Category: Paint-Outs

Botanical Artist Claudia Lane Tomorrow, February 1, 2024

Published on by DeniseLeave a comment
Claudia Lane and ‘Ginkgo biloba, female’

Tomorrow at 7 pm, February 1, 2024, Claudia Lane will present ‘The Evolution of Botanical Art’ to members and guests of the Nature Artists’ Guild. 

Guild members and guests were emailed a link to this online live presentation on January 25. Please click here to read more.

In other Nature Artists’ Guild news –

  • The Guild is now accepting reservations for the limited spots available at the upcoming paint-out at Orchids by Hausermann on the morning of February 8, 2024 from 7:30 to 10. This paint-out starts early so that participating artists can enjoy the greenhouse before the display area opens to the public for the day. Interested members can register here or contact Celia Rodee to be added to the email list for updates and details. 
  • Guild members who would like to contribute artwork images for the Spring Quarterly can do so by February 3. An email sent to members on January 26 has all the details.
  • The Nature Artists’ Guild continues to welcome new and returning members for 2024. Interested artists can join online or by mail (more details here) and be eligible to receive a prospectus (to be emailed late next month) for the upcoming Spring Nature Art Exhibit at The Morton Arboretum.

‘Field’ Trip for the Nature Artists’ Guild on January 31, 2024

Published on by DeniseLeave a comment

Members of the Nature Artists’ Guild are heading back to the world-renowned Field Museum to draw and paint.

White-tailed deer diorama, Nature Walk & Messages from the Wilderness, Field Museum. Photo credit FieldMuseum.org.

Nearly everyone who grew up in Chicago or its suburbs will remember the excitement of boarding a big yellow bus with their classmates and eventually spilling out to skip up those impressive steps to the entrance of the Field Museum. First, the awe of the Stanley Field Hall. Then, the treasures, large and small. The dinosaurs! The gems! The mummies! The elephants! The dioramas! Where to begin?

Entrance to the Field Museum. Photo credit FieldMuseum.org.

At 9:30 on the morning of Wednesday, January 31, 2024, members of the Nature Artists’ Guild will be revisiting the wonders that the Field Museum, one of the world’s largest museums of natural history, has to offer. At this paint-in, members will probably spend most of their time drawing or painting in the quiet corners of the dioramas (click here for a short video of Artist-in-Residence and friend of the Guild, Peggy Macnamara, doing just that). But the other artifacts are still there, along with many new and modern attractions, for visitors to enjoy after the sketching is done. 

Members of the Nature Artists’ Guild recently received an email with details about meeting at the museum. Admission will be free on this day, but members will have to arrange for their own transportation, and there will be a fee for parking. Those who would like to attend can register here by January 28 to learn more and receive email updates from Paint-Out Coordinator Celia Rodee.

Photo credit FieldMuseum.org.

Farewell to 2023 from the Nature Artists’ Guild

Published on by Denise1 Comment
Deer Morning, copyright Marybeth Devine. Click on the image above for a quick look at 2023 or scroll through this website for all the posts and images.

The Nature Artists’ Guild bids farewell to 2023 with fond memories of programs, paint-outs, parties, exhibits, and the friendship and support of fellow artists. 

The Guild would like to welcome first-time and returning members to new opportunities to explore and share the appreciation of nature through art in 2024! 

Click here to join or renew
  • Copyright Heidi Jachna
  • Copyright Jane Kellenberger
  • 2023 Autumn Cards
  • Morning Revelation, copyright Beth Berry
  • 2023 Holiday Party Invitation by Margie Navolio
  • Red Oak Branch, copyright Joanne McKibben
  • Forest in Ireland, copyright Marybeth Devine
  • Red Saddlebags Dragonfly, copyright Karen A. Johnson
  • Naturalist Treasure Trove #1, copyright Cheryl Holz
  • Short Eared owl, copyright Michelle Buziak
  • Lakeside Birch, copyright Marlene Vitek
  • Sparrow, copyright Lisa Kanellos
  • Sneak Preview, copyright Mary Ann Jimenez
  • Snowy Enchantment, copyright Mary Roberts
  • Blown Flower, copyright Joe Rizzo
  • Near Lake Marmo. Photo credit The Morton Arboretum.
  • Colorful Ramirezi and Friends, copyright Joe Rizzo
  • Autumn 2023 Exhibit poster artwork by Joe Rizzo
  • Green Kingdom, copyright Bryce Lafferty, Visiting Artist
  • Joy Morton on Joy Path. Photo credit The Morton Arboretum.
  • Rock and Gravel Garden, Cantigny Gardens
  • Presenter John Fleck
  • Copyright Linda Hilderbrant
  • Landscape in charcoal, copyright John Fleck
  • The Morton Arboretum, photo credit mortonarb.org
  • Exhibit postcard, McCord Gallery. Artwork by Alice Wych.
  • Grand Garden at The Morton Arboretum
  • Garden of Anne and Charles Bouchard, Glen Ellyn, IL. Photo credit Anne and Charles Bouchard.
  • House Wren, copyright Vicki Liszewski
  • McCord Gallery and Cultural Center
  • Woodridge Library exhibit postcard. Artwork by Cheryl Holz.
  • Lilacia Park, Lombard, IL
  • Common Redpoll, copyright Mary Voegeli
  • Myna in Maui, copyright Lindsay Sandbothe
  • Last Flowers of Winter, copyright Linda Fairbanks
  • Robin in her Nest, copyright Celia Rodee
  • Snow Glories Peek, copyright Patricia Mroczka
  • Watercolors by presenter Thomas Trausch
  • Lion specimen at Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum
  • Book by online presenter Amy Lindenberger
  • Examples of 8 x 8 artwork for Joy’s Vision project
  • Specimens at the Herbarium at The Morton Arboretum
  • Gardens at Ball, photo credit ballhort.com
  • Ball Horticultural
  • Great Blue Heron, copyright Jill Adzia
  • My Favorite Flower, in progress and complete, copyright Mary Ann Jimenez
  • Morning Meeting, copyright Vicki Liszewski
  • Jewels of Spring, copyright Beth Berry
  • Winter 2023 cards
  • Spring 2023 Exhibit poster. Artwork by Pat Mcrozka.
  • Summer Splendor, copyright Maggie Mardis
  • Various spring events
  • Frames at Colbert Custom Framing
  • Mauvelous Mallow, copyright Alice Wych
  • Artwork by member program presenters Joe Rizzo, Cindy Franks, Alice Wych

