Category: Paint-Outs

Georgeous Weather and Color Expected for Tomorrow’s Paint-Out

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If you’re still undecided about attending tomorrow’s Nature Artists’ Guild paint-out at The Morton Arboretum, please click here to see their latest “Autumn Color Report”!

With nice weather expected (mostly sunny, 65 degrees), it’s likely the Arboretum will be the place to be this weekend, so although we’ll meet at 9:30 in front of Thornhill, it probably wouldn’t hurt to come a little early to beat the crowd.  The gates will open at 7 am!

Sterling Pond, © Marilyn Peretti

Update – Enjoy this “start” of  a mixed media painting of Sterling Pond, created by Marilyn Peretti using cold wax and oil, painted with a palette knife!

Autumn Color Paint-Out at The Morton Arboretum, October 22, 2011

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The trees of The Morton Arboretum have begun their big event – their annual display of reds, golds, oranges and violets against a deep blue sky!   The Nature Artists’ Guild has scheduled a paint-out during this show to try to capture at least some of all of that beauty.  On Saturday, October 22, 2011, we’ll be meeting in front of Thornhill at 9:30 a.m. before heading out to choose our location(s) for painting and sketching.  Whether you prefer to stay with the group or wander off on your own, we can guarantee that you will find some trees all decked out in their finest, ready and willing to be your models for the morning.

Bring a thermos, your supplies, and a portable chair or stool and we’ll supply the muffins!  The paint-out will be held rain or shine, but we’ll hope for one of those bright blue October skies.  Please invite your friends from other art groups, as this paint-out is open to everyone, members and non-members alike, but please keep in mind that non-members of The Morton Arboretum will still be charged a gate fee.  No RSVP is necessary, and in case of rain, please meet at the Sterling Morton Library.

Tomorrow at Thornhill – Our Newest Member?

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In addition to all the other fun things we’ll be working on during our Holiday Exhibit Workshop at Thornhill tomorrow (see details in earlier post), we’ll also be assembling the very first Nature Artists’ Guild Scarecrow for The Morton Arboretum’s annual display.  The gorgeous gal in the sketch below, by Nature Artists’ Guild member Patty Koenigsaecker, is what we hope our scarecrow will look when she’s done.   Don’t you agree she just may be the cutest scarecrow ever?  Please stop by the workshop any time between 10 and 2 to help get her ready for her debut!

Drawing by Patty Koenigsaecker

Fundraising Workshop Next Weekend!

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An important message from our Fundraising Chair, Nancy Thyfault –

 Ladies and Gentlemen, mark your calendars! Our Holiday Workshop will be September 17th, 10 am to 2 pm, Room C, Thornhill.

 This is your opportunity to create items for our fundraising table at the Holiday Exhibit. Think you aren’t “crafty”- well, it’s more about creating unique items embellished with your artwork! Please join us and we can get you started.

 We will have wooden trays, boxes and other pieces that you may paint, faux finish or design however you would like to. Nancy Kolar will be there to help with fabric painting on holiday tote bags- what a great idea for “wrapping” a holiday gift! If you think that you may want to paint a tote bag, you can work up a design in the 8” x 10” range to bring along. You could also bring photos for reference. There will other “projects” to work on as well.

You needn’t stay for the entire time. Many people pick up items and take them home to work on. You may stay, bring lunch and enjoy some creative time with your fellow artists!

 Please bring along your favorite brushes and acrylic paints. A container for water is a good idea, too. Thanks to some generous donations, we have plenty of things to work on.

“Painters in the Garden” Paint-Out July 30th and 31st

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Suzanne Wegener,  Nature Art Education Manager at The Morton Arboretum (and our Nature Artists’ Guild liaison),  announces  another  wonderful opportunity for our members –

Painters in the Garden

Come for a day or an hour and paint in the beautifully landscaped Children’s Garden where flowers, fish and frogs abound. We will have a cooling station with goodies so don’t let a little warm weather keep you indoors. Children’s garden staff will have a “make & take” for children interested in art. Please help us raise awareness of the Nature Artists’ Guild by participating. Please RSVP to Suzanne Wegener at swegener@mortonarb.org

Suzanne adds that you can bring information about yourself and your art if you’d like –a great opportunity to promote your work!  Visitors will be strolling around, but since there are volunteers who will be doing art projects with children, there is no teaching involved.  Suzanne will be available both days to answer visitor’s questions about the Nature Artists’ Guild as well as The Morton Arboretum’s Education Program.  Click here for more information about the Children’s Garden!

July 30th and 31st from 10:00-1:00 p.m.

