Nature Artists’ Guild Exhibit Opens this Friday, April 4, at The Morton Arboretum

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Exhibit artwork by Spring 2025 Featured Artist Vicki Liszewski. Poster design by Jane Kellenberger.

The Nature Artists’ Guild’s Spring 2025 Exhibit at The Morton Arboretum opens this Friday, April 4, 2025.

The exhibit will include more than 200 works of nature art in a wide variety of media, created by 65 members of the Guild, and will be free to attend for all Arboretum visitors (regular Arboretum gate fees will apply).

The reception on Friday evening from 4:30 until 7 pm will be open to the public, completely free of charge. Admission to The Morton Arboretum will be waived for the reception, and as always, there will be no charge for parking. No registration is required, and attendees can let the Arboretum gate attendant know they are there for the reception to be directed to parking for the event.

While enjoying wonderful works of art inspired by the natural world, attendees will also have opportunities to interact with talented artists demonstrating their processes, purchase raffle tickets (cash only) for popular themed gift baskets, and speak with Featured Artist, Vicki Liszewski. (Read more about Vicki and her art in a recent article on Art Beat Buzz.)

The exhibit will be held in the Cudahy Room and reception area adjacent to the Sterling Morton Library, in the Administration Building of The Morton Arboretum, a short stroll from the Visitor Center.

Artists Creating Art, April 4 through 6, 2025, at The Morton Arboretum

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Visitors to the Nature Artists’ Guild’s Spring 2025 Exhibit at The Morton Arboretum will have the opportunity to interact with talented artists as they share thoughts about their inspirations and demonstrate their methods and materials.

The exhibit will showcase more than 200 works by 65 members of the Guild, including many by Featured Artist, Vicki Liszewski. Exhibit admission will be free of charge for all visitors to The Morton Arboretum (Arboretum admission fees will still be required, except for the Friday evening reception). No registration is required.

Detail of wool and silk fiber art, copyright Sharon Malec
Detail of African Elephant, copyright Carrie Carlson
Detail of Poppy Pods, charcoal, copyright Terrie McComb
Detail of Househunting, colored pencil, copyright Linda Hilderbrant
Detail of Scratch That, acrylic, copyright Lindsay Sandbothe
Detail of Prairie Drought, pen and ink, copyright Todd Serrano

2025 Spring Nature Art Exhibit Opening April 4 at The Morton Arboretum

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Pretty in pink, copyright Lisa Kanellos. Click on the image for a sample of exhibit artwork images.

The 2025 Spring Exhibit by members of the Nature Artists’ Guild opens at The Morton Arboretum on Friday, April 4, and continues through Sunday, April 6. This exhibit of more than 200 works of art by 65 members of the Guild will be open to Arboretum visitors between 10 and 4 each day.

A reception is planned for Friday evening from 4:30 until 7, and is open to all. Reception attendees will have free admission to the Arboretum on that evening, and there will be no charge for parking or admission to the exhibit. Registration is not required.

Please click on poster for an exhibit artwork sample preview.

Poster artwork by Featured Artist, Vicki Liszewski. Poster design by Jane Kellenberger.

The Daffodils Won’t Mind the Snow

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Daffodils, colored pencil, copyright Alice Wych

A little cold and snow won’t stop the daffodils! The green shoots now appearing throughout the area will become flowers in full bloom by next month, and members of the Nature Artists’ Guild will be gathering at The Morton Arboretum to enjoy the show.

On Thursday, April 17, 2025, beginning at 9:30 am, Guild artists will meet near the Thornhill Education Center of The Morton Arboretum for a paint-out at one of the Arboretum’s treasures, Daffodil Glade.

Coffee and Celia’s homemade muffins will be on hand to welcome participants, who can then wander off with their portable chairs and art supplies to find picturesque spots for enjoying the morning.

While everyone is invited to drop by the paint-out, registration is recommended (even for non-members) in order to receive email updates and details. A rain date may be announced later if necessary.

Safe Journey, Juncos, and Come Back, Kinglets!

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Golden-crowned Kinglet, watercolor, copyright Vicki Liszewski, Spring 2025 Featured Artist

And here it is! Chicagoland residents don’t need a calendar to know when spring has arrived. Almost overnight, the woods are filled with movement and sound, and green shoots begin to appear everywhere. Later this month, tiny, flitting Golden–crowned Kinglets will be spotted along wooded trails, seeming to cheerfully accompany humans on their walks.

The Nature Artists’ Guild’s contribution to the season will be their 2025 Spring Art Exhibit at The Morton Arboretum on April 4th through 6th. The exhibit will feature nearly 250 works of art by more than 65 Guild members. The Featured Artist for the 2025 Spring Exhibit will be Vicki Liszewski, whose joyful watercolors and pastels have been favorites of exhibit visitors for years (click here for more about Vicki and samples of her work).

The Guild will also be celebrating spring with a paint-out at the Arboretum’s beloved Daffodil Glade in April and the beginning of this year’s small-works project honoring the Arboretum, Flora. (More to come soon about these events.)