Jump into your Jodhpurs and Collect your Cloche!

Published on by DeniseLeave a comment
The Morton Arboretum’s first picnic area near Lake Marmo. Copyright Sterling Morton Library, The Morton Arboretum.

We’re Meeting at Marmo!

Of course, nearly 100 years after this photo was taken, comfortable painting clothes, a warm drink, and a folding chair might be more appropriate for those members of the Nature Artists’ Guild meeting at the lovely Lake Marmo at The Morton Arboretum for a paint-out on Wednesday, October 4, 2023 beginning at 9:30 am.

Guild members can register here to be added to an email list to receive details and updates about the paint-out. Those who would rather just stop by might have to look around for their fellow artists (who may or may not be wearing berets) scattered around the lake.

This paint-out at Lake Marmo would be a great opportunity for Nature Artists’ Guild members to find inspiration or complete a drawing or painting for this fall’s Joy’s Vision special display at the Sterling Morton Library.

Important Reminder – the final day for members to register for the 2023 Autumn Nature Art Exhibit is October 7, 2023. Guild members were emailed a link to the prospectus and online registration form in recent weeks.

Lake Marmo Paint-Out on October 4, 2023

Published on by DeniseLeave a comment
Lake Marmo Reflections, copyright Laverne Bohlin

It should be a work of art … In short, it should be a beautiful place, affecting one like a beautiful painting.

O.C. Simonds

The creation of Lake Marmo (named after Joy Morton’s wife, Margaret Morton) at The Morton Arboretum began in the autumn of 1922 with crews using teams of mules and dredges to widen and deepen a small tributary of the DuPage River. Working with those crews was renowned landscape designer O.C. Simonds, who believed that an arboretum should be more than a museum of trees. He wrote that it should also be a “work of art … like a beautiful painting.”

Just over one hundred years later, at 9:30 on the morning of Wednesday, October 4, 2023 (rain date October 11), Nature Artists’ Guild members will meet at Lake Marmo to attempt to capture the stunning autumn colors of the lake, sky, and surrounding landscape in their own “beautiful paintings,” drawings, or photographs. Members can register here to be added to the email list for paint-out details and updates.

This paint-out would be a wonderful opportunity for Guild members to find inspiration for the special exhibit of 8 x 8 small works, Joy’s Vision, at the Sterling Morton Library during the 2023 Autumn Nature Art Exhibit.

This Autumn for the Nature Artists’ Guild

Published on by DeniseLeave a comment
Zion II – Virgin River, copyright Joe Rizzo

For the Nature Artists’ Guild, the unofficial beginning of autumn will be this week, when the prospectus for November’s Nature Art Exhibit at The Morton Arboretum is emailed to all members.

The Guild is pleased to announce that the Featured Artist for the 2023 Autumn Nature Art Exhibit will be Joe Rizzo (much more about Joe and his work to come soon). The exhibit will include more than 200 works of nature art by approximately 50 members of the Nature Artists’ Guild. The exhibit postcard and posters, as well as many more details, will be coming soon.

