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Laura Hopkins paints expressive, atmospheric landscapes in oil. Her work captures the enduring beauty of hill, field, stream and marsh, and the reflection of expansive skies in water. The golden moments of twilight, dawn, autumn and winter serve as favorite motifs.
Laura finds inspiration in the moody landscapes of the 19th century American Tonalists, whose subtle color harmonies and pastoral subjects evoke her childhood roaming the fields and woods of southeastern Connecticut. She now resides in rural northern Virginia, a land of rolling hills, open country, and ancient stone walls that evokes the New England of the Tonalists.
Although Laura creates much of her work in the studio, her painting process remains rooted in time spent outdoors.
“I spend time in the field painting small studies, drawing, and taking photographs, as well as closely observing and appreciating the beauty of the natural world. These studies, drawings, photos, and memories fuel my imagination and serve as a creative wellspring. In the studio, I paint gesturally and intuitively and use a variety of tools to apply and remove paint. I am open to allowing an errant mark—a happy accident—to change the course of the painting. I view each painting as an experiment or journey, and I’m not entirely sure where it will take me. This approach involves some trial and error to be sure, but allows me to search for the mystery and suggested reality that I want my work to reflect.”
The paintings that result can vary from closely representative of a specific place to boldly imagined from an abstract start.
Laura is largely self-taught, having come to painting late in life. She continues to explore the work of the historic Tonalists and to study with contemporary painters.
Laura is a member of the Oil Painters of America, the American Impressionist Society, the Loudoun Sketch Club, the Artist in Middleburg Gallery, the Art League, and the Lyme Art Association. Her award-winning work has been featured in Middleburg Life and Elan Magazine.