We feel the stars were aligned when Bonnie Beauchamp-Cooke stepped into our gallery. We'd heard so much about this Atlanta native from so many sources, including clients, friends and family, that when we finally met her, it felt like we'd known her for years. Imagine the excitement we had in seeing her work for the first time, and recognizing a powerful artist. Bonnie Beauchamp Cooke works on large canvases which she preps with several layers of just about anything she can get her hands on, including molding paste, dirt, paint and paper. Using her hands, she layers paint in acrylic and oil over the surface, creating the texture from which emerges a distinctly figurative painting primarily of horses, butterflies and figures. The uniqueness of her work is in the dichotomy and energy created by the color and texture of the medium and materials. We were especially taken by her horses, which are literally her horses, from her grandfather's farm in Eastern Georgia where she spent her summers growing up, and still goes to every weekend with her husband and boys. She feels that if she paints her passion, it will show. Reflecting on her love of horses, Bonnie says: "I love to watch the horses and then paint them from a split-second moment in time. In this manner I believe I can best capture the power, personality, thoughts and intensity of the animal that has both fascinated and served man from our earliest history." The artist is also driven and motivated by her love of nature and her personal connection to God. When painting landscapes, she tries to convey her sense of awe in the way sunlight may caress the trees edging a pasture or float gently on the surface of a wooded lake. Instead of trying to create a realistic image, her hope is to share the feeling invoked by that particular moment in time and give the viewer and herself an opportunity to re-live that experience. Bonnie has a deeply spiritual connection to God, which she shares with her viewers by including a cross in each painting, which is sometimes hidden within the painting or a bold element from which the painting develops. Bonnie Beauchamp-Cooke studied at the University of Georgia and The Atlanta College of Art, receiving her BFA from there in painting and drawing in 1991. She maintains a commitment to the arts community by serving on the board of The Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia and The Hambidge Center of North Georgia. Her works are in many collections nationwide and have won numerous best in show awards throughout the South.