Embracing Loss Through Art, Angela Canada Hopkins Finds Success in Facing Her Challenges

LOVELAND, CO, April 27, 2013 (Press-News.org) For many, cancer is foreboding, but when it touched the life of Angela Canada Hopkins (www.CanadaHopkins.com), she took inspiration from the challenge. Ms. Hopkins initially painted the disease by deconstructing microscope slides of cancer cells and reinterpreting them. Now, her work has progressed to a more abstract style that references general characteristics of cells. Her unique combination of science and art is beginning to garner more attention. Recently, Canada Hopkins licensed one of her pieces for the cover of The Abundance: A Novel by Amit Majmudar. Elsewhere, the scientific community is finding her artwork a perfect complement to their work spaces, symposiums, and conferences.

Cover art for a novel about cancer seems to be an ideal placement for Hopkins's cancer cell artwork. When Rick Pracher, Art Director at Henry Holt and Company, researched artwork for the cover of Abundance: A Novel, he went looking for images that would juxtapose the ideas within the novel. His research brought him to Angela's paintings. "I thought the description of the unusual beauty in something so destructive fit harmoniously with the novel," Pracher remarked. The novel tells how a grandmother quietly accepts her fate but hopes one last visit from her family can heal a longstanding divide. The family slowly discovers the healing effect that a fight with cancer can have. Released on March 5th of this year, sales of the book have been modest, but reviews are very good and "the author loves the jacket," says Pracher.

Canada Hopkins's artwork is slated to be displayed at the invitation-only opening gala of the new Oregon Translational Research and Development Institute (OTRADI - http://www.otradi.org/). A multi-tenant bioscience complex in Portland, Oregon, OTRADI will host its opening event on May 9th and feature several of Angela's Cell Series paintings. The paintings will remain on display to tenants and the public at the facility until July. The growing area of bioscience finds a complement in Hopkins' fascinating artwork, and the cellular themes fit right in with the OTRADI research facility's mission.

Hopkins is finding increasing interest in her work from cancer- and health-related symposiums and discussions. Conference planners and researchers find that her paintings enhance discussions surrounding cancer and the science behind diseases and disorders. Late in 2012, Canada Hopkins's work was featured at the Genentech & Livestrong Rev Forum in Austin, Texas. More recently, Hopkins's Cell No. 9 was used for the cover of the program for the Monell Chemical Senses Center's Spring Colloquium (http://www.monell.org/), a seminar on cells and biology. Kelly Van Sickle, development coordinator for Monell, was pleased to find such appropriate artwork for their event, noting that "Angela's artwork on our program booklet was a big hit with our guests!" Canada Hopkins is delighted that her work has such significance to others, and can add interest and color to sometimes-staid science and biology research events, spaces, and publications.

About Angela Canada Hopkins
After her father succumbed to cancer in June 2001, Angela Canada Hopkins decided the best way to overcome her new "enemy" was by embracing it through her art. Each painting begins with a slide of a cell, which she then deconstructs and reinterprets using triumphant colors and bold brush strokes. Each canvas telegraphs a message of hope to cancer sufferers, cancer survivors, and their loved ones. Canada Hopkins is a full-time artist and resides in Loveland, Colorado, with her husband, James. Her work is included in numerous private and public collections, including South Bend Memorial Hospital, South Bend, Indiana and Kettering Medical Center, Kettering, Ohio. It has also been featured on the cover of Wavelength Journal and four issues of the Journal of Oncology Navigation and Survivorship. For more information, call 970. 689. 9841, email canadahopkins@gmail.com, visit http://www.CanadaHopkins.com, or connect at http://www.facebook.com/angelacanadahopkins and http://www.twitter.com/canadahopkins.