May and June bring all kinds of good things to Chicagoland! The Nature Artists’ Guild of The Morton Arboretum has plans to celebrate with a field trip, preparations for an exhibit, a program featuring three members sharing their talents, a garden paint-out, and weekly Coffee and Art gatherings.
Members of the Nature Artists’ Guild and guests will receive information this week about an outing to the great city of Chicago to visit two museums currently exhibiting nature art. Participants will visit the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art for Lichen and Coral, a two-person exhibit featuring work by Guild member Sandra Wilcoxon, and Driehaus Museum for an exhibit of work by Rory McEwen, a “20th century botanical master.” Plans for lunch at a nearby cafe will also be shared. Members are welcome to bring guests, and can register here.
In late May, members of the Nature Artists’ Guild will receive an email with all the details about, and a link to register for, an exhibit at the Hidden Oaks Nature Center in Bolingbrook, IL. The newly renovated center includes a well-lit area on the second floor of the award-winning building, ideal for exhibiting artwork. Guild members’ artwork will be displayed from July 5 to August 30, 2025.
On Thursday, June 5, 2025, beginning at 7 pm, three members of the Nature Artists’ Guild will share their inspirations, insights, tools, and techniques at the Thornhill Education Center of The Morton Arboretum. The program will be open to all, free of charge, and admission fees to the Arboretum will be waived for the event. More details soon. Note – The Guild urgently needs a volunteer to supply snacks for this meeting (costs reimbursed by the Guild). Any member who can help should email Terrie McComb or use this contact form.
June’s paint-out will be at a private garden blooming with glorious color. Details for the paint-out are being worked out, and Guild members will be the first to know when they are available.
Coffee and Art gatherings continue to meet each Wednesday morning (weather permitting) after 9. Guild members, their guests, or any other interested artists are invited to stop by the Visitor Center of The Morton Arboretum. No registration is required (regular gate fees will apply). The Arboretum will be filled with inspiration from which Guild members may choose to begin their “Flora” artwork!
It’s time for Nature Artists’ Guild members to get started on this year’s small works project honoring The Morton Arboretum!
This year’s theme for our members’ 8 x 8 inch works, to be displayed alongside the Guild’s 2025 Autumn Exhibit at the Arboretum in November, is “Flora.”
Merriam-Webster defines “flora” as the “plant, bacteria, or fungal life . . . characteristic of a region, period, or special environment.” The special environment in this case will be The Morton Arboretum, so the available material for inspiration will be varied and plentiful!
The Arboretum is currently bursting with flora, from flowering trees and shrubs to native wildflowers and blooming bulbs, providing a perfect opportunity to do some sketching, plein air painting, or even photographing for future study.
Guild members can participate by creating up to three works, completed at or inspired by The Morton Arboretum.
Artwork must be exactly 8 by 8 inches and less than 1/2 inch in depth, unframed, and can be in almost any medium.
There will be no exhibit fee or volunteer requirement.
This special display is separate from, but will be exhibited during and alongside, the Guild’s 2025 Autumn Exhibit at The Morton Arboretum.
Blackburnian Warbler, copyright Vicki Liszewski, Featured Artist of the Nature Artists’ Guild’s 2025 Spring Exhibit at The Morton Arboretum. Click on image for a sample of exhibit artwork.
The Nature Artists’ Guild would like to congratulate and thank all those involved in the success of the 2025 Spring Exhibit at The Morton Arboretum!
Visitors to The Morton Arboretum were able to enjoy more than 200 lovely works of art created by 65 members of the Nature Artists’ Guild last weekend, thanks to Exhibit Co-Chairs Alice Wych and Lisa Kanellos, Featured Artist Vicki Liszewski, and all the artists, volunteers, demonstrators, and Arboretum staff who put their time, effort, and talents into making the exhibit a success.
Woods Garden and Peter’s Pond, copyright Ann Lamoureux
(Exhibit artists who haven’t already done so can send up to two images of their exhibited work to Denise Fisk this week to have them added to the online display.)
Exhibit artwork by Spring 2025 Featured Artist Vicki Liszewski. Poster design by Jane Kellenberger.
