5/5/2023 0 Comments Nude portraitsThen again, her education in prosthetics has undoubtedly informed her paintings which possess a fine-tuned level of anatomical meticulousness. Though it is perhaps this lack of formal art education that has given her such a distinctive style – free from the stifling effects of an increasingly didactic art school system which places more value on an MFA than creative risk or spontaneity. It’s quite shocking that Hopkins is “entirely self-taught”, given the level of skill and flair her portraits possess. I got a job in an art supply shop and just took it from there.” So once I graduated, I just focused as much as I could on painting. “It was something I’d always really wanted to do but had been advised against – fine art or painting – but I knew my heart wasn’t in the industry. Like many artists, Emma was discouraged from pursuing fine art, although she continued to paint alongside her studies in prosthetics. Sophie & Carla by Emma Hopkins – shortlisted for BP Portrait Award 2019 From there, she began showing with the RP and was elected as a member in 2017, aged 27 – one of the youngest members ever. Initially, she exhibited her work at the Chelsea Arts Club when she was working behind the bar. Born in Brighton in 1989, the artist first earned a degree in Make-up and Prosthetics for Performance at the University of the Arts London, before realising painting was her true calling. Hopkins has been “one to watch” at Mall Galleries ever since she first exhibited with the Royal Society of Portrait Painters (RP) in 2012. Much like her subject, Hopkins uses portraiture as a means of examining the skin and looking beyond it. Mayanne is known for her project Behind the Scars, a campaign which celebrates and explores people’s scars and the stories behind them. The vulnerability we often associate with nakedness comes as an afterthought. The painting’s power lies in the candour of the subject: Mayanne's presence is palpable, her self-respect matter of fact. The striking portrait for which she has been nominated depicts the photographer Sophie Mayanne posing naked alongside her pet dog Carla. Emma Hopkins RP discusses her path from prosthetics school to portrait painting, capturing the duality of human emotion and the journey we go on with our bodies.Įmma Hopkins has been the name on everyone’s lips since she was shortlisted for the prestigious BP Portrait Award 2019 earlier this month.
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