to all nature artists, with “all works featuring some aspect of our natural environment with no indication of human influence” in the categories of “Animals”, “Plants”, or “Scenery”.

The exhibit will be open to the public on Friday through Sunday, October 11, 12 and 13, 2013, during the annual Danada Fall Festival.   There will be an artists’ reception on Friday, October 11, 2013, and prizes will be awarded.   Please contact Friends of Danada at info@danadahouse.com for all the details. 

Lynne Railsback Solo Exhibition Through August 20, 2013

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Lynne Railsback is being featured in a solo exhibition of her botanical art from July 16 through August 20, 2013, at the Gallery of Nature of the Wasco Nursery and Garden Center,  41 W 781 Route. 64, St. Charles IL.  An Artists’ Reception will take place on Saturday, August 3, 2013 from 4 until 6 pm.

Lynne is a long-time and well-respected member of the Nature Artists’ Guild, not to mention an international award winning botanical artist, and this is a great opportunity to see a local exhibition of her stunning work.  Please click here to visit Lynne’s website.  You’ll be even more inspired to see her work in person!  

For directions to the Wasco Nursery, click here.  The gallery is open from 9 am until 5 pm on weekdays and Saturdays, and from 10 am until 5 pm on Sundays.

Big Foot Wild Things, © Lynne Railsback.
Pure Corn Grid, © Lynne Railsback
Great Solomon’s Seal, © Lynne Railsback

Remember to Make the Most of Your Nature Artists’ Guild Membership

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We are so excited to welcome  many new members to the Nature Artists’ Guild this year!  We just wanted to check in with all our members, the brand new ones, as well as those that have been around a while, to make sure everyone is making the most of their membership.

Remember, your membership entitles you to –

  • Attend formal meetings (the next one will be in August, and will feature three of your talented fellow members sharing some of their favorite techniques in various media)
  • Attend paint-outs at some great places (there is one coming up in July at Laverne Bohlin’s wonderful garden, and more are being added all the time)
  • Participate in Nature Artists’ Guild exhibitions (either at The Morton Arboretum, where up to a thousand visitors will view your artwork in one weekend, or at various outside venues)
  • Attend workshops (to help create items for fundraising and to learn new skills from fellow artists)
  • Contribute artwork or articles to our quarterly publication, The Nature Artists’ Quarterly
  • Contribute artwork to the annual Nature Artists’ Guild desk calendar

There are also many opportunities for just having fun with your fellow artists, whether by attending a “field trip” to somewhere interesting,  helping to create our annual Scarecrow for The Morton Arboretum,  volunteering on one of the committees or attending the Holiday Party!

Please check the Important Dates tab above to see our current schedule of events.

Workshop and Framing Demonstration this Saturday, March 23, 2013

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This year’s workshop for the Artisan Shop at the Spring Exhibit of the Nature Artists’ Guild of The Morton Arboretum will be very special.  Not only will we be creating items for our fundraising table at the upcoming exhibit, (please bring acrylics, brushes and a water container, as well as sketches or reference materials in your choice of subjects from nature), we will also have the chance to learn about framing from professional framer (and member), Evelyn Grala! Picture Framing

From 9:30 until noon, we can work on our handmade items for the exhibit, and then from 1 pm until 3 pm, Evelyn will show fellow Nature Artists’ Guild members – how to choose frames that will enhance your artwork, how to creatively re-use frames, how to choose standard frame sizes for ease and economy, the do’s and don’ts in preparing for an exhibit, and finally, a framing demonstration for the “do-it-yourself” artists!

If you can’t stay for the whole workshop, please stop in any time between 9:30 am and 3 pm, work as little or as much as you like, or even take an item home to work on. The workshop takes place on Saturday, March 23, 2013 in Classroom C at Thornhill.

Update – Please enjoy these photos, thanks to Carol Carls, of the Spring Workshop participants hard at work!

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Our Featured Artist, Linn Eldred

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You have our featured artist for the April 2013 Spring Exhibit of the Nature Artists’ Guild of The Morton Arboretum, Linn Eldred to thank for our beautiful new spring header, which features a detail of her painting Tulip Time.  You can see the entire painting, as well as read about Linn and see more of her artwork, by clicking on the Current Featured Artist tab above.  Congratulations, Linn!  We look forward to seeing your artwork at the upcoming exhibit, and appreciate the hint of spring you’ve brought to us through your paintings!

