OPAL NEWS | JUNE 2026

Dear Friends of OPAL,

A warm summer welcome to our newest members, and thank you to all for being art supporters.
May was buzzing with community and creativity. We celebrated our 105th Anniversary and got a group photo, the reception for Home: Art of Architecture Everywhere, ‘Oh Mother’ Poetry Reading, the West Side Sketchers returned to draw in the courtyard, and a wonderful group of summer interns are helping with classes, exhibitions, and outreach.

We are particularly excited for the annual OPRF Garden Walk coming up on June 28, since OPAL is on the map as one of the public gardens. We will feature a Summer Sculpture exhibition in the garden, displayed June - August and BLOOM exhibition in the gallery along with botanical themed workshops. SUMMER 1 is open for registration as of today and exciting studio time awaits.

Current OPAL Members will be receiving a separate invite to two Member Only Socials - June 20, 4:30 - 6:30 and July 4th 1-3pm.

Check out our upcoming programs, workshops and exhibitions as we head into a vibrant summer at the Oak Park Art League.

Warm Regards,
Bryan Northup Grayson
Executive Director

‍Our Condolences

It is with deep sadness that we share the passing of these members of our community who will be profoundly missed.

Brilliant artist, devoted teacher, both at Columbia and OPAL, taught Illustration at Columbia since 2007 Richard Laurent

OPAL’s beloved Pastel Painting instructor, Mike Barret Kolasinski’s wife Doreen Kolasinski

A leading artist with the Metropolitan Opera, acclaimed baritone, OPAL member and long time pastel student, Ryan Edwards

UPCOMING

Take a look at what is happening at OPAL in June

Sunday June 7th, 11-4pm - Day in Our Village at Scoville Park
Saturday June 13th, 1-3pm - OPENING RECEPTION - BLOOM: Art of Flowers and Foliage & Fruit
June 28th - Summer 1 Class Session starts
Sunday June 28th, 11-4pm - OPRF Garden Walk Summer Sculpture Exhibit, June - August, 2026

Looking ahead to July

Walk with us in the Fourth of July Oak Park Diversity Parade
Bake Sale fundraiser at the Oak Park Farmer’s Market JULY 18, volunteers needed to bake and help at the booth

Day in Our Village

We look forward to meeting many Oak Parkers at our booth at this year’s Day in Our Village, Sunday June 7. Come see what we’re up to and draw Tim the Mime!
from 11-2pm.

OPAL’s Garden

OPAL’s Garden and gallery will be part of the Garden Club
Oak Park & River Forest Garden Walk

Sunday June 28, 11-4pm
OPAL will feature BLOOM: Art of Flowers, Foliage & Fruit in the gallery and our Summer Sculpture Exhibit in the courtyard garden.

Ready, Set, BAKE!

The Oak Park Art League at Oak Park Farmer’s Market, will have a Bake Sale fundraiser on JULY 18, 2026.
Help bake items to sell and help organize and work at our tent the day of.

2026 HOUSE of OPAL

2026 HOUSE of OPAL

SAVE THE DATE!

Saturday Sept 12, 6-9:30pm
at The Nineteenth Century Charitable Foundation
178 Forest Ave, Oak Park, IL

TICKETS NOW ON SALE

IN THE STUDIO

Our SUMMER 1 Adult Classes
are open for registration

Watercolor Basics and Beyond
with Richard Sheppard | Mondays, 4:00-6:00 PM

Unraveling the Complexity of Travel Sketching
with Richard Sheppard | Mondays, 7:00-9:00 PM

The Art of Line: Intro to Line Drawing
with Jan Zhou | Tuesdays, 10:00 AM-12:00 PM

Exploring Oil Painting
with Julie Sulzen | Tuesdays, 1:00-3:00 PM

2D Basics
with Julie Sulzen | Tuesdays, 4:00-5:30 PM

Exploring Oil Painting
with Julie Sulzen | Tuesdays, 6:30-8:30 PM

Pastel Painting
w/ Mike Barret Kolasinski | Wednesdays, 10:00 AM-12:00 PM

Pastel Painting
with Mike Barret Kolasinski | Wednesdays, 1:00 PM-3:00 PM

Botanical Gelli Plate Printing *3 WEEKS*
with Elaine Luther | Wednesdays, 7:00-9:00 PM

W O R K S H O P S

BLOOM: The Garden in Mixed Media Workshop
Saturday, June 27th, 10am - 4pm
with Jackie Lakely
We will work in the studio from a bountiful still life and weather permitting, sketch in the courtyard for a half hour. We are going to explore different approaches to creating in mixed media - drawing, painting, gel plate printing, image transfer, and working with collage - and we will combine them all into a small series of pieces by the end of the day. Lunch/break from 12:30-1:00 PM.

