Category: Paint-Outs

 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).

Who doesn’t have Spring Fever?  Although the first day of Spring isn’t until the twentieth of March, members of the Nature Artists’ Guild can begin celebrating its arrival a few days early!

 On Friday, March 18, 2011, from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm, we will be visiting the world-famous Chicago Botanic Garden for a spring paint-out.  The Garden’s 24 display gardens and four natural areas will just be coming back to life with tulips and crocuses and literally hundreds of thousands of daffodils and jonquils!   As the Garden’s website notes, “No season is more longed for, or dreamed about, than spring, perhaps because it rubs shoulders with the harshest months of the year. This spring, discover daily miracles and celebrate the plant world at the Garden in all its optimism, color, and beauty.”

 All of us in the Chicago-land area also know that March weather can be very unpredictable!  Luckily for our paint-out participants, the Chicago Botanic Garden’s three greenhouses boast semitropical, tropical and desert environments. 

You won’t be feeling any chill while indoors sketching the Garden’s display of “beautiful and fragrant flowering plants, rare plants, edible plants, utilitarian plants, seasonal plants, and houseplants from around the world”, all kept at a plant and people-pleasing 75 to 85 degrees!  Take that March winds!    

 Please let Ku-mie Kim know if plan to attend (her contact information is in the Yearbook).  There may be a possibility of arranging some car-pooling for those interested.    Please visit the Chicago Botanic Garden website,  for directions as well as some late-winter sustenance!

The Hausermann’s paint-out is still scheduled for tomorrow, Friday, February 4.    It’s even fine with them if you show up early – they open at 8 am.  Yes, it will be cold outside, but  Hausermann’s showroom is a great place to warm up and forget about the weather.   Don’t forget, one lucky participant will receive a free orchid to take home!  Contact Ku-mie Kim to RSVP if you haven’t already.

Hausermann’s Orchids is another favorite of Nature Artists’ Guild artists.  On a cold wintry day, you can almost feel yourself relax when you step inside this greenhouse. Thousands of the orchids that Hausermann’s is famous for nationwide will be in bloom, just waiting for you to capture their beauty in your artwork.

An area of the greenhouse has been set aside as a showroom with hundreds of orchid specimens which is where we can set up to sketch or paint.  Even if you only take photographs for future inspiration, it is worth the effort to set aside some time to attend.  Of course the orchids are also for sale, so if you’d like your “inspiration” to come home with you, that can be arranged!  One lucky paint-out attendee will even receive a free orchid to take home.

Unfortunately, space is limited so we have to limit the group to 15 artists.   Please contact Ku-mie Kim if you’d like to come (you can find her contact information in the Yearbook or write a comment to this post and I’ll forward the information).   We’ll be meeting at Hausermann’s on Friday, 02/04/10 from 9:30 to 12:30.  They are located at 2N134 Addison Road, Villa Park, IL (see www.orchidsbyhausermann.com for directions and more information.).  

 Bring a chair, your art supplies, and leave your parka at home!

The rain kept the usual Autumn Arboretum crowds away, but a handful of dedicated artists braved the weather Saturday morning and for their effort were warmly welcomed by Librarian Michael Stieber and the gorgeous views outside the library windows.

 The library is so fascinating, both in design and content, that it was tempting to just spend the morning browsing the collections (see link to the lower right to access the Sterling Morton Library blog).   However, each and every window framed a wonderful scene just calling out to be captured, and the gentle rain was just enough to saturate the colors and make them “sing”. 

 After some Whole Foods muffins for energy, the artists got busy, and the results were some beautiful works in watercolor, pastel and colored pencil.

(If you were there, we’d love to add your artwork to this post!)