Also coming this autumn –

  • A paint-out at the gardens at Cantigny is scheduled for Wednesday, September 6, beginning at 9:30 am. The gardens will still be blooming and beautiful for this event. All members are welcome to stop by any time that morning, but by registering here, they can be added to an email list for details and updates. There will be no charge for admission or parking for the paint-out.
  • A paint-out at Lake Marmo at The Morton Arboretum has been tentatively planned for October 4 at 9:30 am. Lake Marmo and its surroundings will be displaying the colors of fall and attendees might find inspiration to participate in the Joy’s Vision special display. A registration form for the paint-out and more details to come soon.
  • The Visiting Artist Workshop: Conceptual Landscapes in Watercolor with Bryce Lafferty on October 6, 7, and 8, 2023 at The Morton Arboretum is being co-sponsored by the Nature Artists’ Guild. (Guild members can receive an additional discount by registering by phone and confirming their membership.) Bryce will also be doing a presentation, free and open to all, on October 5, 2023 from 7 to 9 pm at the Arboretum’s Thornhill Education Center. More details to come soon.
  • Wednesday morning gatherings, Art and Coffee, will continue each week throughout autumn (except for the days with paint-outs scheduled). Members of the Nature Artists’ Guild and their guests are welcome to stop by the Visitor Center of The Morton Arboretum between 9 and 11 am to chat, sketch, or enjoy a quiet morning in beautiful surroundings.

At Last, the Gardens at Cantigny

Published on by DeniseLeave a comment
Rock and Gravel Garden, photo credit Cantigny.org

Colonel Robert McCormick (for whom Chicago’s McCormick Place Convention Center is named) was editor and publisher of the Chicago Tribune for 44 years and the creator of “an important media empire, Tribune Company, which grew from a single newspaper to a media giant.” Cantigny Park, his 500-acre former estate, was bequeathed by Colonel McCormick as a “public space for education and recreation.”

In 1967, [famed landscape architect Franz] Lipp began construction of this lush, horticultural masterpiece, which is one of the largest display gardens in the Midwest with more than 160,000 annuals, perennials, ground covers and flowering shrubs and trees. – Cantigny.org

At 9:30 on the morning of Wednesday, September 6, members of the Nature Artists’ Guild of The Morton Arboretum will meet to explore Cantigny’s Gardens with their cameras, sketchbooks, canvases, paints, and pencils. Included are a rose garden, logarium, hosta garden, idea garden, rock and gravel gardens, and display gardens. Sculptures, fountains, waterfalls, small streams, ponds, and natural areas are also part of this vast estate, all available for the artists to enjoy.

There will be no charge for admission or parking for this paint-out and Nature Artists’ Guild members can register here to be added to the email list for details and updates.

Gardens at Ball Paint-Out this Thursday, August 10, 2023

Published on by DeniseLeave a comment
Photo credit Ball Horticultural, ballhort.com

It is Ball Horticultural Company’s mission to be the world leader in the research, breeding, production and marketing of ornamental crops.

BallHort.com

This Thursday morning, August 10, 2023, beginning at 9:30, members of the Nature Artists’ Guild will have the opportunity to spend a few hours enjoying the spectacular display gardens of Ball Horticultural.

“What began as a row trial garden for seed varieties in 1933 has grown to encompass over 9 acres of display beds for annuals, perennials, cut flowers and vegetables, including the newest plants from the industry’s leading breeders and marketers.” Ball’s “global family of breeders, research and development teams, suppliers, and distribution companies has a strong presence on six continents in 20 countries.”

Interested members of the Guild can register here by tomorrow to receive details about attending.

Coming in August for the Nature Artists’ Guild

Published on by DeniseLeave a comment
Landscape in charcoal, copyright John Fleck
Gardens at Ball, photo credit ballhort.com
The Morton Arboretum, photo credit mortonarb.org

The Nature Artists’ Guild is offering some end-of-summer opportunities for members and guests to enjoy –

  • On the following Thursday, August 10, 2023, members of the Nature Artists’ Guild will meet at the Gardens at Ball at 9:30 am for a few hours of drawing, painting, and photographing some of the colorful offerings of the display gardens of Ball Horticultural, one of the world’s largest seed and plant distributors. Guild members can register here and receive details and updates.
  • Members of the Nature Artists’ Guild (and those who would like to learn more about the Guild) are invited to drop by the Visitor Center of The Morton Arboretum for Art and Coffee on Wednesday mornings beginning at 9 to sketch or chat. The light is incredible and the views are lovely.
  • Jane Kellenberger will begin work in the coming weeks for the autumn issue of the the Guild’s members-only publication, the Quarterly. Members will receive an email soon with instructions for submitting photos and articles, due by August 1, 2023.

A Visit to the Gardens at Ball on August 10, 2023

Published on by DeniseLeave a comment
Photo credit Gardens at Ball, BallHort.org

The Gardens at Ball have been the evaluation and testing grounds for the world’s wealth of horticultural introductions and improvements for over 80 years. What began as a row trial garden for seed varieties in 1933 has grown to encompass over 9 acres of display beds for annuals, perennials, cut flowers and vegetables

Ball Horticultural, ballhort.com/GardensAtBall

Members of the Nature Artists’ Guild of The Morton Arboretum have the opportunity to spend a lovely morning at the Gardens at Ball on Thursday, August 10, 2023, beginning at 9:30, to paint, draw, sketch, or photograph some of the wonderful flowers (or vegetables) at their peak.

Interested Guild members can register here to reserve a spot and be added to the email list for more details and updates about this paint-out.

(For some stunning photos of the Gardens at Ball, it is well worth visiting the website of the Garden Conservancy.)