Category: Programs

Please join us on Thursday evening, June 7 from 7 until 9 at Thornhill for a special program titled “Drawing from Nature”, featuring freelance artist Lynda Wallis.

Lynda is not only talented, but also a wonderfully versatile artist.  Her talents range from beautifully detailed illustrations of nature, including graphics featured on art maps and signs for many natural areas, to peaceful plein-air paintings.  Lynda’s artwork encompasses a wide variety of media, including pen and ink, watercolor and colored-pencil.

You can view numerous examples of Lynda’s artwork on her website, www.freelanceillustrations.com.  We’ve also heard from reliable sources that Lynda gives a warm and humorous presentation, so please join us for an enjoyable evening!

Please join us at our next Nature Artists’ Guild formal meeting, on Thursday, March 1, 2012 at Thornhill from 7 to 9 pm, as renowned collage artist Laura Lein-Svencner shares her passion for paper!

Laura Lein-Svencner’s love of paper has led her to pursue studies in drawing, printmaking, sculpture, papermaking and collage, and has motivated her not only to co-found the Midwest Collage Society, but also to teach and exhibit in various venues throughout the Midwest.

Laura’s website describes her collage work as beginning with paper, “from handmade with the plants from her backyard to found papers that are crinkled, sanded and repurposed. Textures are formed with gesso and molding pastes. Layers of gloss medium are added to the papers surfaces for added strength and protection. In creating the collages Laura uses a technique where each side of the paper is coated in a polymer medium and after they are dry, fusing is done with a tack iron to hold each piece in place. She delights in exposed raw edges of torn paper, and visual entries flow out of self discovery.”

You can read more about and view images of Laura’s fascinating work by following these links – website, blog.

Nature Artists’ Guild liaison, Suzanne Wegener describes our upcoming program featuring Marlene Hill Donnelly –

Nature artists have color considerations beyond those of other artists—we need to be able to mix both the intense and precise colors of our flowers, birds and insects, and the quiet but luminous colors of shadow, reflected light and distance.  Marlene will first demonstrate her system of “color mapping” designed to create a team of colors for any subject to ensure both accuracy and interest.  Next she will demonstrate a very loose and expressive method that can be used to learn color mixing in a fun and meditative way as well as to create finished paintings or backgrounds.

 Marlene HIll Donnelly is a third generation artist with degrees in Fine Art from the American Academy of Art in Chicago and in Zoology, with a minor in Botany, from University of Illinois.  She is a science artist Associate for the Field Museum, reconstructing ancient landscapes and extinct plants and animals for the Department of Geology.  She also works with the Smithsonian Institution, University College Dublin, Ireland, and many other institutions, bringing the past to life.  Her work is widely published and is exhibited in museums throughout the world.  She is a Certificate Course instructor at the Chicago Botanic Garden and at the Morton Arboretum.

At our formal meeting on Thursday, August 4, 2011 at 7 pm, Dick Blick Wheaton store manager Kevin Sandstrom and his associates will be performing product demonstrations and even handing out some free samples! 

Along with his experience in retail management and marketing, Kevin is an experienced freelance illustrator, and  founder of  various artist groups and forums. 

Please join your fellow Nature Artists’ Guild members in  what we expect to be a fun and informative evening! 

Priscilla Humay is a talented, established artist, who will be sharing some of the inspiration and techniques behind the creation of her colored-pencil landscapes at the June 2, 2011 meeting of the Nature Artists’ Guild of The Morton Arboretum, from 7 to 9 pm. 

Priscilla’s artwork is included in numerous private and corporate collections, as well as the Bauhaus Archive in Germany, the Chicago Historical Society, and the University of Illinois archives.  Priscilla also participates in and receives awards in such high profile shows as the CPSA International Exhibition.

Educated at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Illinois Institute of Technology and Charles University, Prague, Priscilla’s art has been featured in numerous publications, including the Best of Colored Pencil III and V. 

