There’s no place like The Morton Arboretum in autumn, and members of the Nature Artists’ Guild will be celebrating the season with their annual autumn paint-out on the morning of Tuesday, October 14, 2014 from about 9 am until noon. Our artists will meet at Lake Marmo, where they will be greeted with gorgeous reflections of changing leaves and possibly a squirrel or two, hard at work.
The trees will be in their full autumn splendor, and we can almost count on a slight nip in the air. Bring your chair, your warm beverage, your art supplies, and your camera, as you join your fellow Nature Artists’ Guild artists at this wonderful gathering. If you don’t feel like drawing or painting, leave your art supplies at home and just come to sit back and enjoy the view as we celebrate autumn!
There is no need to RSVP, but please feel free to contact Carol Jean Rogalski if you have any questions. Nature Artists’ Guild members will find Carol Jean’s contact information in their Yearbook.
Please join the Nature Artists’ Guild on Thursday, October 2, 2014 from 7 until 9 pm at Thornhill for a unique and fascinating presentation by glass artist Paul Messink.
In his Artist Statement, Paul explains that he creates “hand-painted, multi-layered glass panels that exhibit nature in deep dimension, presenting natural objects around us in a new way”. He goes on to describe his technique: “By using only enamel applied by hand, I create depth using several techniques: layering, diminishing size and color, texture, and translucence.“
To view Paul’s wonderfully ethereal artwork, please visit his website. www.paulmessink.com. by clicking here. In the section entitled “Foggy Trees 1”, Paul states that “Looking at nature for inspiration, I create scenes which often include bare trees. I like bare trees because of their minimalism, and because they reveal a great deal of character.” Paul’s Trees in Twilight, shown below, was recently honored with ” Best in Show” at Gallery 924 in Indianapolis, IN.
As always, guests and visitors are welcome to attend the Nature Artists’ Guild’s formal meetings. There is no entrance fee or charge for parking. Visitors can just let the gate attendant at The Morton Arboretum know they are there to attend the presentation.
Trees in Twilight, 13.5 x 16.5 inches (including stand), copyright Paul Messink
The planning meeting for the 2014 Nature Artists’ Guild’s contribution to The Morton Arboretum’s annual Scarecrow Trail went very well, with all kinds of creative ideas bouncing around. The winning idea is to construct not an actual scarecrow, but a portrait of a scarecrow, in a very recognizable pose!
Members of the Nature Artists’ Guild are invited to show up to Room A of Thornhill, next Saturday morning, September 13, 2014, between 9 am and noon to help with the construction. Most of the work will involve painting with acrylics, so wear some old clothes and bring your old tubes or jars of acrylic paint and large brushes if you have them. If you don’t have any, please come anyway, as there will surely be extra supplies.
If you have any questions or want more details about this fun project, please contact Patty Koenigsaecker. Members will find Patty’s contact information in their Yearbook.
You can view some of our previous scarecrows (such as Betty Birdwatcher, Patty Painter, Suzy Sketcher) by typing in the word “scarecrow” in the Search box in the right column of this blog.
2014 Nature Artists’ Guild Scarecrow. Drawing by Patty Koenigsaecker.
Thanks to Suzanne Wegener, Carol Jean Rogalski and Mary Jo Sinclair for sharing these photos from the recent Nature Artists’ Guild paint-out at Catherine Donovan’s garden. The garden was beautiful, and how about those dahlias! Thank you so much, Catherine, for sharing your lovely garden with the Nature Artists’ Guild.
You can click on any image to enlarge it or to start a slide show of all the images. Enjoy!
Connie Devendorf at Catherine Donovan’s Garden
Connie Devendorf’s artwork at Catherine Donovan’s Garden
Barb Denny at Catherine Donovan’s Garden
Karen Rugg at Catherine Donovan’s Garden
Karen Rugg’s artwork at Catherine Donovan’s Garden
Suzanne Wegener and Catherine Donovan at Catherine Donovan’s Garden
Mary Jo Sinclair at Catherine Donovan’s Garden
Mary Jo Sinclair’s artwork at Catherine Donovan’s Garden
Barb Denny at Catherine Donovan’s Garden
Karen Rugg at Catherine Donovan’s Garden
Suzanne Wegener at Catherine Donovan’s Garden
Carol Jean Rogalski and Connie Devendorf at Catherine Donovan’s Garden
Carol Jean Rogalski’s artwork at Catherine Donovan’s Garden
Barb Denny, Carol Jean Rogalski, Catherine Donovan and Connie Devendorf at Catherine Donovan’s Garden
On the morning of Tuesday, September 9, 2014 from 9 am until noon, Nature Artists’ Guild members will have an opportunity to paint, sketch and photograph from the private garden of Tanner Musso, 242 East 3rd Street, Hinsdale, IL.
Tanner’s beautifully artistic garden includes a pond, antique planters, benches, and garden accessories, as well as trees, shrubs and flowers that line the many paths that lead to “garden rooms”. How intriguing! You can see more photos of Tanner’s garden on her Pinterest board, “My Garden”, by clicking here.
