Zinnia Medley #3, scratchboard, copyright Rhonda Nass. Used with permission. Please click on the image to see more of Rhonda’s work.
In just one week, on Thursday, June 3, 2021, beginning at 7 pm,Rhonda Nass will be presenting an online program about using scratchboard to create stunning works of nature art to members of the Nature Artists’ Guild of The Morton Arboretum. Guild members will be receiving an email soon with more information and a link and instructions for participating.
It is a thrill and an honor for the guild to welcome back such a delightful and talented artist and educator. Please click on this link to Rhonda’s website or on the image to see more of her extraordinary work.
For Nature Artists’ Guild members who enjoy sketching trees, flowering shrubs, or late wildflowers or bulbs, painting plein-air, or just taking photos, a beautiful morning in May at The Morton Arboretum would create all of those opportunities.
Paint-Out Chair, Linn Eldred, has arranged an outing beginning at 10 am on Tuesday, May 18, 2021 for members of the guild to experience many of the wonders of spring at The Morton Arboretum. Members can let Linn know by this Saturday if they are interested in attending, (Linn’s contact information is in the Nature Artists’ Yearbook or in an email sent to all members on April 27, 2021) and she will reserve group tickets. Last-minute attendees who are also members of the arboretum can reserve their own timed-entry tickets by clicking here.
Participating artists will meet near the front of the Visitor’s Center and spread out from there. It would be beneficial to check theKnow Before You Gopage from the arboretum’s website before attending.
We look forward to seeing some delightful sketches and paintings on this website after the outing! Participants can share their work by sending images to Denise Fisk, whose contact information will also be found in the Yearbook or in the April 27 member email.
The Nature Artists’ Guild is honored and excited to welcome back Rhonda Nass for an online presentation beginning at 7 pm on Thursday, June 3, 2021.
Rhonda has astonished and captivated viewers with her colored pencil and acrylic work for years and has now added scratchboard to her list of media mastered. She is fondly known as a kind and sharing educator and her teaching style helps give students the confidence and inspiration needed to begin their own journey in a new medium.
Please take a moment to follow one of the highlighted links to enjoy images of Rhonda’s stunning work. More about the presentation and instructions for attending will be shared with Nature Artists’ Guild members by email and on this website in the coming weeks.
With the snow falling and temperatures near zero, it hardly seems possible that spring blooms could be not many weeks away!
Pulsatilla patens, Prairie Crocus, copyright Margaret Best. Used with permission.
Renowned artist and educator Margaret Best is well versed in the subtleties and surprises of nature in different climates and seasons from having grown up in South Africa, to now residing in Nova Scotia, and from traveling and teaching worldwide. Her botanical art can be found in private collections around the world, as well as at the Hunt Institute of Botanical Documentation of the Carnegie Mellon University and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Margaret will share some of her research into the innovative color system used by prolific illustrator of plants and animals in the nineteenth century Ferdinand Bauer in an online program for Nature Artists’ Guild members, An Intimate Relationship with Colour, on Thursday, March 4, 2021 beginning at 7 pm.
Please click on an image or on one of the highlighted links to reach Margaret’s website, where you can learn more about her life and art and enjoy images of her stunning paintings. Nature Artists’ Guild members will receive by email, within the next few weeks, a link and instructions for attending the online program.
Crocus watercolor painting and supplies. Copyright Margaret Best. Used with permission.
How do you accurately (as possible) illustrate the oldest known dinosaur relative and its habitat using only fossil records from 243 million years ago? The Nature Artists’ Guild is excited to announce that the speaker at tonight’s online program is likely the only person in the world who has done just that!
This evening, February 4, 2021, beginning at 7 pm via live video, artist, educator, and scientist Marlene Hill Donnelly will share stories of some of her unique and fascinating experiences over the course of her career as a scientific illustrator for the world-renowned Field Museum. Marlene often illustrated plants and animals that lived millions of years ago by creating her own models based only on fossil records and scientific knowledge.
Marlene has also worked as a freelance artist for the Belle Isle Aquarium, the Smithsonian Institution, HarperCollins, and the Honolulu Zoo, and has taught various botanical and scientific illustration and art classes at The Morton Arboretum and the Chicago Botanic Garden.
Nature Artists’ Guild members were sent an email on January 28, 2021 with a link and instructions for joining the meeting. Any members who did not receive the link and wish to attend should contact Jane Kellenberger as soon as possible.
It’s been nearly ten years since members of the Nature Artists’ Guild have had the pleasure of attending a presentation by artist, educator, and scientist Marlene Hill Donnelly. The guild is excited to welcome her back as their first speaker of 2021.
