Made in West Hartford: Artist Bonnie Aparicio
- Tracey Weiss
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
By Tracey Weiss
Editor
Looking for that perfect gift for a friend or family member? A piece of art that moves you?
You don’t have to go far to find something you’ll love. There are so many talented people right here in West Hartford that may have just what you’re looking for. Here, we bring you one of those folks.
“I want people to find their own meaning in my art, find light and beauty in it.” So said Bonnie Aparicio, painter, graphic designer, and art instructor.
She puts her feelings, good and bad, into her work. What makes her unique is just how much of what she learns, she shares with others.
Take the untitled pink ocean she is currently painting on a large canvas in her studio at 56 Arbor Street in Hartford. “I was a little angry when I started it,” she said. Looking at it now, “it can be scary or calm. Paintings are like people. They are constantly evolving.”
The West Hartford resident pulls inspiration from “the human experience, current trends, music, dance, light, nature, and traveling,” according to her bio. Lately, she’s using her hands as her paintbrushes.
She describes her art as “expressionistic, between realism and abstract.”
Originally from Princeton MA, Aparicio graduated from the Hartford Art School at the University of Hartford. While there, she said, “I was encouraged to do design. I fell in love with it.”
She worked for Group Four Inc., a packaging design firm in Avon before joining the Creative Marketing team at Prudential Financial in Hartford, moving into a role as Senior Designer and Design Manager for six years before leaving to move into a more creative path, and back to her art.
“I needed to make more time to immerse myself,” she said. Then Covid shut everything down. At the same time, her mother was ill. “I went to help my mom and paint. Having the time to be with her and paint with her, for months, was a gift. Her mother passed away in March of 2021.
“I was able to focus what on what art means for me,” she said. One of the ways in which she did that was to set the goal of creating a painting a day for 100 days. “I did it,” she said. “Sometimes it was difficult, because of the limitations of Covid. “I was starting to paint stuff like habaneros because they were there. But I used it all to process feelings and fill time.” The 100 Paintings Series can now be viewed on Arapicio’s website.
Mostly, she worked out of her house but secured a studio at 56 Arbor Street a few years ago. “Having my actual studio here at 56 was a dream I had since college,” she said, “when I learned about Real Art Ways. I would randomly reach out to management over the years to see about available spaces, even when I knew I wasn’t ready. A summer or two before I left my corporate job, I saw an artist post their space for other artists to use if they needed it, so I ‘rented’ a corner of someone else's space here at 56 for a little bit. I kept my travel easel there, tucked behind their couch, and would make it over a couple of days a month. It was a few years later—after Covid, after my table space, the 100-day project, and when I started painting larger at home that I was ready to commit to a space. I had viewed a couple of other places in different buildings, and I was in luck—there was something available at 56. I came to see it, and it was a smaller space and didn’t quite feel right; however, the tenant in this space I’m in now had just moved out, so even though it wasn’t officially available, they showed it to me anyway. With one step inside, I knew it was perfect. It has been a huge part of my growth as an artist.”
Even though she still does graphic design work on the side, Aparicio is also using her time to focus on sharing what she knows with others. Some might even recognize her as one of the art teachers at Muse Paintbar in town, where she works.
She’s also published a workbook, “Dream Big Dream You: Visualize Your Goal Into Reality.” It’s a self-run six-part program, “designed to empower you to achieve your dreams no matter their size!”
Aparicio also teaches “Paint Your Dreams into Reality” workshops. “It’s a guided paint session dreams and goals where participants create art and learn tools to achieve their goals. She uses her workbook to provide a structure for the course as well.
When she isn’t painting, Aparicio is a marathon runner. She’s run a marathon and some half-marathons and has a goal of running an ultra-marathon, which is a race that is longer than the standard 26.2 marathon.
She also spends time with husband, entrepreneur Chris Aparicio. “Like me, he loves animals and dogs. One of his newer ventures, CT's Dog Hero (a dog sitting service) is one I benefit from because I get all the puppy love at home, and I always feel like there is so much joy and love in the house.” WHL
Go to bonnieaparicio.com for more.
Artist Bonnie Arapicio has a workshop coming up this spring.
Paint Your Dreams into Reality Workshop
May 12, 2026
5-7pm
East Hartford Community Center
50 Chapman Place
East Hartford
Paint Your Dreams Into Reality is a workshop where participants create meaningful art while gaining practical tools to set and achieve their goals. No painting experience is required. Bonnie Aparicio facilitates a simple, step-by-step painting process while weaving in elements from her Dream Big, Dream You workbook. Participants leave with a completed painting, five actionable tools, and clarity on their next steps toward making their dreams real. This workshop is ideal for personal growth, team building, or community events.
