This video from Ball Seed highlights some of the views, which include acres of flowers, water features, trees and shrubs, and container displays, all available for artists to enjoy and be inspired by. Please click on this link for a guided video tour of the gardens.
Since the gardens will be reserved for this event, interested members of the Nature Artists’ Guild must contact Linn Eldred to be put on the list for attendance and to receive further details by email. Linn’s contact information can be found in the Nature Artists’ Guild Yearbook.
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 thedigital 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.
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 theGardens 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 bereturned 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)
The first opportunity this week for guild members to spend a little time with their fellow artists to talk, eat or drink, learn something new, take some photos, or sketch or paint will be at the the weekly Coffee Club on Tuesday morning at 9 am at the Visitor’s Center of The Morton Arboretum. This paint-out takes place rain or shine and there is plenty of seating in and around the Visitor’s Center.
Linn Eldred has been working on her sketchbook. She does each initial drawing in pencil and completes the work in ink and watercolor.
The second paint-out will be at the Gardens of Cantigny on Wednesday, July 7, 2021 at 9 am. It is recommended that interested members contact Linn Eldred to be added to the contact list for weather-related updates, but last-minute and late participants are welcome.
Nature Artists’ Guild at previous Cantigny Gardens paint-out.
Please click on the highlighted links to learn more.
On the morning of Wednesday, July 7, 2021, members of the Nature Artists’ Guild are invited to meet at 9 am at the Visitor’s Center of Cantigny Parkfor a paint-out in the gardens.
Cantigny Park is the 500-acre former estate of Colonel Robert R. McCormick, longtime editor and publisher of the Chicago Tribune. The park is now the home of two museums, a visitor’s center with a cafe, restaurant, and gift shop, an education center, walking trails and a picnic area, the gardens, and a golf complex.
The Gardens at Cantigny at 29 acres, is one of the largest display gardens in the Midwest and includes more than 160,000 flowers, shrubs and trees as well as statuary and water features.
“The Gardens at Cantigny beckon you. They tug at your senses, drawing you closer. If you listen carefully, each garden will tell you a story, unfolding with every step. You will feel your body relax as you absorb the landscape and the landscape devours your stress. The hustle of life melts away just a few steps into our 29 acres of flourishing, blooming tranquility. Come enjoy the pace of nature here in The Gardens at Cantigny.”
Admission to Cantigny Park is always free, and parking is also free on theday of the paint-out. Members of the Nature Artists’ Guild who are interested in attending are encouraged to contact Linn Eldred to be ensured of receiving weather-related updates. Linn’s contact information can be found in the guild’s Yearbook. Last-minute or late attendees are also welcome.
Linn Eldred, who organizes the paint-outs for the Nature Artists’ Guild would like to announce a fun new experience for members- the TuesdayMorningCoffee Club!
Exterior of Ginkgo Restaurant and Cafe facing Meadow Lake at The Morton Arboretum. Photo credit mortonarb.org.
Coffee, tea, juice, or water – doesn’t matter. Sketching, meeting and spending time with fellow artists, and enjoying nature are the important elements of these gatherings. Interested members will meet on Tuesday mornings at 9 am at the Visitor Center ofThe Morton Arboretum. Attendees will decide each Tuesday their plans for the morning (usually depending on the weather.) Even on rainy days, the views from inside the Visitor Center’s Ginkgo Cafe offer plenty of sketching inspiration.
This new adventure began last Tuesday and received good reviews by the participants, who plan to return next week. While no advance notice is required for members of the Nature Artists’ Guild to attend, each will need to reserve a timed-entry ticketfrom the Arboretum’s website. Tickets are frequently still available on the morning of the event (so far – subject to change.) The Arboretum’s Know Before You Go page has further information.
Whether on a solitary trip to the prairie or while participating in the paint-out at The Morton Arboretum, members of the Nature Artists’ Guild found plenty of spring treasures to sketch last week. Here are some that members have shared (please click on any image for a full version) –
Whether or not tomorrow’s Nature Artists’ Guild paint-out goes forward (it’s all up to the weather), there will be many more opportunities for guild members to paint outdoors in the coming months.
Many artists assume that painting en plein air involves traipsing through the woods lugging large easels and solvents and later trying to get back to the car without smearing or dropping their fresh (and wet) oil paintings. Karen will show that there can be an easier way.
Enjoy a creative morning outside with this art class “en plein air” at The Morton Arboretum. Under the guidance of your instructor, capture the landscape, the form of a tree, or the tiny detail of a flower bud. Bring your graphite pencils, colored pencils, pen and ink, watercolors, or other medium of choice, and get tips for building a field kit of art supplies you can easily carry with you on any trip outdoors. Enjoy plenty of time to work independently with the support of your instructor.
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 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.
Nature Artists' Guild 