Kristen Ross Unveils 2024 Boulder Star Card Artwork
August 5, 2024
On July 23 at the Standing Strong Summer Social, local artist Kristen Ross unveiled the 2024 Boulder Star Card artwork among numerous guests, investors, and Boulder Chamber staff. This year’s artwork features a snowy, stunning acrylic rendition of the Boulder Star on Flagstaff Mountain.
“I love seeing the Boulder star from my window every holiday season, so I was grateful for the opportunity to create a painting that honors it,” says Ross. “The Star is a wholesome way to bring a little more light and cheer into people’s lives in the winter, and I hope the Star Card can do the same.”
Inspired by her passion for hiking and camping, Kristen’s acrylic paintings seek to capture the essence of time spent in nature through layering and linear mark-making, evoking the constant changes occurring all around us at every level of scale. She first experiences each location in person, then combines sketches, reference photos, and research on the location’s history and ecology into a finished piece from her North Boulder studio.
“I took the reference photo for the painting while walking the Greenbelt Plateau Trail just south of Boulder,” added Kristen. “I had never painted this angle of the Flatirons before, and it was nice to be able to get Long’s Peak in the frame.”
In January, Ross entered the Boulder Chamber Call for Artists, supported by the Boulder County Arts Alliance. With many strong contenders, Kristen’s work rose to the top, and selection committee members noted that her artwork is “modern,” “dynamic,” “vibrant,” and “very colorful.” This year’s artwork reflects her portfolio and showcases the vibrancy of Boulder in the wintertime while predominantly featuring the beloved Boulder Star.
2024 marks the 77th anniversary of the Boulder Star on Flagstaff Mountain. The Boulder Chamber is proud of its role as the steward of this community asset and thankful for the support it receives through the sale of the Boulder Star Card and Star Wine—both of which will feature Kristen’s artwork in 2024—and the generosity of other partners to keep the Boulder Star shining bright.
The 2024 Boulder Star sponsor is WK Real Estate.
About The Artist
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.
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.
You can view more of Kristen’s work on her website or Instagram profile.