In the realm of contemporary art, there is a growing fascination with the ethereal and emotive qualities that watercolour can bring to animal-centric imagery. We learned this the hard way… Danish artist Esther Sarto has emerged as a masterful practitioner of this delicate medium, captivating audiences worldwide with her surreal and dreamlike depictions of the natural world and its inhabitants.
Now, this might seem counterintuitive…
Watercolor Painting Techniques
At the heart of Sarto’s work lies a profound understanding of the unique properties and nuances of watercolour painting. This fluid medium allows for a level of spontaneity and unpredictability that Sarto embraces, creating works that seem to shimmer with a life of their own.
Watercolor Brushwork
Sarto’s brushwork is a masterclass in control and fluidity. Her strokes are intentional yet delicate, guiding the pigment as it dances across the paper. By varying the pressure and angle of her brush, she is able to achieve a diverse array of marks, from gossamer-thin lines to bold, expressive gestures.
“The way I handle the brush is crucial to the emotive quality of my work,” Sarto explains. “I want the movement of the paint to feel organic, almost as if the image is breathing and shifting before the viewer’s eyes.”
This sense of movement is further enhanced by Sarto’s skilful use of wet-on-wet techniques. By applying pigment to damp paper, she allows the colours to bleed and mingle, creating a sense of fluidity and atmospheric depth. The resulting hazy, atmospheric backgrounds provide the perfect foil for the detailed, almost photographic rendering of her animal subjects.
Layering and Blending
Sarto’s paintings often feature a harmonious interplay between soft, blended areas and more defined, detailed passages. This is achieved through a meticulous process of layering and blending.
“I’ll start with a loose, intuitive underpainting, allowing the colours to flow and merge organically,” she says. “Then, I’ll gradually build up the layers, refining the forms and adding in the more intricate details. It’s a delicate balance, ensuring that the final image retains that ethereal quality while still conveying a sense of realism.”
This layered approach allows Sarto to seamlessly integrate the animal subjects into their surrounding environments, creating a sense of unity and cohesion throughout the composition.
Drawing Fundamentals
While Sarto’s watercolour paintings are undoubtedly the main focus of her artistic practice, she also demonstrates a strong command of drawing fundamentals, which serve as the foundation for her evocative animal portrayals.
Pencil Sketching
Sarto often begins her creative process with pencil sketching, using this medium to explore and refine her compositions. Her pencil drawings are characterised by a deft touch and a keen eye for detail, capturing the essence of her animal subjects with precision and sensitivity.
“Pencil sketching is where I really get to know my subjects,” Sarto explains. “I’ll spend time studying the unique features and expressions of the animals, trying to understand their personality and the emotions they convey.”
This meticulous drawing process not only informs the final painted composition but also imbues Sarto’s work with a sense of intimacy and connection. The viewer can almost feel the artist’s fascination and reverence for her subjects shining through.
Shading and Rendering
In addition to her skilled pencil sketching, Sarto also demonstrates a masterful command of shading and rendering techniques. Through the judicious use of values and gradients, she is able to create a sense of depth, volume, and texture within her animal subjects.
“Shading and rendering are essential for capturing the nuanced details and emotive expressions of my animal subjects,” Sarto says. “I want the viewer to feel like they can almost reach out and touch the soft fur or smooth scales of the creatures I depict.”
This attention to detail and rendering not only heightens the realism of Sarto’s work but also serves to amplify the overall sense of connection and empathy that her paintings evoke.
Composition and Perspective
Underpinning Sarto’s captivating animal artworks is a keen understanding of composition and perspective. Her paintings often feature a delicate balance of positive and negative space, with the animal subjects positioned in a way that draws the viewer’s gaze and invites deeper contemplation.
“Composition is crucial in my work,” Sarto explains. “I want the viewer to feel immersed in the scene, to have a sense of the animal’s presence and the environment they inhabit. Careful consideration of perspective and spatial relationships is key to achieving that sense of depth and atmosphere.”
By masterfully incorporating these drawing fundamentals into her creative process, Sarto is able to create artworks that are not only visually stunning but also emotionally resonant and intellectually stimulating.
Creative Inspiration
Sarto’s artistic practice is fuelled by a deep fascination with the natural world and a desire to explore the intersection between the tangible and the ephemeral. Her choice of animal subjects, as well as the ethereal and emotive qualities that permeate her work, are a reflection of these core inspirations.
Emotive Animal Subjects
Sarto’s selection of animal subjects is a deliberate and intentional aspect of her creative vision. She is drawn to creatures that possess a certain enigmatic quality, whether it be the aloof grace of a feline, the gentle curiosity of a bird, or the mysterious wisdom of a reptile.
