Christina Hopkinson ARMS is a watercolour artist based in the beautifulEnglish countryside on the Staffordshire/Shropshire border.
For many years Christina created large paintings of the birds of the UK and Florida, exhibiting widely throughout the UK, both in solo shows and as part of the societies and associations to which she belongs.
It was at the start of 2020 that Christina swapped large brushes for tiny brushes and reading glasses for a magnifying lens, as she tried her hand at capturing the essence of birds, in miniature.
Christina was immediately hooked and realised very early on that this was what she wanted to specialise in.
Today, Christina regards herself as a full time miniaturist and in June 2024 she was elected an Associate Member of the Royal Society of Miniature Painters Sculptors and Gravers.
The plight of wildlife through the loss of habitat and illegal poaching for the pet trade prompted Christina to create a series of paintings of the parrots of the world. Christina calls this series ‘Parrots in Peril’.
Through her membership of ABUN (Artists and Biologists Unite for Nature), Christina was honoured to donate a miniature painting of the critically endangered blue throated macaw, to a fundraising auction. Money raised went to the Laney-Rickman Reserve, part of Bird Endowment, in Bolivia. The association with the Laney-Rickman reserve has continued and Christina has donated a further miniature painting and has granted permission for them to use the image of a larger painting of Lears macaws as a print, all used to raise money for ‘the blues’.
The IUCN status of the blue throated macaw was updated in January 2024 from ‘Critically endangered’ to ‘Critically endangered – stable’ with thanks to the work undertaken by the reserve and the work of Dorothy S Paterson, the sister of the late Laney Rickman, after whom the reserve is named.
Christina is also a long standing member and ex trustee of the Association of Animal Artists. As a former recipient of the 2018 Inaugural Chairman’s Award, she was honoured to be asked to become one of the judges, alongside Inaugural Chairman Anne Corless and senior members of the committee.
Hilliard Society
2022, awarded the ‘Sue Lee Award’ for ‘Walking on Sunshine’
2023, awarded the Alexander Llewellyn Gallery Award for ‘Blackcap in the Hanging Basket’
Royal Society of Miniature Painters, Sculptors & Gravers
2024 - Elected as an Associate Member
2024 Awarded ‘Gold Memorial Bowl Honourable Mention’ for Scarlet Macaw
Miniature Painters Sculptors & Gravers of Washington, DC.
2022, Christina entered the Miniature Painters, Sculptors and Gravers of Washington, DC. annual exhibition for the first time and was delighted to receive an Honourable Mention in the International category for her painting ‘Goldcrest in Blossom’.
Miniature Art Society of Florida
As a regular visitor to Florida over the past twenty years, Christina decided to join the Miniature Art Society of Florida and in 2022 she was delighted to be awarded the Jack Sprague Tribute Award for the best painting submitted by a first time entrant. This award was for a watercolour painting called ‘Remember Me’.
In 2023, Christina was awarded second place in the transparent watercolour category for ‘Chaffinch At Lake Vyrnwy’.
Leisure Painter Magazine
In late 2022, Christina was commissioned to write an article and demonstration on how to paint a yellow naped amazon parrot, in miniature. This became a two part article which ran over two editions of the magazine.
Following the success of this piece, Christina was commissioned to write another article on how to paint a landscape in miniature. For this second piece, Christina chose to create a painting of Myakka River State Park, a vast natural reserve, in Florida.
Christina is passionate about publicising the genre of fine art in miniature and hopes, through her written articles, to encourage artists of all ages and abilities to take up the tiny brushes and create their own work.
Deciding to change from large paintings to miniatures was a huge decision but one which Christina has never regretted. An artist has to be true to themselves, choosing the path driven by a passion for what they do and the subjects they portray.
For further information and to see my work, please visit my website.
Christina Hopkinson,
August 2024