Category: Paint-Outs

A Garden Party Paint-Out on June 23, 2024

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Garden of Anne and Charles Bouchard, Glen Ellyn, IL. Photo credit Anne and Charles Bouchard.

Update: Paint-out has been canceled due to cicada activity.

The Bouchards of Glen Ellyn have invited members of the Nature Artists’ Guild to attend a paint-out and enjoy a buffet at their home on Sunday, June 23, 2024 from noon until 3 in conjunction with a garden party reception for volunteers of the Glen Ellyn Children’s Resource Center.

This plein-air opportunity is available to the first 12 Guild members who register, and the Bouchard’s spacious and lovely gardens, originally designed by landscape architect and artist Anthony Tyznik, will be in full bloom.

Just added – An opportunity for members to create and exhibit up to three 8 x 8 inch works of art in a special display during the Guild’s annual Autumn exhibit in November. These two-dimensional works must be inspired by or created at The Morton Arboretum, and the 2024 theme will be, fittingly, “Trees”. This display of art celebrating trees or their parts or inhabitants will be in addition to the regular autumn exhibit and no entry fee or framing will be required for participating artists. More about this opportunity coming soon!

Coming this June!

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Cicada, copyright Jean Black

More than just cicadas are coming to Chicagoland over the next few weeks. For members of the Nature Artists’ Guild, June also marks the arrival of –

  • One of the Nature Artists’ Guild’s most popular annual programs, featuring short demonstrations and discussions by three talented members, at the Thornhill Education Center of The Morton Arboretum on the evening of Thursday, June 6, 2024 (open to all, free of charge). This year’s artists will share tools, tips, and techniques for creating botanical art using pen and ink, drawing with silverpoint, and using glazes when painting in oil or acrylic. Details to come soon.
  • An exciting new special exhibit at the Aurora Public Art Commission gallery. Participating Guild artists are dropping off their work this weekend, and in less than two weeks, the exhibit opens. Aurora’s First Friday event on June 7, 2024 will include a reception at the gallery for the Nature Artists’ Guild exhibit (open to all) with light refreshments and live music.
  • A paint-out, tentatively planned for late June at the lovely private garden of one of the Guild’s members. The date of the paint-out will be determined in June, and will depend on weather and possible cicada activity.

Looking Ahead to Late Spring and Summer

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Here Fishy, Fishy, copyright Dan Danielson

Members of the Nature Artists’ Guild of The Morton Arboretum will be welcoming the arrival of late spring and summer in a number of enjoyable ways –

  • Nature Artists’ Guild members are encouraged to share images of their summer-inspired artwork for the upcoming issue of the Nature Artists’ Quarterly. This members-only publication includes essays, book reviews, images, and news by and about Guild members. Submissions for possible inclusion in the Summer Quarterly can be emailed to Jane Kellenberger at the NatureArtNews gmail address by May 1, 2024 (Guild members only).
  • There is still time for members to register for the paint-out at Lilacia Park scheduled for Wednesday, May 8, 2024 at 9:30 am. Paint-Out Chair Celia Rodee will share details and updates by email with those registered, and share coffee and her delicious homemade muffins at the paint-out.
  • Artwork drop-off dates for this June and July’s Nature Artists’ Guild exhibit at the gallery of the Aurora Public Art Commission are approaching quickly. Registered exhibitors can park in the designated lot next to the building on May 24 between 2 and 4 or May 25 between 11 and 1, and take the elevator to the third floor to sign in their artwork. The exhibit opens on June 7, 2024 with a reception at the gallery (and a gathering at the studio of Exhibit Co-Chair Cheryl Holz) and continues through July 13.
  • Three members of the Nature Artists’ Guild will be discussing and demonstrating their inspirations, materials, and techniques at the June 6, 2024 program at the Thornhill Education Center of The Morton Arboretum at 7 pm. This program will be open to all, free-of-charge. Details will be coming soon.

