Nelson Boren has developed a distinctive trademark style. His watercolors present an intimate, close-up view of the life and trappings of the modern American cowboy. In a 1994 article in Art Talk that dealt with the "New West" artists, Nelson Boren was included as one of an elite group of artists who are not necessarily painting a time or place, but a feeling or emotion. "I try with these subjects to capture emotions about them, prompting the viewer to imagine the rest," says Boren.

Boren considers his paintings to be figurative, many do not include faces, and oftentimes not even a torso. Personality is established through their visual impact of colorful shirts, gloves, chaps, and jeans.

Nelson Boren has been featured in many prominent publications: Southwest Art, Cowboys & Indians, Art Talk, and was selected as one of the foremost contemporary artists in a 214 page book entitled, Leading the West; one hundred contemporary painters and sculptors, Northland Publishing, 1997. He was part of a national museum tour called, "The Other Side of the West"  from 2000-2004.