A Child’s Dream Acrylic on Canvas 16” x 23.5”
The bright, abstract paintings of Fernando Soto are a maze leading straight into the mind of the artist. With no preplanning or sketches, Soto draws a single, spontaneous line across the canvas, allowing his feelings and emotions to guide him. “My paintings are not what I want to make, but what I feel I must make; I cannot control it,” he declares. Once finished, he studies the line until his subconscious pulls forms and shapes out of the subliminal image. Soto then painstakingly fills in the canvas using acrylic paints and markers, being careful not to smudge or cross through his original line drawing. “This is the hardest part, because I have to concentrate a lot to avoid passing the original edge I drew in a single stroke,” Soto says. Ironically, the results of Soto’s deliberate painting method are art pieces that are fun, vibrant, and fresh, teeming with movement and color.
Soto lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he works as a criminal lawyer and enjoys playing with his daughter when he’s not painting. Perhaps because his work is partially inspired by his daughter, Soto wants his art to have a childlike perspective and sense of innocence.