Celebrating the May Flowers

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Photo credit Lilacia Park, Lombard, IL

Members of The Nature Artists’ Guild can celebrate the results of recent April showers with a visit to Lilacia Park next month.

On the morning of Wednesday, May 8, 2024, members of the Nature Artists’ Guild will be gathering at Lilacia Park in Lombard, IL for a paint-out from 9:30 until noon.

What is now Lilacia Park was begun by Colonel William Plum and his wife Helen Plum as their estate garden, inspired by a visit to a garden in France during their Grand Tour. Designed by world-renowned landscape architect Jens Jensen, the park is now over 8 acres and features more than 700 lilacs and 35,000 tulips, as well as a pond and walking trail. Lilacia Park is the site of Lombard’s annual Lilac Time celebrations.

There is no fee for admission to the park, and some seating is available (portable chairs are also allowed). Interested Guild members can stop by the park any time that morning, but registration is recommended in order to receive details and updates by email from Paint-Out Chair Celia Rodee (who will, by the way, be bringing coffee and her wonderful homemade muffins).

Photo credit Lilacia Park. Click on image to register for paint-out.

‘Tossing their heads in sprightly dance’

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Daffodil Glade, copyright Yvonne Buckley

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

……………………………………

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

……………………………………

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

Wordsworth, “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” (3-4, 11-12, 23-24)

Members of the Nature Artists’ Guild are invited to join their fellow artists at the Daffodil Glade of The Morton Arboretum for a paint-out on the morning of Friday, April 19, 2024 from 9:30 to noon. (Note – paint-out was postponed from April 17 due to weather concerns. Participants do not need to re-register.)

The Arboretum’s latest Bloom Report shows the daffodils thriving, accompanied by their little blue dance partners, Siberian squill. Add some sunshine (hopefully), and coffee and homemade scones provided by Paint-Out Chair and accomplished baker Celia Rodee, and members might just be tempted to ‘dance with the daffodils’.

Nature Artists’ Guild members and their guests are invited to stop by the glade any time between 9:30 and noon, but registration (by clicking here) or emailing Celia is strongly recommended in order to receive details and updates by email.

Rachel Davis with “Paintings, Prints, and Textiles” on March 7, 2024

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Rachel Davis natural dyed fabrics and sketchbook details. Click on image for more of Rachel’s work.

The Nature Artists’ Guild is proud to sponsor a program featuring multi-talented artist Rachel Davis this Thursday, March 7, 2024 at the Thornhill Education Center of The Morton Arboretum.

Rachel Davis will finish teaching her class, Natural Dyes on Silk at The Morton Arboretum just one day before the Nature Artists’ Guild welcomes her back to the Arboretum to share some of her knowledge, inspirations, and tools and techniques with the Guild and visitors at Thornhill from 7 until 9 pm.

This program will be open to the public, completely free of charge. There is no requirement to be a member of the Arboretum or the Guild to attend, and there will be no fee for entering the Arboretum or for parking. Visitors can let the gate attendant at The Morton Arboretum know they are there for the program to be admitted and directed to Thornhill.

Dyed and printed silk scarf, Rachel Davis

More for Nature Artists’ Guild members –

  • Posters and postcards for the 2024 Spring Nature Art Exhibit will be available at the March 7 program for members and visitors to take and share with their friends and local businesses or groups.
  • Any Guild member who has not already registered can drop off their completed prospectus and fee (cash or check) for the 2024 Spring Art Exhibit in person at the March 7 program. The final day to register (postmarked by, online, or in person) is March 8, 2024.
  • Members who would like to contribute items for the fund-raising raffle baskets can drop them off at the March 7 program. (A list of suggestions was recently emailed to members.)

More than Mammals at the Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum

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Photos from Virtual Tour of the Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum

There’s little doubt that the large mammals initially grab visitors’ attention at the Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum, but smaller specimens, with their intricate textures, colors, and designs, can be every bit as fascinating for nature artists.

