Bringing the Beauty of Forest Park Indoors: A New Artistic Collaboration at Barnes-Jewish Hospital

There are few places where art can have a more meaningful role than in a hospital. In a setting devoted to healing, comfort and hope, the presence of nature-inspired artwork can offer a quiet moment of beauty and connection.

I was honored to be part of that vision through a recent collaboration for the new Plaza West Tower at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis.

The new 16-story tower represents an important addition to the Barnes-Jewish campus, designed to provide an advanced environment for patients, families and caregivers. Just across the street from the hospital is one of St. Louis’ most treasured natural spaces — Forest Park and Missouri Botanical Garden. The park became an important source of inspiration for my work on this project.

A Journey Through Nature

The artistic vision for Plaza West Tower was centered around bringing the beauty of the St. Louis region’s gardens, landscapes and native flora into the hospital environment.

For my portion of the project, I created 34 original watercolor paintings inspired by the natural beauty of the flora and landscapes of Forest Park and Missouri Botanical Garden.

Working with flora and landscapes as my subject matter was especially meaningful. Watercolor has always allowed me to capture the delicate qualities of nature — the transparency of a petal, the movement of a stem, the subtle variation of color in a leaf or flower. Those characteristics made watercolor a natural medium for creating artwork intended to bring a sense of calm and connection to the hospital setting.

The paintings were created with more than aesthetics in mind. They were intended to provide patients, families and hospital staff with something peaceful to look at — a reminder of the natural world just beyond the walls.

Inspired by Forest Park and Missouri Botanical Garden

Forest Park and Missouri Botanical Garden are extraordinary parts of St. Louis. Its meadows, native plants, mature trees, waterfalls and waterways, and changing seasons provide an endless source of inspiration.

As I developed the paintings, I focused on the details that can so easily be overlooked when moving through a landscape: the shape of a flower, the rhythm of grasses, the contrast between light and shadow, and the subtle colors found in native plants.

Translating those observations into watercolor allowed me to interpret the landscape rather than simply reproduce it.

The result is a collection of paintings that celebrates the character of the St. Louis region while creating a softer, more contemplative atmosphere inside the hospital.

Forest Park

Missouri Botanical Garden

Art With a Purpose

One of the most rewarding aspects of this project is knowing that these paintings will be experienced by people during some of the most significant moments of their lives.

A hospital is a place of activity, technology and tremendous expertise, but it is also a place where people may experience uncertainty, anxiety, hope and healing. Art can provide a small sense of comfort within that environment.

Nature has a similar ability to affect us. Even a brief glimpse of a familiar flower or landscape can create a feeling of peace and remind us that there is a world beyond the immediate moment.

That idea was at the heart of this project.

The artwork throughout Plaza West Tower creates a visual connection between the hospital and the natural spaces that surround it. Rather than simply decorating the walls, the paintings help bring a sense of place into the patient experience.

A Meaningful St. Louis Collaboration

I have always been inspired by the beauty of the natural world, so being invited to contribute to a project that combines watercolor, nature and healing was particularly meaningful.

The opportunity to create original artwork for a major healthcare environment is also a wonderful reminder of the many ways art can become part of our everyday lives. A painting doesn’t have to hang in a gallery to have an impact. Sometimes its most meaningful home is a place where someone simply needs a moment of beauty.

I am grateful to have played a part in bringing the beauty of St. Louis’ natural landscape into the new Barnes-Jewish Plaza West Tower.

It is my hope that my artwork will provide patients, families and caregivers with a quiet visual escape — a small reminder of the beauty, life and renewal found just outside the hospital doors.

From Original Paintings to the Hospital Walls

One of the unique aspects of this project was the ability to transform the original paintings into large-scale works of art for the hospital.

Each painting was professionally digitized, allowing the artwork to be reproduced at a much larger scale as custom wall wraps throughout the Plaza West Tower. This process preserved the character and detail of the original watercolors while allowing them to become an immersive part of the architecture and patient environment.

And because the artwork was digitized for the installation, most of the 34 original paintings remain available as original works of art.

This creates a wonderful opportunity for collectors to own a piece of the project — not a reproduction of the hospital installation, but an original watercolor that was created as part of this meaningful collaboration.