Kintsugi for Beginners
Saturday, June 28th, 1:30pm - 4:00pm
with Mami Takahashi
Kintsugi is a traditional Japanese art form in which gold is used to repair broken ceramics. The practice of Kintsugi highlights the break rather than erasing it and emphasizes that the break is what makes the ceramics more valuable and beautiful.

Gallery After Dark:
Plastic Free July & Crochet Coral Club
Thursday June 28th, 6-8pm
Join us to learn about transforming everyday plastics into art with artists Bryan Northup and Linda Dunbar. This is part talk, demo and hands on maker session. We’ll revisit our 2025 crochet series and share what we’ve been up to with a current exhibit at Maze Library for the month of July. Register Here, $15 Fee

Botanical Sun Prints Workshop 1
Monday, July 13, 10:00 AM-12:00 PM
&
Botanical Sun Prints Workshop 2
Monday, July 27, 10:00 AM-12:00 PM
with Elaine Luther
Capture flowers, foliage and the energy of summer with a cyanotypes workshop! Create imagery without drawing, arranging fresh blossoms and plants on pre-treated paper to produce blue and white prints.

Figure Drawing

Work on your figure drawing skills at your own pace in our three hour, non-instructional sessions.
We offer 3 sessions per week
Thursdays, 9am - noon
Fridays, 6:30 - 9:30pm
Sundays, 10am - 1pm
The first two sessions of each month, models are clothed so younger artists can attend.
See our full figure drawing schedule and register here,
Pre-registration is required.

IN THE GALLERY

Current: HOME: Art of Architecture Everywhere
There’s still time! The exhibit closes Sunday June 7th -
Pick up work June 7, 11 - 14

UP NEXT:

SATELLITE EXHIBITS
The Oak Park Art League offers artists a chance to display their work outside our main gallery, in local businesses we have partnered with to provide more exposure for artists. OPAL Members are eligible to exhibit in these venues, please sign up for this opportunity.

CALL FOR ARTISTS

Check out the current calls including for Breaking the Silence, veteran art show coming to the gallery in August and fashion designer call for our House of OPAL fashion show in September

Join OPAL in ITALY June 2027!

We are just a year away from our trip to La Romita School of Art in Umbria Italy!

The group is forming for the retreat in June 2027. Currently we are sharing this opportunity and gathering interested participants. Check out more detaills and pre-register to help shape the experience.

Artist Opportunities

This is where you will find all the opportunities we come across or that come in especially to be shared with the OPAL artist community.

MEMBER NEWS

Check here for OPAL Member related exhibition announcements and other news. Current OPAL members, submit your art related news to share.
This feature is a benefit of OPAL membership.

OPAL BLOOMs T-shirt

Get in the spirit of blooming season and shop this, and other plant-based designs, made-to-order, in the OPAL shop.

Comes in multiple color variations.

$26.00

Shop

As funding for arts and nonprofits continues to decline, your membership and support is more crucial than ever.
Join us in safeguarding this historic, creative sanctuary—renew your membership today and help ensure OPAL thrives for everyone who needs it. Thank you!

DONATE SPONSORSHIP BECOME A MEMBER

Oak Park Art League

Founded in 1921, OPAL is one of the longest, continually-running nonprofit arts organizations in Illinois, fulfilling its mission by offering high-quality art education, lectures, artist demonstrations, critiques, and monthly exhibitions in our historic gallery.

Our Mission

The Oak Park Art League's mission is to be a welcoming center of artistic inquiry, creative expression and art appreciation in Oak Park and the surrounding communities.

Board of Directors

President: David Baker
Vice President: Mia Garcia Hills
Secretary: Ginger Brent
Treasurer: Shira Slack
Directors:
Margot McMahon Barbara McClure
Dave Palomares Colleen Campbell

Staff
Bryan Northup Grayson, Executive Director
Katrina Petrauskas, Programming Coordinator

GALLERY HOURS

Thursday & Friday 1-5 pm
Saturday 10 am-4 pm
Sunday 1-4pm
Monday -Wednesday Closed or by appointment

Land Acknowledgement

Each exhibition, program and class associated with the Oak Park Art League (OPAL) takes place on the traditional homelands of the Council of Three Fires - the Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and Odawa -
as well as the Menominee, Miami, and Ho-Chunk Nations.
OPAL recognizes that the region we now call Chicago and Oak Park was the traditional homeland of many Indigenous nations,
and remains home to diverse Native people today. The land we walk was, and remains Native land.

Thank you to our generous sponsors

Oak Park Art League is partially funded by the Oak Park Area Arts Council, in partnership with the Village of Oak Park, the Illinois Arts Council Agency and the National Endowment for the Arts.