Each month's 1st Sunday figure session is our designated Clothed model session, allowing younger artists access to live models to gain more skill. Open to teens 12+ as well as adults.

What if you were invited to exhibit at EXPO Chicago? What one work would you want to show?

For our 104th Anniversary Spring Member’s Exhibition, this is what we invite all active Artist Members to bring. The hanging fee is reduced to $15. for one work.

Welcome Michael Cuadrado to OPAL staff as Programming Coordinator!

OPAL has hosted many artist talks over the decades, both by artists and by individuals in related fields of interest to the visual art community. Talks are a great way to share information with our interested member body with the goal of improving our individual art practices. Talks offer another learning opportunity and a chance to connect at OPAL.

April 2-4, online sale
April 5th, 9-11 am in-person shop
Donate your items for the online sale which will be hosted at www.estatesales.net. The Spring Studio Sale will include gently used art-making supplies and materials, artwork, and odds and ends, estate sale style.
Come to the in-person sale at OPAL to shop what’s left.

OPAL’s Annual Figure and Portrait exhibition, POSE! showcases a diverse spectrum of work based on the human form yet pushing the boundaries of how we depict ourselves and the bodies we inhabit.

There is a special figure drawing opportunity coming up! Register for your spot!

Our 5-week studio sessions run year-round, back-to-back. Those in the know make sure they sign up for a class to get lots of personal attention from our award-winning professional artist instructors.

SPRING 1 & 2 sessions are live on our site and you can sign up now to make sure you get your spot.

Quarterly meet-up for art enthusiasts, “art curious” and new collectors, and artists too.

JOIN US!
OPAL invites anyone interested in creating coral-shaped forms out of crocheted plastic to our monthly ‘make something’ meet-ups.

Michael Cuadrado Gonzalez is one of our newest instructors at OPAL! Read more about his practice and his class in this months Instructor Spotlight.

OPAL is publishing its first ARTISTS of OPAL Cookbook, planned to be released in November 2025, just in time for the holidays and aligned with our Food for Thought exhibition. We’re launching this call for recipes now and the deadline to submit will be in late summer 2025.

SOUVENIRS

Nancy Wisti Grayson

Our next Open Critique is March 27, 6-8pm

Anyone can bring in a single piece of their own artwork and get feedback from fellow artists.
Artists participating in this critique are expected to bring a piece of artwork to discuss.

Join OPALGA+ on Wednesday April 23, 7-9pm for a special storytelling event

Saturday, March 8th, 2025, 1:30pm
The Cabinet of Secret Art will be closing and the contents will be exhibited by artist Betsy Zacsek one last time at the closing of the show at 1:30 pm. Seating is limited, ticketing/RSVP this performance through Eventbrite with a suggested donation of $10./person.

The next round of #The100DayProject starts February 23, 2025.
OPAL will support those participating with our #100dayprojectOPAL on social media and a meet up midway through and wrap up and review meeting. Check out what we did last year and join in!

In the digital age the QR code has become a staple of everyday life; in restaurants, bars, museums, classrooms, your doctor’s office, and on the street. We have certainly put them to use at OPAL to link you to our website. There is an element of mystery about the QR code, on its face, each looks nearly identical to the last, while its content on the inside changes dramatically with each one. It is a portal from in-person to digital realms.

Julie Sulzen has been teaching at OPAL as our resident oil painting instructor for the past 3 years.
We are very fortunate to have Julie teaching with us and creating a community of oil painters along the way.

Here is the latest lineup of workshops scheduled at OPAL. Check out the details and sign up early as these are one-time offerings.