The Nature Artists’ Guild’s Spring 2025 Exhibit at The Morton Arboretum opens this Friday, April 4, 2025.
The exhibit will include more than 200 works of nature art in a wide variety of media, created by 65 members of the Guild, and will be free to attend for all Arboretum visitors (regular Arboretum gate fees will apply).
The reception on Friday evening from 4:30 until 7 pm will be open to the public, completely free of charge. Admission to The Morton Arboretum will be waived for the reception, and as always, there will be no charge for parking. No registration is required, and attendees can let the Arboretum gate attendant know they are there for the reception to be directed to parking for the event.
The exhibit will be held in the Cudahy Room and reception area adjacent to the Sterling Morton Library, in the Administration Building of The Morton Arboretum, a short stroll from the Visitor Center.
Visitors to the Nature Artists’ Guild’s Spring 2025 Exhibit at The Morton Arboretum will have the opportunity to interact with talented artists as they share thoughts about their inspirations and demonstrate their methods and materials.
The exhibit will showcase more than 200 works by 65 members of the Guild, including many by Featured Artist, Vicki Liszewski. Exhibit admission will be free of charge for all visitors to The Morton Arboretum (Arboretum admission fees will still be required, except for the Friday evening reception). No registration is required.
Detail of wool and silk fiber art, copyright Sharon Malec
Detail of African Elephant, copyright Carrie Carlson
Detail of Poppy Pods, charcoal, copyright Terrie McComb
Detail of Househunting, colored pencil, copyright Linda Hilderbrant
Detail of Scratch That, acrylic, copyright Lindsay Sandbothe
Detail of Prairie Drought, pen and ink, copyright Todd Serrano
Pretty in pink, copyright Lisa Kanellos. Click on the image for a sample of exhibit artwork images.
The 2025 Spring Exhibit by members of the Nature Artists’ Guild opens at The Morton Arboretum on Friday, April 4, and continues through Sunday, April 6. This exhibit of more than 200 works of art by 65 members of the Guild will be open to Arboretum visitors between 10 and 4 each day.
A reception is planned for Friday evening from 4:30 until 7, and is open to all. Reception attendees will have free admission to the Arboretum on that evening, and there will be no charge for parking or admission to the exhibit. Registration is not required.
Please click on poster for an exhibit artwork sample preview.
Poster artwork by Featured Artist, Vicki Liszewski. Poster design by Jane Kellenberger.
Golden-crowned Kinglet, watercolor, copyright Vicki Liszewski, Spring 2025 Featured Artist
And here it is! Chicagoland residents don’t need a calendar to know when spring has arrived. Almost overnight, the woods are filled with movement and sound, and green shoots begin to appear everywhere. Later this month, tiny, flitting Golden–crowned Kinglets will be spotted along wooded trails, seeming to cheerfully accompany humans on their walks.
The Guild will also be celebrating spring with a paint-out at the Arboretum’s beloved Daffodil Glade in April and the beginning of this year’s small-works project honoring the Arboretum, Flora. (More to come soon about these events.)
Click on image and right click to download and share.
So much to keep Nature Artists’ Guild members busy while awaiting the wonders of spring!
Joel Sheesley will share “conceptual and practical steps” in landscape painting on March 6, from 7 to 9 pm at the Thornhill Education Center of The Morton Arboretum. The program will be open to all, free of charge, with no registration required. (Posters and postcards for the Guild’s Spring 2025 Art Exhibit at The Morton Arboretum will also be available for attendees to take home and share with friends, family, and local businesses.)
A paint-out at the Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum will take place on the morning of March 6, beginning at 9:30. Coffee and Celia’s homemade muffins will prepare artists for a lovely morning of sketching and painting. Drop-ins are welcome, but registration ensures being contacted with updates.
The final day for Nature Artists’ Guild members to register for the 2025 Spring Exhibit is only one week from today. Members will need to register online or by mail by Saturday, March 8, 2025 to be eligible to participate. Last year’s Spring Exhibit attracted more than 1300 visitors!
Poster artwork by Featured Artist Vicki Liszewski. Poster design by Jane Kellenberger.
