About Doreen St.John, OPA/AIS/PSA | 2024 Juror
Born and raised in the art center and resort town of Saugatuck, Michigan, Doreen St.John exhibited exceptional 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/graduate degrees in education, the need to create was always her passion. Her first watercolor classes were in 1980 at the Canton Art Museum with Bette G. Elliott, AWS, and she studied with Elliott for 5 years. St.John continued her art education, taking workshops with nationally recognized Master artists at every opportunity, as she still does to this day.
After painting part-time in watercolor for 30 years and after retiring from her education career in 2010, St.John started painting full-time in oil and, later, pastel. She has gained national recognition by being juried into major competitive exhibitions and winning awards. She has earned “Signature” status with the American Impressionist Society, the Oil Painters of America, and the Pastel Society of America, and has also been awarded Master Pastelist with the International Association of Pastel Societies. She has been a member of the Ohio Plein Air Society since 2005, where she served as a Board member/officer for several years and is a Board member and Officer (Secretary) of the American Impressionist Society.
St.John continues to study to improve her work, believing that growth as an artist/individual is a lifelong pursuit, working from life as much as possible, including portrait, figure, plein air, and studio work. She is represented by Castle Gallery Fine Art in Fort Wayne, IN, and Hudson Fine Art & Framing in Hudson, OH.
Past Jurors
2023 Inaugural Juror | Internationally Acclaimed Watercolorist, David Rankin | https://davidrankinwatercolors.net/
Out to Pasture
Reflections in the Forest
Sawhill Pond View
