A Wonderful Project & Upcoming Exhibit

It’s already late summer! Time flies when life is full of many happenings. Some have been sad, with the loss of dear loved ones, and others happy, including two weddings in the family, and a lot of art: painting, calligraphy and teaching.

Last year, I was honored to be selected as one of a small group of artists to work on a wonderful project with the renowned architectural firm, NBBJ – NBBJ.com, and OHSU (Oregon Health & Science University) hospital in Portland, OR. NBBJ designed a new in-patient addition for the hospital. For more information on the project visit:  OHSU Foundation – in patient addition  

Each artist was to design and paint Oregon landscapes that were then scanned, enlarged and printed on wall panels. These panels are currently being installed on select walls in the hallways of the new addition which is set to open in 2026. Bringing artistic images of nature inside will beautify spaces and have a positive impact on patients who will be staying in sterile environments during their treatment and recovery. I plan to write a blog post dedicated to the project and images of the paintings will be revealed then.

All the places I visited to collect reference material for the hospital project paintings are beautiful and awe inspiring, expanding my curiosity and further deepening my love and connection with nature. I have continued this Oregon landscape series with this latest pastel painting, A Perfect Day.

This painting has been accepted into the annual juried member show of the Northwest Pastel Society. Use the arrows on the photo below to scroll through the work in process.

A Perfect Day

Pastel  |  15″ x 24″

A few photos of the painting in process…

Northwest Pastel Society Annual Juried Member Exhibition

Dates: September 5 – 28, 2025

Location: Columbia Center for the Arts   Columbia Arts.org   
215 Cascade Ave, Hood River, Oregon

Art lovers, family and friends are welcome to attend the opening and awards ceremony at the Columbia Center for the Arts. The Hood River Art Walk is the same day.

Opening & Awards:  September 5, 2025    5:00 – 7:00 pm

 

Northwest Pastel Society:  NPS.org

Thanks for your interest and have a beautiful day!

Best Wishes,

Kristen

Kristen Doty Favicon

Happy Spring!

Robins are singing, birds are gathering materials for their nests, the days are getting longer, and many flowers and trees are blooming! These are the delightful signs that usher in the new season, thankfully transitioning away from the dark cloudy, rainy and shorter days of winter here in the Pacific Northwest. Happy Spring!

This is always a busy time of year for me in the studio creating new artwork and preparing for the year ahead.

The Plein Air Washington Artists had a paint-out at the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually Wildlife Refuge on March 30. It was a beautiful day to get out in nature and practice plein air painting!

Plein Air painting at Nisqually Wildlife Refuge

It is exciting to share the watercolor painting, Bowl of Cherries, was accepted in the annual juried members exhibition, Waterworks Online.

Use the arrows to scroll through a few photos of the painting process below.

Bowl of Cherries

17″ x 21½” | Watercolor

A few photos of the painting in process…

2024 Waterworks Online

NWWS Annual Juried Member Exhibition

Opening: April 26, 2024

Art lovers, family and friends are welcome to attend the online Opening & Awards Presentation. You may register to attend through the NWWS Website.

 

From the Northwest Watercolor Society:

“Juror Laurie Goldstein-Warren had the pleasure of viewing 479 watermedia paintings entered (from artists in 32 states and 10 countries) in Northwest Watercolor Society’s (NWWS) annual Waterworks Online Membership Exhibition. And the difficult task of choosing just 75 out of so many worthy artworks. The exhibition begins April 26, 2024 at 5:00pm Pacific Time when Goldstein-Warren awards over $12,000 in cash and merchandise during the online artists’ reception. Friends and family are invited to attend this free event by clicking here for a Zoom link to be sent to you.

The Northwest Watercolor Society (NWWS) was founded in 1939 in Seattle, Washington. From modest beginnings, NWWS has grown into the internationally recognized, historically rich organization of today with a membership over a thousand Signature, Lifetime and Associate Members across the USA, Canada & internationally.

Northwest Watercolor Society:  NWWS.org

Thanks for your interest and have a beautiful day!

Best Wishes,

Kristen

Kristen Doty Favicon

Pastel Artwork in New York City

It is an honor and I am thrilled that my pastel painting, Ages Upon Ages was juried in to the Pastel Society of America’s 45th Annual show, Enduring Brilliance! and is currently on display at the National Arts Club in New York City!

Below are a few photos of the work in progress. This painting was created with pastel on 24″ x 18″ Ampersand Pastelbord, sand color.

Normally when working in pastel or oil, I prefer to establish lights and darks and block in major shapes with an underpainting. However, because the tone of the board was already a medium value, I didn’t feel an underpainting was necessary, so I skipped that step and just dove right in after the initial drawing of the major shapes was finished.

Please note: Minor adjustments are often made to colors as the work progresses, but in this case, after the sky was completed (second photo) the color was not changed. The variations in the photos are due to the different lighting conditions when the photos were taken.

Ages Upon Ages work in progress by Kristen Doty - Pastel 24" x 18"

Work in progress of Ages Upon Ages

Ages Upon Ages by Kristen Doty - Pastel 24" x 18"

Ages Upon Ages | Pastel on board | 24″ x 18″

Currently on view

Pastel Society of America

45th Annual Exhibition, Enduring Brilliance!

The National Arts Club

15 Gramercy Park South, New York, NY

For more information: Pastel Society of America

 

Thanks for your interest!

Best Wishes,

Kristen

More information about the subject of this painting is in the previous blog post.

Read more.