HELLO CHINA
Evidence-based design, smart city technology, sustainability, and art in Shanghai, China.
Hello Everyone! So many of you have been asking me for a blog series about my adventures in China. Here it is! Today’s blog is the first one, with many more already scheduled to come. ENJOY!
Today’s blog is about who I am and why I am preparing for a 3-month painting and writing stay in Shanghai.
As promised, in these blogs, my focus will be on fabulous China, evidence-based design, smart city technology, sustainability, and art.
HELLO SWATCH ART PEACE HOTEL
In 2025, I was awarded one of the world’s most prestigious artist residencies. For three months, from mid-February 2026 to mid-May, I will have the great honor of staying at the Swatch Art Peace Hotel in Shanghai, China. In my application, I wrote that I wanted to paint and write about evidence-based design, beautiful Shanghai, and its remarkable smart-city technology and sustainability achievements.
My core motivation for going was to learn and exchange. I am an internationally minded person with a keen interest in Shanghai and the exciting developments in China.
As an artist, I thought it would be super fun and happy to capture Shanghai’s beauty through floral impressionism using modern evidence-based design techniques. Evidence-based design uses credible medical and scientific research study results to inform design.
I am evidence-based design trained and certified through The Center For Health Design. In 2024, I was interviewed by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine for my art and book 100 Days Of Happy Happy Art, Evidence-Based Design, and in 2024 and 2025, my art appeared in and on the cover of Healthcare Design Magazine.
Here are two photos of the evidence-based design paintings I submitted as part of my application for the Swatch Art Peace Hotel Artist Residency. This first painting is called Abundant Happiness. I was so pleased and honored when the art curators used it as the Spring 2025 digital shopping entrance photo to Condé Nast’s lovely United Kingdom-based magazine, House & Garden.
I was also delighted in 2025 when it got included in the Art Of Feeling Good Curation by Galeria Zunino in Sevilla, Spain.
Abundant Happiness, 36”x36”, is an acrylic painting on gallery-wrapped canvas, which recently sold to a buyer in Hong Kong.
Healing Abundance
Healing Abundance is another evidence-based design painting I submitted as part of my application. Not long after I finished painting it, it got sold through a gallery in Paris, France and then shipped to a television/film company in Hong Kong with channels in mainland China, Macau, and other parts of Asia.
In both paintings, I did something unusual.
I presented them like a bouquet, but then rooted them in soil.
I had my research-based/evidence-based design reasons for doing this.
Flowers rooted in soil represent life and its continuation. Cut flowers, which are typical in a bouquet, will eventually wither and die.
In evidence-based design, the viewer’s state of health and happiness should always be kept in mind. The psychological impact between a cut bouquet of flowers and flowers rooted in soil is the difference between life and death.
In this work of art, I chose life.
I am what is called a polymath painter; in addition to evidence-based design florals, I am also the creator of an abstract art series called Smart City Art. This series was created to reflect and promote smart city technology and sustainability thinking.
In 2025, I was the featured artist at the 2025 SRI Sustainability Research and Innovation International Congress in Chicago, USA. These abstract paintings were part of the exhibit.
Here are visuals of some of the other paintings I submitted as part of my residency application to receive this AMAZING, FABULOUS, and ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL opportunity in Shanghai.
Old City Bravely Transitioning To Smart City
In this vibrant acrylic painting, I immersed myself in the transformative energy of a city evolving into a smarter, more dynamic space. Using abstract and expressionist styles, I captured the chaos and excitement of urban renewal. My brushstrokes intertwine old architectural forms with new digital symbols, suggesting a seamless blend of tradition and innovation. This piece aims to evoke hope and the pulsing rhythm of progress.
Pretty City Art
In this vibrant swirl of emotion and color, I've channeled my deepest joy and curiosity about the urban landscape into each stroke. Utilizing acrylics, I created an abstract, expressionistic celebration of city life, capturing its rhythmic chaos and vibrant diversity. This painting bursts with energy and colors that dance together. It’s perfect to invigorate any space with a spirit of creativity and inspiration.
Smart City Green
In creating this piece, I aimed to express the vibrant dynamism of urban life, intertwined with the pulse of nature. The abstract swirls and explosive color use depict a thriving metropolis alive with energy and movement, while symbols suggest technology's interplay with a green, sustainable future. This painting captures the essence of chaos and harmony, urging viewers to reflect on our complex relationship with the environment and technology.
To learn more about me and my art, click here: DOROTHEA SANDRA ART
What is the title of my next blog? It’s appropriately called HELLO FAMOUS SHANGHAI!
When I see a location as awesome and beautiful as this one, I often think of all the people, today and throughout the ages, who helped create such abundant wonders.
Is There Science Behind This Art?
I was one of those odd kids who liked to read the encyclopedia rather than regular children’s books. An encyclopedia set, the British classics, and—my favorite—the entire 28-collection of Time-Life’s Library of Art were in our home’s small library.
While other children were making friends with Winnie the Pooh and The Cat In The Hat, my best friends were Leonardo da Vinci, Claude Monet, Francisco Goya, and other painters from the Time-Life art book collection. Hour after hour and year after year, I learned about the lives of these amazing artistic people, studied their art, and shared many of my deepest thoughts and feelings with them. Something inside me told me they would understand.