On Thursday, March 7, 2024, at 9 am, members of the Nature Artists’ Guild will meet at the Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum at Benedictine University to draw, paint, sketch, study, and photograph some of the more than 10,000 specimens in their collection.

Interested members can register here or by contacting Paint-Out Coordinator Celia Rodee to be added to her email list for further details and updates.

Coming Soon for the Nature Artists’ Guild

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Hail to the Kingbird, copyright Lindsay Sandbothe. Lindsay will be the Nature Artists’ Guild’s Featured Artist of the 2024 Spring Art Exhibit at The Morton Arboretum.

As spring begins to peek around the corner, the Nature Artists’ Guild looks forward to all the wonders that it brings.

For the Nature Artists’ Guild, spring brings not only the return of all the wonderful flora and fauna of the season, but also an exhibit at The Morton Arboretum, paint-outs, and a presentation by a talented artist.

  • A spring tradition for the Nature Artists’ Guild is the annual paint-out at the Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum at Benedictine College in Lisle, IL. The Guild will have exclusive access for sketching, painting, and photographing some of the bird, mammal, insect, and reptile specimens in the museum’s collection on the morning of March 7, 2023. While members are welcome to drop by any time that morning, registering in advance will ensure that they receive any emails with details and updates about the paint-out.
  • The March 7, 2024 program sponsored by the Nature Artists’ Guild at The Morton Arboretum will feature Rachel Davis, a talented artist who will share techniques and inspirations for her fabulous and fun work in “painting, prints, and textiles.” The presentation, from 7 until 9 pm at the Thornhill Education Center of the Arboretum will be open to all, free of charge. (Copies of the Spring Nature Art Exhibit’s postcards and posters will also be available that evening for members to take and share with friends and local businesses.)
  • The Nature Artists’ Guild’s annual Spring Nature Art Exhibit has marked the beginning of the season at The Morton Arboretum for more than 30 years. This year’s exhibit will include approximately 200 works of art by more than 50 members of the Guild, including Featured Artist Lindsay Sandbothe, from April 5 through April 7, 2024. Members of the Guild were emailed a link to the prospectus and online registration form on February 5. Much more to come soon!
Towards Arctic Shores, lithograph, copyright Lars Jonsson, Sweden. Photo courtesy of Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum.

Note – While the Nature Artists’ Guild was unfortunately unable to organize a field trip to the Plum Creek Nature Center to experience the internationally renowned Birds in Art exhibit, we encourage our members to consider visiting (about an hour’s drive from The Morton Arboretum) before February 25, 2024. 

The Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, Wisconsin selected 112 pieces from many of the best bird artists from throughout the world to be included in their 48th annual Birds in Art exhibit for 2023. 60 of those pieces are now traveling to a limited number of venues on their touring exhibition throughout the United States, and their first stop is in Illinois, brought to the Forest Preserve District of Will County through funding by the Nature Foundation of Will County (a recent sponsor of a Nature Artists’ Guild exhibit).

Paint-Out at Orchids by Hausermann February 8, 2024

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Greenhouse at Orchids by Hausermann and artwork by (clockwise) Maggie Mardis, Linda Fairbanks, Nancy Wu

This Thursday, February 8, 2024, members of the Nature Artists’ Guild will return for their annual ‘trip to the tropics’ at the greenhouse of one of the world’s largest growers of orchids, Orchids by Hausermann.

Whatever the weather outside, inside the greenhouse it will be balmy and filled with the sights and scents of the tropics. The paint-out begins at 7:30 am and continues until 10. The early start allows our artists to have exclusive use of the facility before the showroom opens to the public. 

To help the creativity flow at such an early hour, Paint-out Coordinator Celia Rodee will supply hot coffee and a delicious snack to all attendees. In addition, one lucky participant will be randomly chosen to receive a gift certificate towards the purchase of a stunning orchid to bring home!  Interested members can register here and be added to the email list for updates and details, or contact Celia by email.