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In 2004, Robert M. Hopkins, an American artist from California, moved from downtown Los Angeles to China after finding romance in Beijing. Although he had never dreamed of moving to China, or of ever staying for more than fifteen years, it was a profoundly immersing experience, and in keeping with the trajectory of his past work. In following his heart, Hopkins also had to balance teaching English and assimilating to a new culture which were challenging much of his time as a professional artist. Yet, through a process of osmosis and acclimation in the studio, a new body of work emerged, Blind Insights — the first in a wave of visually compelling and innovative work, now presented here, on Hopkins' official web site: an online studio-gallery, documenting the evolution of his work and life as an artist.                                                                                                                                    

A brief sample of Hopkins‘s portfolio with personal notes.

“I am inspired by notions of circadian rhythms and
how they literally encompass the passage of time 
— circadian rhythms are the very rhythm of life."

“I’ve made a logo moniker — rmh², derived from my
initials in the form of an equation ( r x m = h² ),
which expresses my studio approach as follows:
Over time, routines (r) create a momentum (m) that 
transforms one’s life into a rhythm of harmony (h) 
and happiness (h).”  

“I see my work operating like "feedback loops”
between myself and life as a creative journey. 
I am especially intrigued by the dynamics of 
movement — a signature quality I employ in my 
work through a variety of formal approaches.
I equate movement with visceral intuition and
creative energy: a process I like to describe 
as “intuition-fruition”.

“It was inevitable I would eventually choose a 
Chinese name — Hai Tao (海涛), which means 
Ocean Wave. In Chinese culture it represents
being “vast as the sea” and broad-minded. It
also means being flexible and adaptable like
flowing water. Appropriately enough, my favorite
quote from Lao Tzu is: “Stand like a mountain, 
flow like water.”

“After years of living and working in China as a
foreign English teacher and artist, I’ve come to
experience “creative chaos” in the most authentic
and visceral way, be it in the classroom, studio or
beyond. I humbly define and embrace “creative
chaos” as follows: "When the going gets chaotic, 
the creative get going!"

“I enjoy exploring the continuum between absolutes
— the shades of grey between black and white; the
resonance of colors from living life; the journey
from the river to the sea.”

Preparations for a printed version of Journal are currently underway, with plans of releasing it as a yearly volume series. Entitled “Seeds of Wisdom for Creative Energy”, each volume will include 24 entries of photography & text as they appear online in their bi-weekly format. In terms of design, the Journal platform has a blogging limit of 99 entries, so as older entries are removed to make room for newer ones, they become available for inclusion in the next issue.