Des Plaines photographer finds the beauty, and ferocity, of nature.
“Celebrating Nature,” the February show in the third floor periodical reading room gallery of the Des Plaines Public Library, is a collection of 24 16-by-20-inch color photographs by artist Janet Thompson.
The prints are a dramatic, yet serene, view of a world of landscapes, wind-swept skies, elusive wildlife and mountains, each a portrait of the artist’s perspective. It is nature at its friendliest and its fiercest.
The beauty in Thompson’s work comes from the contrast of nature’s hospitality and its hostility. Thompson gives the viewer access to ethereal landscapes and unpredictable wildlife with flashes of beauty and power. The photographs speak to the need for conservation and preservation of the country’s most fragile natural resources.
Her favorite is a portrait of her son, Clay, and his friend, Rob, standing on Trail Ridge Road, above the timberline in the Rocky Mountains. The photograph evokes both a feeling of danger and of peace. The relative proportion of the boys against the grand backdrop makes a clear statement about man’s influence, or the lack there of, over nature.
Thompson, a Des Plaines Art Guild artist, has collected images over the past four years from family trips to the Rocky Mountain National Park, southeast Oklahoma, Michigan City and the southwest corner of Michigan.
“I am never without my camera,” she said, “and always looking for images that have unusual color and composition.”
Her artistic approach comes from her years of study in architectural space planning at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago.
Thompson is also a watercolorist and teaches art classes at the Des Plaines Park District. She documents events and trips to historic sites such as the Studebaker Museum in South Bend, the Choo Choo Restaurant in Des Plaines, and the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian in Evanston — all for the Des Plaines History Center.
Thompson’s photographs will be in the gallery during February. Admission is free.
To reach her, e-mail jct216@gmail.com. The library is open 9 a.m.-9 p.m. weekdays; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturdays and 1-5 p.m. Sundays.
For information about Des Plaines Art Guild artists, events and activities, visit dpag.org.