Spring Marches In with a Program, Paint-Out, and Exhibit

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Click on image and right click to download and share.

So much to keep Nature Artists’ Guild members busy while awaiting the wonders of spring!

  • Joel Sheesley will share “conceptual and practical steps” in landscape painting on March 6, from 7 to 9 pm at the Thornhill Education Center of The Morton Arboretum. The program will be open to all, free of charge, with no registration required. (Posters and postcards for the Guild’s Spring 2025 Art Exhibit at The Morton Arboretum will also be available for attendees to take home and share with friends, family, and local businesses.)
  • A paint-out at the Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum will take place on the morning of March 6, beginning at 9:30. Coffee and Celia’s homemade muffins will prepare artists for a lovely morning of sketching and painting. Drop-ins are welcome, but registration ensures being contacted with updates.
  • The final day for Nature Artists’ Guild members to register for the 2025 Spring Exhibit is only one week from today. Members will need to register online or by mail by Saturday, March 8, 2025 to be eligible to participate. Last year’s Spring Exhibit attracted more than 1300 visitors!

Joel Sheesley – Methods, Understanding, and Meaning in Landscape Painting on March 6, 2025

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Kline Creek Sunrise Moonset, oil on canvas, 16 x 20″, copyright 2019, Joel Sheesley. Click on image for more.

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.

April Pool, Great Western Trail, oil on canvas, 12 x 24″, copyright 2020, Joel Sheesley

The Nature Artists’ Guild is Thinking of Spring

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Poster artwork by Featured Artist Vicki Liszewski. Poster design by Jane Kellenberger.

The 2025 Spring Exhibit at The Morton Arboretum, featuring artwork by approximately 50 members of the Nature Artists’ Guild, is coming soon! More than 1000 visitors are expected to view the 200 or more works of nature art between April 4 and April 6, 2025.

All current Guild members were emailed a prospectus and a link for online registration on February 1, and the final day to register, either online or by mail, is March 8, 2025. New members who join the Nature Artists’ Guild by March 8 will also receive a prospectus and be eligible to register. Much more about the exhibition and Featured Artist Vicki Liszewski, as well as samples of exhibit artwork, will be coming soon.

In other news for the Nature Artists’ Guild –

  • The Nature Artists’ Guild is excited to announce that the speaker for the March 6, 2025 evening presentation at the Thornhill Education Center of The Morton Arboretum will be Joel Sheesley. This program, sponsored by the Guild, will be open to all, free of charge, and no registration is required to attend. More about Joel and his work coming soon.
  • Copies of the Spring 2025 Nature Artists’ Quarterly (a members-only publication) will be arriving in mailboxes by the first week of March. The Quarterly includes news, artwork, and articles contributed by members of the Guild, all artfully presented by Publications Chair Jane Kellenberger.
  • This year’s theme for the Guild’s annual display of small works honoring The Morton Arboretum in November (alongside the annual Autumn Exhibit) will be “Flora.” The special project involves members exhibiting up to three unframed 8 x 8-inch works of art created at or inspired by the Arboretum. More details and a registration form to come soon.
  • As always, Guild members and visitors are welcome to stop by the Visitor Center of The Morton Arboretum any Wednesday morning (weather permitting) to enjoy time with fellow artists at a Coffee and Art gathering.

Predators, Prey and Much, Much More

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Images from Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum video

Members of the Nature Artists’ Guild of The Morton Arboretum will find so much more than these fierce predators at the Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum of Benedictine University paint-out on March 6, 2025.

Participants will find approximately 10,0000 specimens on display at Jurica-Suchy, including birds, mammals, reptiles, insects, fish, and much more to sketch, draw, or photograph between 9:30 and noon.

Coffee and Celia Rodee’s delicious homemade muffins will be shared with all. Drop-ins are welcome, but registration, either online by clicking here, or by emailing Celia, is recommended to receive further instructions and updates (and will help her estimate how many muffins to bake).

Some seating is available at the museum, but artists are also welcome to bring their own portable chairs. The museum is located inside of Benedictine University, but the paint-out is scheduled during their spring break, so plenty of parking should be available. The museum will be closed to other visitors during the Guild’s paint-out.

From Colored Pencil to Scratchboard, Rhonda Nass this Thursday, February 6, 2025

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The Extraordinary Ordinary, scratchboard, copyright Rhonda Nass

The Nature Artists’ Guild of The Morton Arboretum is proud to sponsor an online presentation by Rhonda Nass on the evening of February 6, 2025 at 7.

Rhonda will discuss her signature artistic stroke and how that same stroke, used in her glowing colored pencil drawings, can also be used to create detail and drama with scratchboard. “The same airplane stroke many of us have used in applying colored pencil transitions seamlessly to scratchboard with almost no learning curve, so we can speed past much of the training in the basics of scratchboard.”

Members of the Nature Artists’ Guild were emailed a link to this free online presentation last week, and visitors can still request a link by contacting the Guild. The program is open to all, but will not be recorded.

Succulent Divine Drama, copyright Rhonda Nass
Yum, A 5-lobed Chocolate Vine, copyright Rhonda Nass