Kristen Ross is a landscape painter based in Boulder, Colorado. Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, she holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Rhode Island School of Design. Her work is exhibited in galleries across Colorado and is held in collections throughout the United States.
Drawing inspiration from her love of the outdoors, Kristen Ross’s acrylic landscape paintings pair vivid color with intricate detail to invoke the joy of experiencing wild spaces first-hand and to emphasize the importance of protecting them.
After hiking a backcountry trail, Ross combines plein air studies, reference photos, and research into a finished piece from her North Boulder studio. While her modern use of color and line expresses her subjective experience of the landscape, her work is grounded by her study of the ecology, geology, and history of each place she depicts. Her paintings often feature native plant species and seek to highlight their importance in the health of the ecosystem.
Moved by the post-impressionist and expressionist movements’ treatment of light, color, and movement, Ross uses layers of vibrant color and linework to convey her impressions while preserving the realistic form of the landscape. She is captivated by the intersection of realism and subjectivity, pursuing a delicate balance between seemingly opposing concepts: realism and abstraction, tradition and experimentation, planning and intuition.
Out of appreciation for the wild places we all share, she donates a portion of all proceeds from the sale of her work to the National Park Foundation.
Shows + Recognition
2023
Golden Fine Arts Festival, Golden, CO
Kimball Arts Festival, Park City, UT
Pearl Street Arts Fest, Boulder, CO
Cheesman Park Art Fest, Denver, CO
Evergreen Mountain Art Festival, Evergreen, CO
Dreamscapes, The Crowd Collective, Boulder, CO (group exhibition)
Summer Pop-up Shop, Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Boulder, CO
Firefly Spring Market, Denver, CO
2022
Peaks to Petals, The Crowd Collective, Boulder, CO (group exhibition)
Summer Pop-up Shop, Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Boulder, CO
Women Artists Making Their Mark, O’Hanlon Center for the Arts, online
Firefly Holiday Market, Denver & Boulder, CO
Galleries + Retail
Aspen and Evergreen, Estes Park, CO
Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Boulder, CO
Remain Real Gallery, Denver, CO
Fern and Skye, Denver, CO
AR Mitchell Museum, Trinidad, CO
Park City Museum, Park City, UT