On Thursday evening, February 4, 2021, beginning at 7 pm, via live video, Marlene will talk about some of her unique experiences over the course of her career as a scientific illustrator for the Field Museum and as a freelance artist for the Belle Isle Aquarium, the Smithsonian Institution, HarperCollins, and the Honolulu Zoo. Marlene has also taught various art and botanical and scientific illustration classes at The Morton Arboretum, and is currently teaching at the Chicago Botanic Garden.
Detail of Landscape Reconstructed – Greenland, copyright Marlene Hill Donnelly.
Instructions for joining this program will be emailed to all Nature Artists’ Guild members later this month. Those who have not yet joined or renewed for 2021 are encouraged to do so before the end of January to ensure that they receive the participation instructions.
The Nature Artists’ Guild of The Morton Arboretum enters its 35th year of art and nature in 2021!
As it has for more than 34 years, membership in the Nature Artists’ Guild in 2021 brings opportunities to participate in programs, paint-outs, exhibits, workshops, and social events (in person or online, as conditions require.) In addition, the Nature Artists’ Quarterly, featuring news, articles, and artwork by, for, or about members is delivered to every member’s mailbox each season.
Now, before the season becomes too busy, might be a good time for Nature Artists’ Guild members to renew their membership for 2021 (or for new members to join.) Current members of the guild can renew at a reduced fee (through the end of the month) by clicking hereand scrolling down to the appropriate payment button. New members can click here to join at the regular rate. If preferred, new members can send a check to the address on the membership form and returning members can send a check to treasurer Catherine Stacy. Use of the membership form is not required as long as the member’s contact information is included with the check or online payment.
Copyright Lara Call Gastinger. Used with permission. Please click on image to visit laracallgastinger.com.
Lara Call Gastinger’s presentation for members of the Nature Artists’ Guild, Field Journaling, is only one week away! On Thursday, October 1, 2020 at 7 pm, members of the Nature Artists’ Guild can participate in this special online program. Details will be e-mailed to all members a few days before the program.
In this presentation Lara will be focusing on journaling in nature but it is well worth the time to visit Lara’s website and Instagram page to view not only her sketchbooks, but stunning finished works like the one pictured above.
Members of the Nature Artists’ Guild of The Morton Arboretum can look forward to a full Fall of art and nature!
Autumnal Gold, copyright Patricia Mroczka
Some upcoming events include –
A virtual lecture this month about the symbolism of art (much of it nature) portrayed on an 18th Century Asian screen. (Postponed until further notice.)
A “paint-out” in September where members create art in their own environment and share their experiences through video-chat or by sending images to display on this website.
An online presentation about journaling in nature with Lara Call Gastinger. Lara’s workshop at the Arboretum sold out immediately, but all Nature Artists’ Guild members are invited to join her October 1 presentation.
A new “Art Encounter” in October that will involve working almost solely in ink. Its a great way to quickly hone those drawing skills!
An online exhibit in November of images of some of the finished artwork that members had hoped to include in the cancelled 2020 Spring or Autumn (Holiday) exhibits.
A fun and creative holiday card project in lieu of the annual in-person celebration.
Dates, times, and all the other details about these events will be shared with members through e-mails and announcements on this website.
Stippled Leaf, sketchbook, copyright Lara Gastinger. Used with permission.
Fall sketchbook page, copyright Lara Gastinger. Used with permission
“As a trained plant ecologist, my love of learning and drawing nature is exemplified in my field journals.” – Lara Call Gastinger
Botanical artist and illustrator Lara Call Gastingerwill be sharing some of her inspirations, ideas, and techniques for journaling in nature at the October 1, 2020 Nature Artists’ Guild online program. Lara has received two gold medals at Royal Horticultural Society Botanical Art Shows in London and is the Chief Illustrator for the Flora of Virginia Project.
Please click on this link for a short video that features Lara speaking about some of her travels, discoveries, and inspirations as a “documenter of nature” and her joy in combining the love of both art and science in her work.
Members of the Nature Artists’ Guild will receive an e-mail closer to the program date with specific instructions on how to participate.
Sketchbook pages, copyright Lara Gastinger. Used with permission.
Lara will also be teaching a three-session online workshop for The Morton Arboretum beginning on October 2, 2020. During the workshop, Lara will “teach pen illustration techniques, plant identification, page composition, and how to add basic watercolor to your pages. During each live session, students will have the chance to interact with the instructor and each other, asking questions and sharing their work”. Registration for Visiting Artist: Field Journaling with Lara Gastinger opens on September 1, 2020 by phone or though the Arboretum website’s Learn and experience page. Members of the Nature Artists’ Guild can receive a discount for the workshop by registering by phone and confirming their membership. Update – this workshop is sold out, but Nature Artists’ Guild members will still be able to participate in the program on October 1.
Nature Artists' Guild 