“Echoes of the Heart,” a striking exhibit of paintings by Bonnie Hopper, opens this Sunday in the Chapel Gallery. Although there will not be an artist reception, stop by the Art Learning Station after services on January 7 to learn more about the artist and her work, or to purchase a painting. The exhibit will be on display until February 23.

Bonnie Hopper was born and raised in Seattle and is one of thirteen children. Art had always played an important role in Bonnie’s life and in 1987 she began two years of study in the advertising art program at Seattle Community College. However, life derailed her dream of becoming a professional artist until 30 years later. In 2008, an unsolicited, unexpected portrait commission challenged her to take up her brushes again, full time. She paints striking oil portraits, primarily of Black women, which reveal their beauty, pride, strength of character, and above all, their dignity.

Hopper began her association with the Onyx Fine Arts Collective in Seattle in 2016. She was chosen by Juror Elisheba Johnson of Wa Na Wari as one of the winners of the Emerging Artist Scholarship Competition of Gallery 110 in 2022. Since then, she has had several solo exhibitions, including one at the Wa Na Wari Gallery in early 2023.

Hopper says that one can find written in the Book of Ecclesiastes, “There is no new thing under the sun.” She bridges of 600 years of Western art, melding the OLD with her own NEW. She uses the old 15th Century techniques of Van Eyck and Titian—grisaille underpainting followed by layers of glaze. However, she adds NEW elements—painting on Yupo paper and adding bravura elements of collage including African fabrics and jewelry. Hopper seals each work into an organic whole with creative and bold use of resin. She wants of create art that people can experience through touch as well a sight.

Bonnie Hopper explains, “My subjects are a series of observations pulled from the onrush of the everyday life. A visual snapshot of something completely mundane will strike a chord and lead me on a journey. If I’m blessed, at the end of that journey there’ll be an extraordinary work of art.”

We on the Art Committee believe that you’ll find these works extraordinary! For more information, please contact Judy Oerkvitz or Rhona Jack.