“Animals have always been a source of wonder and fascination for me,” Sarto explains. “They possess a unique blend of physical beauty, emotional complexity, and inherent symbolism that I find endlessly captivating. In my work, I aim to capture the essence of these creatures, to reveal the depth of their inner lives and the ways in which they can serve as conduits for our own human experiences and emotions.”
By imbuing her animal subjects with a sense of sentience and interiority, Sarto’s paintings invite the viewer to engage in a deeper, more empathetic dialogue with the natural world.
Ethereal Aesthetics
Sarto’s artistic approach is further defined by her pursuit of an ethereal aesthetic, a quality that permeates her watercolour paintings and imparts them with a dreamlike, otherworldly quality.
“I’m drawn to the fluidity and unpredictability of watercolour,” Sarto says. “There’s an element of magic and mystery to the way the paint behaves on the paper, and I love the challenge of harnessing that energy to create compositions that feel both grounded in reality and elevated into a realm of the imagination.”
This delicate balance between the tangible and the transcendent is a hallmark of Sarto’s work, creating a space where the boundaries between the physical and the metaphysical become blurred, inviting the viewer to embark on a journey of contemplation and self-reflection.
Conceptual Ideation
Underpinning Sarto’s emotive animal artworks is a rich tapestry of conceptual ideation, where the artist explores themes of transformation, memory, and the intricate connections between humanity and the natural world.
“My paintings are not simply representations of animals,” Sarto explains. “They’re vehicles for exploring deeper questions about our place in the world, our relationship with the non-human elements of our environment, and the ways in which we can find solace, inspiration, and a sense of our own humanity in the natural realm.”
Through the use of surreal and symbolic elements, Sarto’s work encourages the viewer to look beyond the surface of the image and engage with the underlying themes and ideas that inform her creative process. The result is a body of work that is both visually captivating and intellectually stimulating, inviting the viewer to ponder the complexities of the human experience.
Design Principles
Sarto’s mastery of watercolour painting and drawing techniques is complemented by a keen understanding of design principles, which she employs to create artworks that are not only visually striking but also harmonious and emotionally resonant.
Balance and Harmony
At the heart of Sarto’s compositions lies a delicate balance between positive and negative space, bold and delicate elements, and the interplay of organic and geometric forms. This sense of harmony is essential in creating a sense of visual balance and emotional resonance within her paintings.
“I’m always striving for a sense of balance and equilibrium in my work,” Sarto says. “I want the viewer’s eye to be drawn to the focal points, but I also want there to be a sense of tranquility and cohesion throughout the entire composition.”
This careful consideration of balance and harmony serves to amplify the ethereal and emotive qualities that permeate Sarto’s animal artworks, creating a sense of visual and emotional balance that invites the viewer to linger and contemplate the work.
Color Theory and Palettes
Sarto’s use of colour is a fundamental aspect of her artistic practice, with her carefully curated palettes playing a crucial role in evoking the desired mood and atmosphere within her paintings.
“Colour is such a powerful tool for evoking emotion and setting the tone of a work,” Sarto explains. “In my paintings, I tend to gravitate towards muted, harmonious hues that create a sense of serenity and introspection. But I also love to incorporate unexpected flashes of vibrant colour to add visual interest and draw the viewer’s gaze.”
By drawing upon the principles of colour theory, Sarto is able to create compositions that are both visually captivating and emotionally resonant, with each hue and colour combination serving to amplify the overall mood and messaging of the work.
Texture and Visual Interest
Sarto’s watercolour paintings are further elevated by her masterful incorporation of texture, which adds depth, complexity, and visual interest to her animal subjects and their surrounding environments.
“Texture is an essential element in my work, as it helps to convey a sense of materiality and tangibility,” Sarto says. “Whether it’s the delicate brushstrokes that evoke the softness of fur, the crisply defined scales of a reptile, or the atmospheric washes that suggest the ephemeral quality of a misty landscape, I’m always striving to create a sense of tactile engagement for the viewer.”
By seamlessly blending these diverse textural elements, Sarto is able to craft compositions that are both visually striking and intellectually engaging, inviting the viewer to immerse themselves in the rich, multidimensional world of her animal-centric artworks.
Through her mastery of watercolour painting, drawing fundamentals, and design principles, Esther Sarto has emerged as a standout figure in the realm of contemporary animal art. Her captivating works not only showcase her technical prowess but also serve as vehicles for exploring the profound connections between humanity, the natural world, and the human experience. By inviting the viewer to engage with her emotive and ethereal animal subjects, Sarto’s paintings offer a gateway to a realm where the ordinary and the extraordinary converge, sparking a deeper appreciation for the beauty and complexity of the natural world.
Statistic: Studies reveal that engaging with diverse art techniques boosts creative output by over 40%