Syncopations is a series of free form collages that literally feed-off the discarded remnants of Hopkins’s experimental watercolor series, Cornucopia. In re-contextualizing their energy into fluid strands of pulsing colors and syncopating rhythms, Hopkins states:

“I am inspired by the “big-bang” origins of circadian rhythms and the creative energy of natural forces — a cosmic dance of ever evolving syncopations.”

Hopkins’s process of recycling discarded watercolors by cutting them into new shapes, and mix-and-matching them in new arrangements, provides Hopkins with a rich source for improvisation. Their sense of exuberance also suggests, at times, the theatricality of shadow puppets, and at other times the playfulness of children’s illustrations — a story telling quality that dramatizes their musicality, as if they are literally dancing and moving in perpetual motion.

If their swirling lines and evocative shapes suggest stringed-beads, they may likewise be interpreted as prayer-beads. As Hopkins acknowledges, there is an underlying sense of transience and mortality in their cyclical bursts of energy — jubilant metaphors for life as a dance unfolding in the rhythmic passages of time. In Hopkins’s vision, the resurrection of cast-off pieces into new forms celebrates the power of creative energy and the mystical flow of “life and death” as evolving syncopations.

See Syncopations Gallery. (Coming soon.)

In Tea Passages, Hopkins recycles leftover tea from his daily tea drinking and transforms it into a painting medium by deftly applying it with gestural strokes on watercolor paper. Using a variety of techniques, Hopkins regards his method as a “process approach” to painting. As Hopkins explains:

“I enjoy how my ritual of drinking tea seamlessly flows into my process of painting with tea, and how preparing and applying tea as a painterly medium feels as natural as making and drinking tea.” 

While bearing the most visible influences of Chinese culture, Tea Passages also reflects the natural outgrowth of Hopkins’s history of working with process approaches. Of his process works, Tea Passages feels the most organically genuine — especially in terms of how Hopkins recycles the byproduct of his tea drinking directly into his studio practice of painting. Such economy of means makes for an intoxicating blend of rituals — a sustainable “feedback loop” that links his daily nutrition with organically-made paint and a dynamic process of art making

As for what may be brewing in Hopkins’s next round of Tea Passages, we can only wait and see as they become available here. Now, being served for your viewing pleasure...

See Tea Passages Gallery. (Coming soon.) 

Microcosms is a series of digital photographs of various surfaces, such as stainless steel, tree trunks, glass windows, and concrete ledges, which are respectively entitled: Mirrorscapes, Treescapes, Windowscapes and Ledgescapes. Using only his iPhone camera, Hopkins is able to discover otherworldly landscapes by adjusting the warm and cool tones of what are ordinarily monochromatic surfaces. According to Hopkins:

“I enjoy seeking the uncommon in common things — to discover the unseen beauty that resides just beneath the surface of the everyday world.”

Hopkins’s process of combining digital-photography with the natural forces of nature creates an exciting hybrid — a blending of technology with the earth-shaping energy of nature, such as wind, rain and sun. For this reason, Hopkins enjoys interpreting these images as metaphors for how we weather life’s various elements. And although their abstract patterns are organically designed by nature, Hopkins’s technique of saturating their warm and cool tones often transforms their appearances into fantasy or dream-like landscapes. Hopkins seems to enjoy equating his use of colors in Microcosms with that of the imagination — how it empowers us to transform everyday life through creative energy.

See Mirrorscapes and Treescapes galleries.
See Windowscapes and Ledgescapes (Coming soon.)

Macrocosms is the flip-side of Microcosms — a series of digital photographs that capture the world-at-large in order to explore the world-within. Hopkins divides his project into a trilogy: Skyscapes, Naturescapes, and Lifescapes. Unlike Microcosms, this body of work offers more realistic and easily identifiable subject matter. As Hopkins explains:

“They are often quiet observations, inviting the viewer to pause and reflect on the simple beauty of everyday scenes and their potential narratives — contemplative settings conducive for inner reflection.”

The majority of these images originally appeared in his online-blog, Journal, and were paired with personal writings and favorite quotes. Offering meditations on art and life, they also form an ongoing series entitled, Seeds of Wisdom for Creative Energy.

Undeniably, these images have an introspective quality that inspires both contemplation and creativity — a resting place for expanding our inner space where, indeed, “the sky is the limit...”

See Macrocosms Gallery for prices. (Coming soon.)