The 2025 Spring Exhibit at The Morton Arboretum, featuring artwork by approximately 50 members of the Nature Artists’ Guild, is coming soon!More than 1000 visitors are expected to view the 200 or more works of nature art between April 4 and April 6, 2025.
All current Guild members were emailed a prospectus and a link for online registration on February 1, and the final day to register, either online or by mail, is March 8, 2025. New members who join the Nature Artists’ Guild by March 8 will also receive a prospectus and be eligible to register. Much more about the exhibition and Featured Artist Vicki Liszewski, as well as samples of exhibit artwork, will be coming soon.
In other news for the Nature Artists’ Guild –
A visit to the Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum for a paint-out is scheduled for the morning of Thursday, March 6, 2025. Participants can choose from thousands of specimens to sketch, paint, or photograph while enjoying hot coffee and homemade muffins by Paint-Out Coordinator Celia Rodee. Guild members can register for the paint-out here.
The Nature Artists’ Guild is excited to announce that the speaker for the March 6, 2025 evening presentation at the Thornhill Education Center of The Morton Arboretum will be Joel Sheesley. This program, sponsored by the Guild, will be open to all, free of charge, and no registration is required to attend. More about Joel and his work coming soon.
2025 Spring Exhibit posters and postcards will be available for attendees at the March 6 evening program. Everyone is also encouraged to share the online version of the poster with their friends and family! (Open and right-click on image for options.)
Copies of the Spring 2025 Nature Artists’ Quarterly(a members-only publication) will be arriving in mailboxes by the first week of March. The Quarterly includes news, artwork, and articles contributed by members of the Guild, all artfully presented by Publications Chair Jane Kellenberger.
The Nature Artists’ Guild still needs volunteers to assist with some of the duties of the Social Committee. Most involve a minimum time commitment and are a much-appreciated way to help the Guild. (A volunteer to help with refreshments at the March 6 meeting is needed as soon as possible.)
This year’s theme for the Guild’s annual display of small works honoring The Morton Arboretum in November (alongside the annual Autumn Exhibit) will be “Flora.” The special project involves members exhibiting up to three unframed 8 x 8-inch works of art created at or inspired by the Arboretum. More details and a registration form to come soon.
As always, Guild members and visitors are welcome to stop by the Visitor Center of The Morton Arboretum any Wednesday morning (weather permitting) to enjoy time with fellow artists at a Coffee and Art gathering.
Aphrodite Sweetshrub, copyright Arlene Widrevitz, will be one of many works of art celebrating nature at a special exhibit at the Downers Grove Library this January.
The year begins with a special exhibit and quickly jumps right into exciting paint-outs, programs, and other ways for members of the Nature Artists’ Guild to celebrate and share the beauty of nature throughout winter.
The Nature Artists’ Guild’s annual exhibit at the Downers Grove Library opens in just three days, on Tuesday, January 7 during normal library hours. Guild members’ artwork will complement the library’s permanent collection throughout library exhibit spaces for all to enjoy through February 4, 2025.
A paint-out at the Field Museum has been scheduled for January 18. Guild members will join members of the Artists at the field group in sketching some of the wonders of the natural world. Much more about this event will be emailed to Guild members soon.
On February 6, the Guild welcomes talented artist and beloved instructor Rhonda Nass for an online presentation about her experiences with scratchboard and colored pencil. Guild members will be emailed a link for attending the presentation. More details will be coming soon, including instructions for non-members to attend.
Also on February 6, Guild artists can leave the winter behind for a few hours at Orchids by Hausermann. This paint-out starts in the early hours, but the thousands of orchids and balmy conditions in the greenhouse of Hausermann’s make it worth setting the alarm. More details and a form to register online will be available soon.
It’s time to begin thinking of Spring! Members of the Nature Artists’ Guild who have news, articles, or artwork for the Spring edition of the Quarterly must submit them no later than February 1, 2025. An email with instructions for submission will be sent to all members in coming weeks.
The theme for the Guild’s annual 8 x 8 project, in which members create small works of art honoring The Morton Arboretum, will be announced soon for those who want to get an early start! The artwork will be exhibited alongside the Guild’s annual Autumn Exhibit at the Arboretum in November.
Nature Artists' Guild 