All are invited to the Nature Artists’ Guild’s 2019 Holiday (Autumn) Exhibition of Natural History Art at The Morton Arboretum on Saturday, November 9, 2019, and Sunday, November 10, 2019. There will also be a reception for artists, their guests, and members of The Morton Arboretum on the evening of Friday, November 8, 2019. The exhibit will showcase nearly 200 wonderful pieces of nature art by Featured Artist Jane Kellenberger and approximately 50 other members of the Nature Artists’ Guild.
The 2019 Summer Encounter for members of the Nature Artists’ Guild has come to an end. This project required the artists to start their artwork at one point of their paper or canvas (usually the bottom) and add to it each week, without necessarily knowing exactly where it would lead. The results were impressive and wonderful!
Some of the participants have kindly agreed to share their Encounter artwork with us here. Perhaps we’ll be seeing some of these pieces again in the upcoming Fall (Holiday) Exhibition of Natural History Art in November at The Morton Arboretum. Congratulations to all the participating artists for, once again, venturing outside their comfort zone.
Larger images of the artwork can be seen on the 2019 Summer Encounter Gallery page under the Member Artwork tab of this website.
The Nature Artists’ Guild’s Featured Artist for Spring and Summer of 2019, Karen Johnson, has just returned from a trip to Australia. Karen has been journaling her adventures in nature for years with words, photos and artwork on her blog, Karen’s Nature Art. Needless to say, the nature she encountered in Australia is a little different from what may be seen in Chicagoland. Karen has captured her impressions of the trip wonderfully, and a visit to her blog to see all of her sketches is definitely worth the click!
The next program sponsored by the Nature Artists’ Guild is only one week away, on Thursday evening, August 1, 2019 from 7 until 9 pm at The Morton Arboretum. This program will feature three stations with different types of artwork being done at each. Please click on this link to read more.
All fans of nature and art are welcome to attend, free-of-charge.
Please click on any of the images for larger versions and artist names.
Each August, the Nature Artists’ Guild invites three of its members to share tips and techniques for creating artwork in “new” (or sometimes ancient) ways. This annual program is open to all and free of charge for parking, admission, and entry to The Morton Arboretum. Members, guests, and visitors are welcome to attend on Thursday, August 1, 2019 from 7 until 9 pm. There will be light refreshments and door prizes. There is no membership requirement for either the Arboretum or the Nature Artists’ Guild for this event. Visitors should let the gate attendant at the Arboretum’s main entrance know they are there for the Nature Artists’ Guild program to be admitted and directed to the Thornhill Education Center.
The Arbor Room room in Thornhill will be set up into three different stations. The audience will divide into three casual groups and visit each station for approximately 20 minutes to listen, watch, and ask questions (and occasionally participate) and then move to the next (or stay at the same place if so inspired). It is a fun and informative event and a great opportunity to meet other artists and learn some new techniques.
At one of the stations, Jill Adzia will be sharing her tips and techniques for working with scratchboard, including the use of color to create stunning pieces.
At another station, Arlene Widrevitz will discuss her adventures in the ancient art of Mokuhanga, Japanese woodblock printing.
At the third station, members of the Nature Artists’ Guild who participated in the 2019 Summer Encounter led by Evelyn Grala will be exhibiting their completed “progressive” artwork at the third station. These examples by Nancy Kolar show the progression towards the finished piece.
Watch the prairie grow with these images of the creation of Autumn Prairie by Nancy Kolar!
Participating members of the Nature Artists’ Guild’s 2019 Summer Encounter will each be creating their own large piece of nature art by adding to it each week. Member Nancy Kolar’s finished progressive artwork is being used as an example, and shows that each week’s addition could be considered a completed piece of art. Nancy used pen and ink in her piece, but participants can choose any one medium of their choice for the project. Finished pieces will be on display at the August 1, 2019 Nature Artists’ Guild program.
Thank you to Evelyn Grala for leading this project and encouraging members with weekly updates, and to Nancy Kolar for sharing her beautiful artwork as inspiration. It is fascinating to note that Nancy “simply put ink pen on the page without pencil outlines first” and then incorporated any “stray ink line into one of the objects” she was drawing!
