Category: Programs

The Nature Artists’ Guild is pleased to welcome artist Phil Schorn to the Thornhill Education Center of The Morton Arboretum for a presentation on the evening of October 2, 2025.

Phil Schorn’s award-winning work has been featured in numerous publications, including Colored Pencil Magazine, as well as in group and solo exhibits. He also shares his talents through demonstrations, workshops, outdoor art fairs, classes, and private lessons.

With the color pencil, I have the ability to create the shape, color and detail that I envision in my art. Color pencil is where I find the most comfort in, where the color and detail truly stands out. My art is realistic but done with an artistic approach. I want the viewer to see more than what they thought was there.
I take what is considered ordinary and make it extraordinary.
–Phil Schorn

The presentation, sponsored by the Nature Artists’ Guild of The Morton Arboretum, will be held at the Arboretum’s Thornhill Education Center on Thursday, October 2, 2025, from 7 until 9 pm. The program is open to all, free of charge, and no registration is required. There will be no charge for parking or admission to the Arboretum for this event. Visitors can let the gate attendant know they are there for the presentation to be admitted and directed to Thornhill.

Plenty of seating and delicious light refreshments will be provided.

The Nature Artists’ Guild is pleased to announce that their August program at The Morton Arboretum will feature artist Sarah M Johnson and her methods for creating striking landscapes in gouache.

Sarah M Johnson’s career in creating and teaching art includes the use of various media, but on Thursday evening, August 7, 2025, from 7 to 9, she will focus on the many uses of gouache.

Sarah will be demonstrating and explaining the tools and techniques for creating landscapes in two different types of gouache, describing the medium’s advantages for plein air and travel, and sharing examples of her own style, “realism with expressive and painterly elements.”

This program at the Thornhill Education Center of The Morton Arboretum will be free and open to the public. There will be no charge for parking or entrance into the Arboretum for the event, and visitors can let the gate attendant know they are there for the program to be admitted and directed to Thornhill. Plenty of seating and light refreshments will be available, and registration is not required.

A Nature Artists’ Guild presentation by three talented members will be held on Thursday, June 5, 2025, at The Morton Arboretum and will be open to all, free of charge.

Todd Serrano, whose spectacular drawing is shown above, will be one of three Guild members sharing inspirations, recommendations for tools and supplies, and methods with visitors beginning at 7 pm in the Arbor Room of the Arboretum’s Thornhill Education Center.

Program attendees will have the opportunity to watch three short demonstrations in various mediums, ask questions, learn about the artists’ supplies and tools, and closely view a sample of their artwork. Plenty of seating and light refreshments will be provided.

The program is open to the public, free of charge, and there will be no charge for parking or admission to the Arboretum for the event. No registration or ticket is required, and visitors can let the gate attendant at the Arboretum know they are there for the Nature Artists’ Guild program to be admitted and directed to parking for Thornhill.

The Nature Artists’ Guild welcomes celebrated artist Joel Sheesley to The Morton Arboretum on the evening of Thursday, March 6, 2025 for a presentation on his “painting methods, conceptual understanding of, and sense of meaning in landscape painting.”

Learning the Land/Stewarding Beauty: Conceptual and Practical Steps with Joel Sheesley will begin at 7 pm on March 6 at the Thornhill Education Center of The Morton Arboretum.

Examples highlighting Joel’s extensive studies of and experiences in painting landscapes with meaning, often in natural areas surrounding Chicago, can be found on his website, as well as in his book, A Fox River Testimony.

All are invited to attend this free program, sponsored by the Nature Artists’ Guild. There will be no charge for admission, parking, or entrance into The Morton Arboretum for this event, and no registration is required. Visitors can let the gate attendant know they are there for the presentation to be directed to the Thornhill Education Center.