Laurel Hopper, a senior at the Center for Creative Arts, was commissioned by the Chattanooga Zoo to create this painting of Nigalya, a red panda who died recently.
Laurel Hopper poses with her painting of the Chattanooga Zoo’s red panda, Nigalya, who died recently.Sonia Young was touring the art department at Center for Creative Arts when she saw a student’s painting of two jaguars.
“I knew immediately who they were — Phil and Gene at Chattanooga Zoo — because of their facial expressions. They looked exactly like those jaguars,” says Young, who doesn’t work at the zoo but is a longtime supporter.
Asking about the artist, Young learned the portrait had been done by CCA senior Laurel Hopper. Shown Hopper’s portfolio by an art teacher, Young says she knew she had found the artist to paint the zoo’s red panda, Nigalya, before the aging animal reached the end of its life.
“She was really good at [depicting] animals. I got Laurel to come to the zoo and meet Nigalya because I wanted him painted from real life, not pictures,” says Young.
The CCA artist received a commission to paint a portrait of Nigalya, making Hopper the first Hamilton County student whose artwork will hang permanently in the local zoo, according to Marisa Ogles, the zoo’s director of marketing and communications.