Some may know Priscilla as a Visiting Artist Instructor at The Morton Arboretum.  She is also a Certificate Program Instructor at the Chicago Botanic Garden, as well as the Peninsula Art School in Door County, WI and the Art Center in Highland Park.  Priscilla serves as creator and instructor of a host of her own workshops, including those entitled “ Introductory Plein Aire Colored Pencil”, “The Aerial Landscape – Clouds”, “Drawing the Color of Summer”, and  “Land, Sky and In-between”. 

Visit Priscilla’s website, www.humayfineart.com to preview her vibrant, rhythmic landscapes and then join us for an enjoyable and informative evening with Priscilla!

Last evening at our formal program, Winnie Godfrey captivated us with her artwork, her warmth and her humor.  Seeing slides of her artwork, hearing stories of her art adventures, asking her questions, and getting the chance to see many of her original paintings (including a favorite of hers and most of the audience – Peony, seen in the post below, as well as one part of the triptych also posted below), made it absolutely worthwhile to have braved the cold! 

Thank you, Winnie, for going the extra mile and bringing your gorgeous paintings.  What a wonderful treat!

At the first formal meeting in 2011 of  the Nature Artists’ Guild, on Thursday, February 10 from 7 to 9 pm, we will have the privilege of welcoming accomplished artist Winifred Godfrey. 

While best known for her stunning grand-scale floral paintings, Winnie also has a national following for her work in other subjects.  Winnie has been featured in numerous publications, is the recipient of many honors, and her artwork is included in private, corporate and museum collections and has been exhibited throughout North America.

A few of Winnie’s most recent accomplishments in the last few months have been a one-woman exhibit at the Chicago Cultural Center and participation in the renowned Grand Rapids “ArtPrize” competition ( with a 72” x 112” floral triptych of gladioli!)   

In Winnie’s words, “What primarily interests me in painting flowers is the delicate and temporary quality of the blossom.  Although they are painted realistically, the subject is just the starting point for an abstract study of luminosity, transparency and form.”

“The trick is to catch my live subjects at precisely the right moment when the sun illuminates their fragile components.”

Please visit Winnie’s website for a better appreciation of the delight in store for our February meeting.  What a way to brighten up a winter evening and turn our attention towards spring!

 While most of us have had the pleasure of meeting Nancy Hart (Stieber), many of us only know her as an always friendly, fun, and helpful fellow member of the Nature Artists’ Guild. What many of us don’t realize is that Nancy is also the retired Staff Artist of the Morton Arboretum and Curator of Rare Prints and Drawings at the Sterling Morton library, as well as the developer of the Botanical Art and Illustration Certificate Program and the founder of our very own Nature Artists’ Guild! A graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Nancy has notable accomplishments in an incredible array of learning, teaching, designing, lecturing and exhibiting (including The Smithsonian Institution, The Art Institute of Chicago, and The New York Natural History Museum) activities. 

  Please join us as at the arboretum’s Thornhill Educational Center on Thursday, October 7 at 7:00 pm, as Nancy shares her enthusiasm as well as the challenges presented by her newest form of creative expression, the art of sculpture in ceramics. Her new third dimensional work is so different from her previous two dimensional work that Nancy reports that “to think of a piece from all sides at the same time makes my head hurt! But I love it!” She also loves the history around the human use of clay, which is “omnipresent” and “all wrapped up in the earliest of human endeavors”, as well as “the feel of clay at all stages”. Nancy’s love of her latest chosen art form is even more apparent in her statement that “It is almost alive as it changes from dust to the final beauty of artists’ creations”.  Not only will Nancy bring examples of her work and discuss basic hand-building , but she will be bringing clay for each of us and guiding us through the formation of a tea bowl! 

 As always, refreshments will be served and guests and visitors are welcome!

Approximately 58 members and visitors turned out to enjoy our recent Prismacolor seminar conducted by Diana Garrett, who certainly did not disappoint!  Between her friendly style, her demonstrations, tips, prizes, and samples, Diana kept the crowd enthralled.  Thank you Diana, and we hope to have you back again soon!