Hanna Aalto -bird and wildlife art

About the Artist

Hanna Aalto has been nature lover since childhood. First nature come a hobby but soon a profession. She graduated as master of sciences studying animal ecology, ornithology and geography. Her main interest has long been birds and birding. Birds belonged to her everyday life while studies and in her job as Siikalahti bird lake field teacher and bird guide. Nowadays she runs her own company Ornio. Trough the company she does ornithological research, material for information centres, illustrations, guiding and teaches birding, bird identification and understanding of nature.
She has promoted bird and nature protection actively. Hanna Aalto is member of the board of BirdLife Finland, South-Karelian bird protection association and chair of Ladoga Karelian nature protection association.


Art

Art and painting birds and wildlife has been her interest as long as nature. A painter of birds, mammals and nature Hanna Aalto has spent much time developing knowledge of the field, which is clearly reflected in his work. Combined with conceptual composition his attention to animal behaviour and identification, habitat and lighting creates an accurate and realistic art. Almost all themes and ideas come from her experiences in Finnish nature or from trips to abroad. She tries to transfer her experience to the painting or sculpture.


“All techniques can be used to get desired result”

Hanna’s art works are mixtures of different techniques, but most often the base is acrylics. Used techniques are, airbrushing, acrylics, oil on canvas and board, colored pencil, guache, scratching clayboard and sculpture. Sketches can be done as pencil drawings or pastel or watercolour paintings. Her subjects in bird paintings are always birds that she has observed in nature.

Several of her paintings have been selected to Bird painter of the year competition tours. 1992 she was chosen to young bird painter of the year. Hanna Aalto has got several smaller awards during her painting years.

Hanna’s creativity emerges in many ways. Beside art she also makes art crafts like jewellery, painted porcelain, clothes and home decor.

Many of her images have gone into printed circulation including illustrations for books, magazines and information leaflets. You can also see her work in natural park information centres. Most of her original paintings are now in private collections.