“Innovative Expressions,” by Bonnie Sprung, is on view Sept. 25 through Nov. 6 in the Hinman Auditorium Gallery-in-the-Round at Arts Bonita Performing Arts Center.
For his show, Sprung is mixing and matching artwork from two series.
She calls the first “Watery Landscapes.” They’re inspired by Florida waterways. In each, she has hidden a word in the painting that explains her innovative expression.
In her second series, Sprung uses CDs and DVDs to craft abstract compositions that pay homage to celebrities and musical genres.
The exhibition opened on Thursday, Sept. 25. Admission to the exhibition is free and open to the public.
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“Watery Landscapes” is rooted in traditional oil on canvas. Sprung describes DiskArt as mixed media experimentation. Though different in medium, the series share Sprung’s distinctive style and inventive use of color. Together, they form a powerful visual narrative driven by spontaneity, personal inspiration, and a deep connection to words, nature, and visual storytelling. Through “Innovative Expressions,” Sprung blurs the boundaries between fine art and object-making, realism and abstraction, sustainability and beauty—inviting audiences to experience art that surprises, engages, and inspires.
“My inspiration comes from the waterways of Florida,” Sprung said.
In her earlier paintings, Sprung worked from black and white photos that she had taken of some of the rivers she lived near, including the St. Johns River, which she had photographed several times. Over the years, her style of painting had gone from realistic to impressionistic or a combination of both genres.
Her most recent work brings together two of Sprung’s passions, the love of trees and the love of motivational words.
In her DiskArt series, Sprung uses CD/DVD disks that were old, worn and bad. Instead of tossing them into the garbage, she has found a way to repurpose them into cool art.
Sprung begins each DiskArt piece by gluing canvas to each individual disk. She then paints them randomly with acrylic colors, incorporating handwritten quotes and factoids from television, movie and theater titles. Sprung layers the disks to give the images depth and visual appeal, using different sizes of bottle caps. The images are finished with a three-color oil paint. She has encased some newer pieces in resin.
About Bonnie Sprung
Sprung says that she was born in Queens on August 30, 1958, with a paint brush in one hand. She has a bachelor of arts from Hofstra University in Set Design and Graphics and an associate's in Fine Art from Valencia Community College.
She has more than 30 years' of experience in curating and judging various art exhibits and thespian competitions. She has done set design and scenic painting for over 300 shows in Orlando and New York. She is a member of the Women’s Caucus for Art and is a past president of the Florida chapter.
Currently she is on the Seminole Cultural Arts Council Board, which selected Sprung as Seminole County’s 2024 Artist of the Year.
Sprung’s award-winning fine art includes paintings in oil on canvas, mixed media, and photography. Her work has been exhibited in numerous solo and group shows. Her photography and fine art have been published in several books. Her work is in galleries and in public and private collections. One of her signature CD/DVD works, “Ripley,” is permanently housed at Ripley’s Believe It or Not! in San Francisco.
About Arts Bonita
Dedicated to fostering a vibrant community, Arts Bonita encourages artistic expression and learning opportunities. It operates two distinct venues. Its Center for Visual Arts is located at 26100 Old 41 Road. The Center for Performing Arts is at 10150 Bonita Beach Road.
Arts Bonita offers a rich array of year-round events, including live concerts, theater performances, comedy shows, thought-provoking films, educational lectures, and diverse art classes tailored for all ages and skill levels. Notably, Arts Bonita hosts three renowned national art festivals in downtown Bonita Springs every January, February, and March.
Support for WGCU’s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.
