PASS CHRISTIAN, Miss. (WLOX) – The Coast Life for a Pass Christian artist is about pulling all the memorable moments of a wedding together in one painting.
“A painting captures not specific moments in time, but it can capture the entire spirit of an event and I think that’s really neat,” Denise Hopkins said.
Denise Hopkins captures the spirit of the most magical day of many people’s lives.
“There’s lots of different styles of wedding paintings and I really want mine to be an impression of the entire night,” Hopkins said. “It’s not a painting of your first dance, but it’s a painting of your party, the spirit of it, the joy, merriment, and the movement. They all have a very similar feel, where the couple is centered, but everyone is dancing and celebrating all around them.”
The tool Denise uses with her impressionist style to bring her works of art to life isn’t a brush, but a palette knife.
“I can do really fun things with the paint and tools, you can scrape it so you can see their dress moving, or just create different lines and textures to show that movement,” Hopkins said.
Before she was traveling around the country capturing the action of weddings, Denise was a schoolteacher using art as a hobby.
“I didn’t have a lot of examples of people becoming actual artists, it was always presented as impractical and something that silly people aspire to do.”
When she was faced with personal struggles, Denise used her art to turn the pages of her life. 10 years ago, she launched her professional career as an artist.
“I just took it one little step at a time and realized that there were practical steps you could do to make it a career.”
The wedding paintings weren’t part of Denise’s artistic plan, but the door opened when one of her former students needed a replacement for her wedding day.
“She contacted me and said can you do it, and my first instinct was absolutely not, that’s not what I do. Then I had a conversation with a good friend who said why wouldn’t you just try this; you don’t know if you like it or not. So, I said this is the perfect opportunity to give it a go with low pressure and I know the person. I took on that gig and I’ve been doing it ever since.”
Using the weddings and her other art, Denise continued building her business and in 2021 moved into her own art gallery in Pass Christian called Denise Hopkins Fine Art.
“I always said I would only open a physical space if it was the absolute perfect spot. When this space became available, we just jumped on it.”
The gallery gives her a place to show off her passion, while her inspiration is renewed with each wedding.
“I cry at every wedding because I’m just an emotional person. People making commitments to each other is very moving. I get excited by that joy and that spirit, and I try to tap into it.”
Denise is now trying to pass her talents and techniques on to others by offering art courses.
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