Iris ©Linn Eldred
Iris ©Linn Eldred

Braving the Weather

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Those members who braved the weather last evening to attend the program featuring artist Scott Harding were treated to a wonderful demonstration! Scott began an oil painting one of the most recognized (and hugged) trees of The Morton Arboretum, and we all were able to watch the painting transform before our very eyes.   Scott has promised to send a photograph of the finished painting, and we will post it when he does.  Below are a few photographs from the evening, taken by our Nature Artists’ Guild photographer, Kathy Wagner.

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While you’re here, please check out our Member News page (click on the tab at the top of your screen).  We can all be proud of (and inspired by) being part of such an ambitious and talented group of artists!

Upcoming events for the Nature Artists’ Guild include an exhibit at the Fine Line Creative Arts Center (prospectus due by February 22, 2013), the Spring Exhibition at The Morton Arboretum (prospectus due by February 23, 2013), a paint-out at Orchids by Hausermann on February 12, 2013 (contact Carol Jean Rogalski to RSVP), and  heading into early March, a program featuring Carol Jean Rogalski and the art of Illumination (March 07, 2013) and a paint-out at the Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum  on March 12, 2013 (more details to come very soon).

Nature Artists’ Guild Member Don Castro’s Retrospective at the Burning Bush Gallery

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One of the biggest perks of being a member of the Nature Artists’ Guild is the support of your fellow members.   Whether you are exhibiting for the first time, or the hundredth, it’s always great to see a few familiar smiling faces of fellow Nature Artists’ Guild members at your reception!

Who could be more deserving of our support than 22-year member, and Holiday Party “Master of Ceremonies”, Don Castro?  Don not only shows up every December to swear in our officers, make us laugh, and hand out prizes, but has also contributed so much of his time and talents to the Nature Artists’ Guild over the years.

The Artists’ Reception for Don’s upcoming Retrospective at the Burning Bush Art Gallery in Wheaton, IL is coming up on January 20th from 1 until 4 pm (details below).  What a great chance to admire some of Don’s best work all in one place, and show your appreciation for all of his contributions to the Nature Artists’ Guild!

Courtesy of Burning Bush Gallery
Courtesy of Burning Bush Art Gallery

Artists Reception: Sunday, January 20, 1:00 – 4:00 pm

Gallery Hours: Sundays: 10:00 am – 12:30 pm,

Wednesdays: 5:30 – 7:00 pm, Monday – Friday: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm, or by appointment (708) 705-8669.

216 North Main Street, Wheaton IL

 

Nature Artists’ Guild to Exhibit at the Fine Line Creative Arts Center

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Our Outside Exhibitions Chairpersons have been hard at work!  Members of the Nature Artists’ Guild  have an exciting opportunity to exhibit at the Kavanagh Gallery of the Fine Line Creative Arts Center in St. Charles, Il from March 8 through March 28, 2013.  An Artists’ Reception is scheduled on March 9, 2013 between 2:30 and 5 pm.

The Fine Line Creative Arts Center is one of the country’s few regional arts centers, and along with its many classrooms and beautiful galleries,  The Fine Line also features a fascinating history , which you can read about here!

Photo credit, Fine Line Creative Arts Center
Photo credit,  Fine Line Creative Arts Center

All current members of the Nature Artists Guild should have received their prospectus recently via mail or e-mail.  If you have not received your prospectus, or have any questions, please contact Sharon Malec or Patty Koenigsaecker (whose contact information you will be able to find in your Yearbook).

Please remember to register before Friday, February 22, 2013 to  be a part of this wonderful opportunity!

 

You’re Not Quite Done Yet!

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There’s just one more important item to check off your list this year as a member of the Nature Artists’ Guild, and that is to return your completed prospectus for our annual exhibit at the Downers Grove Library.  The prospectus is due by December 21, 2012, but in order to participate, your 2013 membership dues must be paid by  December 31, 2012. 

This month-long yearly exhibit is held in the large, nicely lit and absolutely lovely gallery space of the Downers Grove Library, 1050 Curtiss Street, Downers Grove, Illinois.   The library is well-known and much appreciated in the surrounding communities for its dedication to providing ongoing quality art exhibits, and we appreciate being part of that tradition.

It couldn’t be easier to participate.  If you have exhibited in any of the Nature Artists’ Guild exhibitions, you are ready!  Those previously exhibited works have already been through the approval process, and just need to be dropped off at the library on January 5, 2013.

Check your e-mails from last September for your prospectus and details, and if you have any questions, Paulette McDermott, whose contact information you can find in your Yearbook or on the prospectus, will be glad to help.