Flora! Illuminated

Published on by MaryLeave a comment

Check out the current exhibit at the Sterling Morton Library – Flora! Illuminated.  The exhibit “is a non-traditional alphabetical exploration of spectacular plant images from the Suzette Morton Davidson Special Collections of the Sterling Morton Library.”

The Library staff have created an on-line photo blog featuring artwork from the exhibit – http://florailluminated.wordpress.com/ Twenty-six pieces of art will be posted over 26 days. Today –  Day 3 –  is Chrysanthemum featuring a contemporary wood engraving and accompanied by a quote from P.G. Wodehouse:

Why don’t you get a haircut?
You look like a chrysanthemum!

More information about the exhibit, which runs through June 30, 2010, is here: http://www.mortonarb.org/sterling-morton-library/library-events/current-exhibit.html

Prairie Tour and Paint-Out at Fermilab June 7

Published on by DeniseLeave a comment

On Monday, June 7, 2010 at 9:00 a.m., Nature Artists’ Guild members will have a wonderful opportunity to attend a tour of and sketch or paint the prairie walk at world-renowned Fermilab.

We will meet and park at the Lederman Science Center of Fermilab (http://www.fnal.gov/pub/visiting/map/site.html) for a 9:30 tour of their prairie, given by botanist Ryan Campbell and master gardener Mary Jo Murphy.
After the tour, we are welcome to stay to sketch or paint for as long as we’d like (their public sites are open until 8 pm). Continue reading “Prairie Tour and Paint-Out at Fermilab June 7” →

Redbuds and Daffodils Paint-Out This Saturday

Published on by DeniseLeave a comment

Whew! You’ve finally finished your artwork for the spring show, picked it up just in time from the framer, and gone through the line at referee night. You’re done! What a relief! You deserve a break and you are not going to pick up a pencil or paintbrush for weeks! But then – you attend the spring show, you are inspired by all the beautiful work and all of a sudden you find yourself thinking, “who needs a break? I can’t wait to get started”!
Well, you are in luck. The arboretum is currently bursting with color and inspiration, and members of the Nature Artists’ Guild are going outdoors to soak it all in. The famed Morton redbuds will be in full glory, the daffodils will still be nodding at you, bluebells are just beginning to put in an appearance, and even all those teeny-tiny impossibly-chartreuse leaf buds are peeking out, just challenging you to try to capture their color! Continue reading “Redbuds and Daffodils Paint-Out This Saturday” →

Member Artwork: Mark Willis

Published on by MaryLeave a comment

Starting this week, we will be posting member artwork on the blog.  If would like to have your work featured, please contact Mary Ingels.

First up is Mark Willis. Mark writes from Georgia:

Attached, please see a recent colored pencil sketch I did of black-eyed peas which are a “good luck” tradition around New Year’s time in the South. (After leaving Naperville in 2007 to retire in Athens, GA, I have learned a few new traditions in the south.) While the local red clay soil is not as kind to northern plants, there are many local plants which are intriguing to cultivate in this area. I do miss the Arboretum’s botanical classes, but can vicariously enjoy the guild’s activities. Athens does have a State botanical gardens (connected to U of GA), which provides a great source of inspiration to do artwork!

Mark Willis: Black-Eyed Peas

Morton Arboretum Herbarium Paint-In

Published on by DeniseLeave a comment

          On Friday, March 19, at 9:30 a.m., Nature Artists’ Guild  Members will meet at the botany lab, located in the Administration & Research center, to sketch or paint from herbarium sheets.   At noon, members will have the exceptional opportunity for a behind-the-scenes look at the Morton Arboretum herbarium on a tour given by herbarium volunteer and guild member Liz Lizzio.
           “The Arboretum herbarium houses more than 165,000 dried plant specimens and 19,000 lichens, many from Illinois and Missouri. The herbarium’s strongest collections are its (1) active and nearly comprehensive contemporary collection of the flora of the 24-county Chicago region and (2) broad collection of woody plants of the northern Temperate zone, both cultivated and spontaneous.” redwood.mortonarb.org/lab_pages/hipp/herbarium.html
Please RSVP to Suzanne Wegener at swegener@mortonarb.org or 630-719-5642.

Renowned Artist Victoria Fuller, March 4, 2010 at 7:00

Published on by DeniseLeave a comment

On Thursday, March 4, 2010 at 7:00 pm, please join us at our formal meeting as renowned sculptor and painter Victoria Fuller shares her art experiences.
Victoria’s works range from delicate watercolor paintings of flora and fauna to large scale public sculptures. Her 35 foot bronze sculpture Global Garden Shovel, recently installed in the city of Seattle, “is constructed from castings and manual replications of indigenous plants and trees from the tropics and northern climates. The sculpture is also a reminder of the crucial role that plants play in sustaining life on our planet, such as producing food, medicine, oxygen, moisture, as well as providing beauty and enjoyment in our everyday lives”.

Global Garden Shovel (detail), Victoria Fuller

“In search for knowledge and adventure” Victoria has “traveled to China, witnessing the Tiananmen Square uprising, to Africa on photo Safari, and the Amazon on a house boat, creating botanical illustrations. She has lived in Paris to study French, New York to immerse herself in the NY art scene, and in San Francisco to study at the San Francisco Art Institute.” Victoria moved to Chicago in 1992 to obtain an MFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her award-winning work has been featured in exhibitions from Chicago to New York, as well as in numerous publications.

Roseate Spoonbill, Victoria Fuller

 

Please join us for what will surely be a fascinating evening as Victoria shares her experiences. You can read more about Victoria online at http://www.ObjectArtist.com.

Like a Trip to the Tropics! (Paint-Out)

Published on by DeniseLeave a comment

In late winter, the next best thing to going on a tropical vacation is?  A paint-out at Hausermann’s Orchids, of course.  Another perennial favorite paint-out spot, Hausermann’s is magical.  When you go inside, out of the snowy 10 degree Chicagoland weather, you are instantly transported to the tropics.    No sand, no pina coladas, but there are thousands of orchids, and they are in bloom!

Hausermann’s has a nice area set  aside in their huge greenhouse as a “showroom” with specimens of dozens of different types of orchids, which is where we set up to sketch or paint.  It’s worth coming even if you only have time to take some photographs, or as some do, walk around oohing and aahing at the amazing orchids (and ultimately buying one or two)!  One lucky participant will even receive a free orchid to take home with them.

It gets a little crowded if there are too many, so we’ll try to limit the group to about 15.   Please contact Denise if you think you’d like to come.  We’ll be meeting on Friday, 02/05/10 from 9:30 to 12:30, and Suzanne  will meet you there.  Hausermann’s is located at 2N134 Addison Road, Villa Park, IL (see www.orchidsbyhausermann.com for directions).   Bring a chair, your art supplies, and maybe an MP3 with some Don Ho (who?) or Ziggy Marley (who???) music, and enjoy!