Please contact Carol Jean Rogalski if you would like to attend. Nature Artists’ Guild members will find Carol Jean’s contact information in their Yearbook. This is the last “garden” paint-out of 2014 (our last paint-out of the year will take place in October at The Morton Arboretum). Thank you, Carol Jean, for arranging the opportunities for our members to experience some of the most beautiful gardens in the area this year!
The 2014 Nature Artists’ Guild “Artist Trio” evening was a huge success! Three wonderfully talented artist members of the Guild shared many of their artistic trials, tips and techniques.
Peggy McGahan shared some great new ideas for livening up watercolors, Mary Ann Jimenez showed us the fascinating art of Metalpoint, and Charlotte Doyle Leavitt created a fresh, lively watercolor collage inspired by paintings and objects from a recent seaside vacation.
Thank you, Gail Diedrichsen and Carol Jean Rogalski, for sharing these photos.
Yes, our Nature Artists’ Guild members create wonderful artwork, and that is definitely our focus, but a few of our activities are just for plain old fun!
Our annual scarecrow – On September 6, 2014, members are invited to meet at the Ginkgo Cafe at The Morton Arboretum at 10 am to plan our scarecrow contribution to The Morton Arboretum’s annual display. Patty Koenigsaecker, scarecrow designer extraordinaire, will be heading the committee, so please contact her if you have any questions or comments. This meeting is not for the actual construction of the scarecrow (which is not yet scheduled), but the design. Members are invited to attend either or both of these fun scarecrow events! You can type in “scarecrow” in the search box in the right column of this blog to find some previous creations.
Our annual holiday party – Check your e-mail soon for an announcement about the upcoming Nature Artists’ Guild Holiday Party. Our social chair, Irena Gintilas, is getting us started on preparations for this fun event, because believe it or not, the date will be here before we know it! More details are available in the e-mail, as well as contact information for Irena. This year, our celebration will feature Winter or Holiday Plants and Flowers. Let’s see what our creative members can do!
It’s that time again! The Nature Artists’ Guild will once again be publishing a desktop calendar featuring members’ artwork. Proceeds from sales of the calendars, which will be available at the Holiday Exhibition, help support the activities of the Guild.
2014 Nature Artists’ Guild Calendar
This is a great opportunity to show off your work (and can make your holiday shopping easier!). You can see the 2014 calendar here.
Guidelines will be e-mailed to members in the next week or so – Please review them before submitting your work. The deadline for submissions is September 12, 2014.
If, after reading the guidelines, you have questions about how to prepare and/or submit your work, please contact Mary Ingels (members can find her contact info in the Yearbook).
That was Carol Jean Rogalski’s comment about the photos she received from Catherine Donovan of Catherine’s garden. Luscious does indeed seem to be just the right word! On the morning of Tuesday, August 12, 2014, from about 9 am until noon, members of the Nature Artists’ Guild are invited to paint, draw, sketch and photograph in Catherine’s garden. This large garden, located at 320 South Waiola, La Grange, IL, features a wide variety of plants, as well as the water feature.
Luscious, yes!
Please contact Carol Jean if you would like to attend. Nature Artists’ Guild members will find her contact information in their Yearbook.
The Nature Artists’ Guild annual “Nature Artist Trio” presentation is one of our most popular and well-attended programs each year! From 7 until 9 pm on Thursday, August 7, 2014, each of three talented artists will share tips and techniques of their unique artwork process. This is a great opportunity for our members and visitors to learn some basics of a type of artwork they may never have tried before. Since attendees are divided into three smaller groups which rotate between presentations, it is a chance to get an up-close and often hands-on look at the techniques and materials. Each presentation is like a mini-class!
This year, we are featuring the talents of Peggy McGahan, Mary Ann Jimenez, and Charlotte Doyle Leavitt.
Peggy McGahan will be sharing some unique methods for ” adding water to colored pencil in different ways, including using water-soluble colored pencil, using water-soluble crayons, and combining water-color paints with colored pencils”. Sounds intriguing! You can see more of her work by clicking on this link to Peggy’s website.
From the Thorns, copyright Peggy McGahan
Mary Ann Jimenez will be working with silverpoint, a fascinating type of ancient drawing which is currently experiencing a revival. Wikipedia explains that “The initial marks of silverpoint appear grey as other metalpoints, but silverpoint lines, when exposed to air, tarnish to a warm brown tone. ” It is a delicate and subtly beautiful form of artwork. Mary Ann is a member of The Society of Metalpoint Artists.
Silverpoint drawing, copyright Mary Ann Jimenez
Charlotte Doyle Leavitt is one of our most talented watercolorist members, but it appears that she will be mixing things up for this presentation, and working on collage featuring some of those watercolor images. We are looking forward to seeing what creative techniques she has been working on!
We welcome visitors and guests to this informal and fun meeting, and it is a wonderful chance to meet and talk with some of our Nature Artists’ Guild members. There is no charge for attendance or parking, so just let the gate attendant know you are there for the Nature Artists’ Guild meeting and you will be directed to Thornhill.
Nature Artists' Guild 