Artist Statement

Painting is a part of who I am, and the natural world is a part of us all.
I work predominantly in watercolour. Watercolour is a magical, frustrating, vexing, wonderful medium. I can think of nothing else which does part of the work for you, as the pigment flows through the water on the paper.
Living in a semi-rural part of Staffordshire, I have only to look out of my windows to see what inspires me.
I use photography for my reference collecting, and work out ideas for paintings in my sketchbook. I love my sketchbook. It's where I can experiment and enjoy making marks, embracing success and failure as a part of the creative process.

The vast majority of my work is from my own reference material and I can often be found in the garden collecting twigs, leaves, berries etc. to use in my paintings.
In the last few years, my work has focused more on the portrayal of birds. I have an abundance of reference material gathered from home and abroad. Birds are highly entertaining creatures, and incredibly beautiful - even the small brown ones.
Painting birds means that I can 'capture' them in a metaphorical sense, and bring them into the house, whilst the source of inspiration flies freely outside....just as it should.
During the year 2020 I was introduced to the world of painting in miniature. I fell completely in love with the genre and this has become the main focus of my work to date. I am particularly concerned at the decline of some bird species as a result of habitat loss. Many of my miniature paintings feature Parrots, Cockatoos and Macaws, all of which are under constant threat due to the destruction of their land and poaching for the pet trade. For some species, this has led to their extinction.



I am a member of the following organisations

Association of Animal Artists, (AAA)
The Hilliard Society
The Miniature Art Society Of Florida

Links to all these societies can be found in the links section of the website

www.christinahopkinsonfineart.com
email c.hopkinsonfineart@hotmail.com
Facebook CHopkinsonfineart
Instagram ChristinaHopkinsonFineArt


Christina Hopkinson HS
Updated 4th February 2021