Meeting Place:  Children’s Garden

A Midsummer Day’s Paint-Out

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Once again, Nature Artists’ Guild member Connie Devendorf has been kind enough to arrange for us the  popular mid-summer paint-out at the beautiful gardens of Danada House, located on Naperville Wheaton Road, just north of I-88 and south of Butterfield Road.   Danada House was built in the 1920’s by Dan and Ada Rice as their country retreat, and the recently renovated grounds include a rose garden labyrinth, native plants garden, a lovely alley garden, courtyard garden, and even a Thoroughbred horse farm!  

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Click here for the Danada House website, or here for a few photos from last year’s paint-out.  We’ll have the grounds from 9:30 am until about 2:00 on Monday, July 18, 2011, so come any time, and there’s no need to RSVP.   Facilities and a huge screened-in terrace (no bugs!) overlooking the gardens will be available.  

Gardener’s Art Festival Volunteers Needed on June 25th

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The Nature Artists’ Guild has been invited to participate in the annual Gardener’s Art Festival being held on Saturday, June 25, 2011 from 10 am until 4 pm at The Growing Place in Naperville.  Please click here to find out all the details about this popular festival! 

Photo credit The Growing Place

We are looking for artists to volunteer to participate for a 2-hour shift of painting, drawing or sketching during the event.  What a great opportunity to show off your work while enjoying the beautiful surroundings!

   The  Growing Place would love to have four artists for each shift, so please don’t hesitate to sign up if you can – we need your contribution to help make this a success!  Contact Jill Adzia to sign up (you can find her contact information in your Yearbook).

Blooms and Bugs? Karen Johnson’s Garden Paint-Out, June 9, 2011

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 Karen Johnson promises blooms as she hosts a paint-out at her home on Thursday, June 9, 2011 from 9:30 am until 1 pm or so.  Karen’s garden includes such June favorites as peonies, iris, and honeysuckle, as well as many native plants.  There is a small pond with some goldfish, and Karen even suspects that a hummingbird or two may make an appearance! 

Karen also promises bugs!  If it rains, Karen has the unequaled ability to supply the group with insects, shells and other natural items (for those of you wondering why, it’s because Karen is an entomologist and the instructor of many insect-inspired art classes at the arboretum).  She has plenty of room at her kitchen and dining room tables, but suggests you bring your own light. 

Indoors or out, it promises to be fun!  Bring a lunch if you’d like to stay later, and please RSVP to Karen if you’re planning to come (you can find her contact information in our Yearbook).

Eggs-cellent job!

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The Nature Artists’ Guild liason to The Morton Arboretum, Suzanne Wegener thanked everyone at our meeting last night on behalf of the Arboretum for doing such a great job of painting eggs for their upcoming Cirque Du Soleil promotion.  Suzanne started out with 100 plain tan eggs, and as of last evening, only two were not yet decorated!

As artist Priscilla Humay pointed out after her awesome presentation last evening (thank you, Priscilla!), the Nature Artists’ Guild really does have one of the best settings in the Chicagoland area for an artists’ group.  The Morton Arboretum provides us with inspiring subject matter, a wonderful and helpful staff, quality instruction and promotion, and facilities for our workshops, shows and meetings that are not only modern and comfortable, but historic and absolutely beautiful! 

Sometimes it takes someone outside of the group to notice what we may take for granted.  So, thank you Morton Arboretum for everything you do for our group, and any time you need help in painting a hundred or so eggs, we’ll be glad to do it!

Nature Artists’ Guild Field Trip Next Week!

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Our fellow Nature Artist Guild member Diana Sunyog has arranged for Guild members to have a private tour of the Nettie McKinnon Gallery in LaGrange Park next Friday, April 1st from 11 am until about 1 pm. 

This gallery is a hidden gem featuring over 120 works of art by many major artists, including Hudson River School painters John Frederick and George Aldrich and major American Impressionist painters Edward Henry Potthast, John Henry Twatchman and John Singer Sargent. 

The history of the museum is fascinating, with early works of art being bought from profits of the sale of magazines by 7th and 8th graders in the late 1920’s, all under the direction of principal Nettie J. McKinnon.  Nettie’s determination to make art available to students as an everyday part of their lives resulted in this wonderful collection.  Most of the artists represented are also in leading museum collections across the country.  Please visit www.saltcreekart.org/ for more about the museum’s history and collection. 

Family members are welcome, and Diana mentions that there are a number of nice restaurants in the area from which we can choose for our post-tour refreshment (no PB &J sandwiches for this field trip)! Please contact Ku-mie Kim (her e-mail address is in your Yearbook) if you’d like to come, as the museum would like an accurate count. 

The address of the gallery is –   Nettie McKinnon Gallery, 333 North Park Road,  Entrance 4, La Grange Park, IL  60526 ,  Phone – (708) 482-2400 (ext. 2002).