Exhibit Dates: September 13, 2019 – October 31, 2019

The Atrium Gallery features the work of Ruth Hopkins.

Ruth grew up in the small town of Chaffee in Missouri. She seemed to have always been “the artist” in her class and did bulletin boards and posters for all occasions. It was a privileged position, but with no formal art training. She went to Southeast Missouri State University as an elementary education major. She soon discovered her love for art classes and also added that as a major. She taught fifth grade, high school, and at Judson College at various times before the family moved to Anderson in 1982. As wife of the President of Anderson University (Mark), and mother of three teens, she took a break from painting and teaching for several years.

In the early 1990s, she began teaching again at the Anderson Arts Center and renewed her passion for introducing students to the joys of watercolor.

She entered local exhibits and juried shows, painted seven fish for the two different “Fish out of water, Hooked on the Arts” public arts projects, was commissioned for several art projects around Anderson, and her work is in the private collections of many Anderson residents. She is also known for her pen & ink drawings of Anderson University, many churches, and homes around the area.

Due to health concerns, she retired from teaching in February of 2018.

Ruth is a member of excellence in the South Carolina Watermedia Society, member and past president of The Anderson Artists Guild, and Studio South.

Ruth enjoys color, especially the gradations and mingling of colors that is possible with watercolors. Her favorite subject matter is florals, usually termed representational art; however, she often paints with non-representational color choices. The illusion of depth and textures are important, and sometimes she uses actual textures of fabric or rice papers when it seems necessary.