Meetup.com is a website that brings people with common interests together, and we are hoping to attract some nature art enthusiasts in the area to the Nature Artists’ Guild. Click here to see what it’s all about, and while you are there, click on the Find a Meetup Group tab at the top of the page. You just may find a few wonderful groups that share your interests!
A Break from the Summer Heat
Perhaps you, like many of us, enjoy taking an occasional break from the heat and humidity of summer. If so, you may wish to consider enrolling in one of the summer classes offered in The Morton Arboretum’s Botanical Art and Illustration program.
You can enjoy nature in a gorgeous setting while avoiding the heat and insects of the season by choosing from these (mostly) indoor classes offered by The Morton Arboretum –
- Begin to Draw Nature
- Botanical Art and Illustration: Pencil
- Plants in Watercolor I
- Underpainting Techniques in Pastel
- Botanical Art in Garden Catalogs
- Making Mosaics for the Garden
- Garden Journaling
- Summer Mandala
- Insects in Polymer Clay
- Master’s Studio – Summer Flowers in Colored Pencil
- Visiting Artist – Scott Harding, Landscapes in Watersoluble Oil
The classes are open to all (you do not need to be a member of the Nature Artists’ Guild nor The Morton Arboretum, nor be enrolled in the Art and Illustration Certificate Program to participate) and many are suitable for beginners. Some of the more advanced classes, though, have suggested prerequisites. Please click here for class descriptions and details!
(More Than) A Few of our Favorite Things! Peggy Macnamara on June 6, 2013 at Thornhill
Wonderful, talented and fun artist and teacher Peggy Macnamara, will be joining us for a demonstration, a discussion, and a book-signing on June 6, 2013 from 7 until 9 pm. Peggy’s latest book, The Art of Migration: Birds, Insects and the Changing Seasons in Chicagoland is not scheduled for release until early July, but if you already have any of her other three books, please bring your copy to the meeting for Peggy’s signature.
Peggy is the Artist in Residence and has eighteen of her works on permanent display at the Field Museum, is a Professor at the Chicago Art Institute, and is the author of four books. Many members of the Nature Artists’ Guild know Peggy as a favorite instructor in the Botanical Illustration program at The Morton Arboretum, as well as a wonderful source of inspiration.
This would also be a great opportunity to invite friends and fellow artists who are not currently members of the Nature Artists’ Guild to one of our programs. We know they’ll enjoy it!
Please visit Peggy’s website at www.peggymacnamara.com to learn more about Peggy, as well as to view photos and videos of Peggy and her artwork.
A Beautiful Day at a Beautiful Location!
We couldn’t have asked for better weather for the Mayslake-Peabody Estate paint-out last week. As you can see above, the estate and grounds were breathtaking, the sky was blue, the grass was green, and our Nature Artists’ Guild members took full advantage of all of that beauty!
Once again, we have our photographer, Kathy Wagner, to thank for the beautiful photographs.
The Beard Garden Paint-Out June 4, 2013
Last year’s paint-out at the gorgeous gardens of Susan and Kenneth Beard was a huge success, but became a bit crowded with both artists and photographers attending. This year, on Tuesday, June 4, 2013, the photographers of the Morton Arboretum Photographic Society will be attending from 7:30 until 9:30 am, and the Nature Artists’ Guild members will have the garden to themselves from 9:30 am until 12:00 noon.
The Beard garden has been featured in Chicagoland Gardening magazine, in recent features in the Sunday Magazine of the Chicago Tribune, and Crain’s Chicago Business and is included in the Garden Conservancy’s “most beautiful gardens in America”.
The peonies are scheduled to bloom for us, and the Beard’s collection of hosta is legendary, so RSVP early to ensure your spot, as attendance will be limited to 12 in each group. Please RSVP to Carol Jean Rogalski if you would like to attend. You can find her contact information in your Yearbook.
The Beard’s 3-acre garden, featuring over 300 varieties of hosta, as well as annuals, perennials, a woodland, shrubs and groundcovers, is located at 3711 Madison , Oakbrook, IL.
The following photos are from the 2012 paint-out at the Beard garden. Thank you to Kathy Wagner for the photographs!
New Paint-Out Opportunity – Mayslake Peabody Estate on May 14, 2013
We have added a new location to our Paint-Out schedule this year. On May 14, 2013, Nature Artists’ Guild members are invited to enjoy and paint or sketch the grounds of the beautiful and historic Mayslake Peabody Estate, 1717 W. 31st St. , Oak Brook, IL from 9 am until 12:30 pm. You can view some photographs on their website to get a sense of the striking architecture and gardens you’ll find there.
Please let Carol Jean Rogalski know if you plan to attend. You can find her contact information in your Yearbook. Park in the main lot, proceed through the blue door into the estate, and then left to the terrace and lawn.
Back from Safari
All of our artists made it safely back from their “safari” at the Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum last month. Here are a few photos and drawings you may enjoy (thank you to Evelyn Grala for the photographs and Bob Sunyog and Carol Jean Rogalski for the sketches)!
Lion ©Bob Sunyog
River Otter ©Carol Jean Rogalski
Please Join Us at the Spring 2013 Exhibit of the Nature Artists’ Guild of The Morton Arboretum
Carol Jean Rogalski’s Wonderful Presentation
Please enjoy these photographs from Carol Jean Rogalski’s wonderful presentation for the Nature Artists’ Guild, Illumination. Thank you to our photographer, Kathy Wagner, for the photos. Please click on any photo to get a closer look!
Spring
There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature — the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.
Rachel Carson, Silent Spring
Nature Artists' Guild 