Oak Park Art League hosts Mid Winter Artists Festival

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Artists will demonstrate and discuss the materials used in various art mediums at the Mid Winter Artists Festival of the Oak Park Art League.

Artists looking to explore new mediums, those who’d like to improve their techniques, or folks just curious about how art is made will find ideas and answers at Oak Park’s upcoming Mid Winter Festival of the Artists.

The Oak Park Art League will host its first free mid-winter festival on Sunday, March 4, from 2-4 pm at league offices, at 720 Chicago Ave., in Oak Park. Dillman’s Art Workshop Retreat of Lac du Flambeau, Wis., and the Illinois Watercolor Society have partnered to bring free art demonstrations to artists and friends in the Chicago area.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with both Dillman’s Bay Resorts and the Illinois Watercolor Society to organize this event. The Oak Park Art League is a 90-year- old organization dedicated to serving artists of all ages and skill levels. Every year OPAL serves 4,500 artists through its various programming. This partnership and event will provide our artists with the opportunity to learn from nationally-recognized artists,” explains Faith Humphrey-Hill, executive director of the league.

This event includes:

• A free reception including beverages and snacks.

• Door prizes, which will be announced at the top of each hour.

Also, if you and/or four of your friends or Art League members sign up by March 4, all four individuals will receive a 10 percent discount on the instruction portion of the workshop. The DVD “Plein Air Painting — The American Landscape,” by Frank LaLumia of Trinidad, Colo., will also be shown throughout the entire workshop for artists to watch.

Artists will have the opportunity to participate in four instructor demonstrations/critiques during the afternoon. From 2-3 p.m. guests will have the opportunity to sit in on two workshops: either “Watercolor Secrets Revealed” where Tom Lynch of Naperville will critique participants’ art work; or, attendees can discover “Collage in Concept and Composition” presented by Laura Lein-Svencner of Darien.

During the 3-4 p.m. hour, artists can choose from “Big Big Watercolors” presented by Michael Ireland of Cary or, something a bit different, “Pictorial Quilting — Painting with Fabric,” taught by Wendy Butler Bearns of Lake Mills, Wis.

Dillman’s Art Workshop Retreat has some 35 years of experience organizing complimentary Mid Winter Festivals of Artists across the country. Their goal is to offer potential students the opportunity to meet instructors in various mediums, and to have their questions answered about classes, and what working in a variety of mediums entails.

For more information about this event, please contact the Oak Park Art League at (708) 386-9853.