One of my favorite artists was Leonardo da Vinci. As a child, I liked how he combined science and art. Maybe that’s why today I like to turn evidence-based, scientific findings into art.
These paintings may look like beautiful works of floral art, but they actually contain quite a bit of evidence-based design science.
The stems are rooted in soil, which suggests a continuation of life. Cut flowers in a vase or a cut bouquet are connected to death since cut flowers are not rooted in life-giving soil and will soon die.
Happy Flowers In Soil, 36”x36” by Dorothea Sandra, EDAC (SOLD, USA)
Peace And Love, 36”x36” by Dorothea Sandra, EDAC (SOLD, Switzerland)
Another example of the science within these paintings is the way the stems have been laid out. I once read in a psychology article that people are wired for survival, not enjoyment. I recently checked this out with AI, and this is what Google AI said:
“Humans are primarily wired for survival, not enjoyment. Our bodies and minds evolved over millions of years to prioritize self-preservation and reproduction. While we do experience pleasure and joy, these feelings serve as motivational rewards to encourage behaviors that aid in our survival.”
In the paintings above, seeing beyond the stems triggers happy brain chemicals like dopamine. Being able to see beyond the stems suggests to our brains that this means safety. Back in the days when humans were hunters, seeing through tall, thick grass kept people safe from hidden predators.
Different evidence-based design examples include the cheerful combination of colors I used and the playful arrangement of the flowers.
Dynamic Cities Of The Future, an abstract work of art by Dorothea Sandra, EDAC
In Dynamic Cities Of The Future—which is in a completely different category of art—science is still very much a part of the design. The idea behind this design is that cities of the future can be fun and happy and super smart and sustainable.
Looking closer, actually inside the abstract art, there are smart city technology and sustainability symbology and iconography as part of the design.
Science and art have been combined to make a work of art.
To learn more about me and my art, click here: DOROTHEA SANDRA ART
I have been given the great honor of participating in the SWATCH ART PEACE HOTEL artist residency program in Shanghai, China. From mid-February to mid-May 2026, I will be staying at the hotel, where I will receive living and art studio space.
My delight and focus will be to combine science and art by painting smart city technology and sustainability accomplishments throughout beautiful Shanghai and other super fabulous places in China.
Many people have expressed a desire to follow these adventures. If you’d like to come along online, please sign up below.
A NEW ABSTRACT ART STYLE RISING
Fresh art style uses the latest scientific evidence and blends it with floral and abstract art.
Really? What makes this art so different?
It’s clean! It’s fresh! It has a dopamine-triggering happy style!
Evidence-based design artist Dorothea Sandra takes the latest scientific evidence and blends it with floral and abstract art.
Take a look at the first page of a recent magazine article about this rising art style.
In 2024, my Smart City Art series was born, and by 2025, it was featured at the 2025 SRI Sustainability Research and Innovation International Congress held at the Sheraton Grand Riverwalk Hotel in Chicago, June 2025.
Smart City Art series at the 2025 SRI Sustainability Research and Innovation International Congresss in Chicago.
ARTISTIC MERIT OF THE ARTWORK
In this 15-Minute Walkability painting below, which was also featured at the 2025 Sustainability Research and Innovation International Congress, I went deeper into the rhythmic pulse of urban life, where swirls of vibrant paths represent the bustling walkability of a smart city.
Each stroke and color choice pulsates with the dynamic interplay of technology and human connectivity, embodying the chaotic harmony of city living.
It’s a visual symphony that invites viewers to explore an abstract yet deeply interconnected world.
This painting brings an energetic and thought-provoking perspective into any space, enhancing the environment with a sense of modern vitality and colorful complexity.
It’s clean! It’s fresh! It has a dopamine-triggering happy abstract style!
15-Minute Walkability is a painting inspired by the science of walkability. It is a work of art that conveys messages, emotions, and ideas. Although an abstract, it does not lack a sense of deliberate decision-making.
SCIENTIFIC MERIT BEHIND THE ARTWORK
The science of 15-minute walkability is the concept that residents should be able to access their daily necessities and basic services within a 15-minute walk or bike ride from their homes. This human-centered approach to living aims to reduce car dependence, promote healthier lifestyles, improve environmental sustainability, and foster stronger communities by integrating amenities and green spaces into neighborhoods.
“With 70% of the world’s population expected to live in urban areas by 2030, cities have an increasingly important role in shaping human health, quality of life, and happiness. Mobility—the ability to move around freely and easily—is integral to the intrinsic value of a city. The renaissance of sustainable urban mobility has led to the reimaging of urban landscapes and urban areas to reclaim the streets and public spaces for people.
Encouraging walking and physical activity improves not only human wellbeing and health of cities but also manifests social, economic, environmental, and political benefits.”
This painting is no longer for sale. During the 2025 SRI congress, I told the University of Illinois I would donate any painting I brought with me to Chicago. 15-Minute Walkability was the painting they wanted.
I have been given the great honor of participating in the SWATCH ART PEACE HOTEL artist residency program in Shanghai, China. From mid-February to mid-May 2026, I will be staying at the hotel, where I will receive living and art studio space. My delight and focus will be to paint smart city technology and sustainability accomplishments throughout Shanghai and other super fabulous places in China. Many people have expressed a desire to follow these adventures. If you’d like to come along online, please sign up below.