Doreen St.John
www.doreenstjohn.com
330-904-4162
Doreen St.John’s paintings demonstrate her love of the natural environment. “I’m inspired by the way light and color influence what we see and feel…not only in the landscape, but also in the human form. My work is really about Relationship in the deepest sense of the word – relationships between shapes, light/shadow, and between the viewer and the artist, scene, or subject. My hope is that my work engages, evoking an emotional response or memory in the viewer, allowing my feelings to come through in the work.” Li Po, an 8th Century Chinese Philosopher, said it best:
“I would not paint a face, a rock, nor brooks, nor trees,
Mere semblances of things…but something more than these.
That art is best which to the soul’s range gives no bound.
Something besides the form, Something beyond the sound.”
Born and raised in the art center and resort town of Saugatuck, Michigan, Doreen St.John exhibited artistic ability even as a small child, receiving art instruction from Cora Bliss Taylor, a graduate of the Chicago Art Institute and a well-known local artist. Although St.John pursued undergrad and graduate degrees in education, the need to create was always a driving force. She took her first watercolor classes at the Canton Art Museum in 1980 and later studied under watercolorist Bette G. Elliott of North Canton, Ohio, for 5 years. She has taken workshops with nationally recognized artists including Edgar Whitney, Frank Webb, Neil Patterson, Alan Wylie, Frederick Graff, Marilyn Hughey Phillis, Stan Miller, Marc Hanson, David Jon Kassan, Joshua Been, and others. She continues to study to improve her work, believing that growth as an artist is a lifelong pursuit, working from life as much as possible, including portrait, figure, plein air, and studio work.
St.John has gained national recognition in major juried competitive exhibitions and has been awarded Signature status with the Oil Painters of America, the Pastel Society of America, and the American Impressionist Society. She is represented by the Eisele Gallery of Fine Art in Cincinnati, OH, Castle Fine Art Gallery in Fort Wayne, IN, and Hudson Fine Art & Framing in Hudson, OH.
Memberships
American Impressionist Society (AIS),
Signature Member, Board of
Trustees/Secretary
Oil Painters of America (OPA), Signature
Member
Pastel Society of America (PSA), Signature
Member
Ohio Plein Air Society (OPAS), Trustee and
Secretary
International Juried Exhibitions
PleinAir Salon Competition
o Overall Best Pastel, June/July 2016
BoldBrush Painting Competition –
o September 2016 – Outstanding
Pastel
o August 2015, Second Place
Art Renewal Center International ARC Salon –
o 2012-2013, Finalist in the Landscape
Category, oil
o 2014-2015, Finalist in the Landscape
Category, oil
o 2017-2018, Finalist in the Landscape
Category, Oil
Plein Air Convention & Expo, Faculty
o 2017 presenter; 2018 faculty
IAPS, International Association of Pastel Artists
36th Juried Exhibition – 2020, Dunedin, FL,”A
is for Apple”
31st Juried Competition – 2017 Webshow,
“Waiting for Ichabod”
29th Juried Competition – 2016 Webshow,
“After The Rain”
National Juried Exhibitions/Invitationals/Awards
“Artist Choice” in Associate/Signature Division
for “Symphony of the Wetlands”, OPA
National, May, 2017
“Artists for the New Century” invitational, The
Bennington, Vermont, September 2017
Howard/Mandville Gallery, Kirkland, WA,
o “Wanderlust” invitational, May 2017
o “Small Works Invitational”, October
2017
Pastel Society of America
44 th Annual Juried Exhibition: Enduring
Brilliance 2016
o “Cedar Run Reflections” – September
2016
o Pastel Society of Canada President’s
Award
American Impressionist Society
National Juried Exhibitions –
o “Waiting for Ichabod”, pastel,
September 2017
o “After the Rain”, pastel,
September,2016
o “Reflection”, pastel, October, 2015
o “Cliffs at Snoqualmie”, oil, November,
2014
Small Works Showcase 2018, 2019
o Mystical Waters, Pastel
o Snow Day!, oil
Inaugural Small Works Juried Exhibition 2017
o Nature’s Palette, Pastel
Oil Painters of America
2020 Virtual Salon Show, “Mother’s Day
Bouquet”
2019 Virtuosos of OPA, “Reiboldt Creek
Reflections”
2018 Eastern Regional Show, “The Summit”
2018 Juried Salon Show, “Monet’s Muse”
26 th Annual Juried Exhibition of Traditional Oils,
“Symphony of the Wetlands”, May, 2017
o Won Artists Choice of Excellence
Award
2017 Eastern Regional Juried Exhibition,
“Spring Beauty”, Nov. 2017
2016 Juried Salon Show, “Forest Sanctuary”,
Sept. 2016
2016 Eastern Regional Juried Exhibition,
“Winter Rhapsody”, Sept. 2016
24th Annual Juried Exhibition of Traditional
Oils, “Wetlands”, May, 2015
2015 Juried Salon Show, “Light on the
Grasses”
2015 Eastern Regional Exhibition, “Still
Standing”
Demonstrations/Workshops
Demo for Medina County Art League,
November, 2018
Pastel Workshop, Riffe Gallery/Ohio Arts
Council, August, 2018
American Impressionist Society National Juried
Exhibition September 2017, Demonstration in
Soft Pastel
Plein Air Convention & Exhibition 2017 & 2018,
Faculty
Tipp City Area Arts Council 2016,
Demonstration
Akron Society of Artists, 4 Demonstrations
2014-2016
Painting Water in Pastel, Ohio Pastel Art
League, 1 day workshop, 2015
Plein Air Competition Awards
Ohio Plein Air Society Annual Competitions
o Rosemary Brushes Excellence Award
2015
o Best Watercolor, 2008
o Spirit of New Philadelphia Award, 2008
o Third Place, 2005
Regional Juried Exhibitions and Awards
Ohio Plein Air Society show, “Farm Life”,
Springfield Museum of Art, 2018
o Second Place and Honorable Mention
Curated show, “Creating Identity from Place”,
at the Riffe Gallery, Columbus, OH. Three
works accepted, July-October, 2018
“The Best of the Ohio Plein Air Society” at the
Columbus Museum of Art, two paintings
accepted, March-June, 2017
Butler Institute of American Art Ohio Pastel
Artists League Show, 2016, two paintings
accepted
Butler Institute of American Art Area Show
2012, “Honorable Mention”
Ohio Pastel Artists League, 2016 Member
Show, First Place, “After the Rain”, pastel
Solo Shows
Cyrus Custom Framing & Gallery, Dec. 2015
Turner Gallery, Columbus, Ohio,
o 2011, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019
Media/Online
Blog, OPA, “Working Through Creative Blocks
and Growth as an Artist”,
https://www.oilpaintersofamerica.com/2017/08/w
orking-creative-blocks-growth-artist/
Article in Plein Air Collector,
http://www.outdoorpainter.com/spotlight-on-
pace-faculty-doreen-st-johns-fantastic-year/
Art Review of Solo Show,
http://www.artwach.blogspot.com/2016/01/exquisit
e-beckonings.html
Featured artist, May 21, 2015, Informed
Collector/Fine Art Views,
http://faso.com/fineartviews/92747/doreen-st-
john-love-of-light
Featured artist, May 26,2015, FASO Featured
Artist, http://faso.com/fineartviews/93122/faso-
featured-artists-artist-doreen-st-john
Channel 9 Online TV Show, “Artists at Work”,
featured artist in December 2012 and 2014
Artist in Residence
Highlands Nature Sanctuary, 2015
Canton, Ohio: “Leave Your Mark”, 2009