MEET THE ARTIST

A lifetime of looking closer.

Renso Tamse’s wildlife paintings grow out of close observation, patient fieldwork and a deep respect for the natural world.

Back in the studio, he works in layered watercolor on watercolor board. His process, Aqua Velatura, builds light and texture through translucent washes. Each layer adds depth without losing the living quality of the subject.

The result is more than recognisable wildlife. It is a sense of presence: the stillness of a bird, the weight of a predator, the atmosphere of a winter landscape.

Explore Renso’s prints

Renso Tamse with his original Blizzard Chief artwork

WESTERN VISIONS · 2026

Excellence for Artistic Merit.

Renso received the award for Bear with Bee at the National Museum of Wildlife Art’s Western Visions. Presented 17 September 2026.

Read the museum’s announcement

The method

Aqua Velatura: painting in veils of light.

Renso calls his way of working Aqua Velatura. Aqua for water. Velatura for veil.

Velatura is the old Italian painters’ term for a veil: a thin, translucent layer laid over the one beneath, so the color underneath still glows through. The old masters built their glazes in oil. Renso works the same principle out in watercolor, on watercolor board, in a method he has developed and refined over years of practice.

Instead of mixing a color and setting it down once, he builds it. Translucent wash over translucent wash, so light travels through every layer and back again. That is where the depth in his paintings comes from: fur that holds warmth, snow that carries light, an eye that looks back at you.

01
In the field
Every painting begins long before the first brushstroke, with time spent watching: how an animal carries its weight, where the light falls, what it does in the moment before it moves.
02
First washes
Thin, luminous washes of watercolor lay down the light and atmosphere of the scene. The composition is there, but the image is still mostly air.
03
Veil upon veil
Layer upon layer, form emerges. Shadows deepen, texture is sculpted, and the animal gains weight and presence on the board.
04
The final accents
The most precise marks come last and anchor the image: the light in an eye, the edge of a feather, the line of a whisker.

No digital assistance. No shortcuts. Every mark made by hand.

Watch Aqua Velatura in time-lapse

In brief

Renso Tamse at a glance

Discipline: Wildlife painting
Medium: Watercolor on watercolor board
Method: Aqua Velatura, his own layered technique (how it works)
Recognition: Excellence for Artistic Merit, Western Visions 2026, National Museum of Wildlife Art, for Bear with Bee
Featured by: American Art Collector, Western Art Collector and the Society of Animal Artists
Book: Wild in Europe
Available as: Original paintings, Collector’s Editions, Limited Editions and Open Editions (compare the editions)
Commissions: A limited number each year (enquire)

FROM ORIGINAL TO PRINT

The encounter continues.

A fine art reproduction makes those moments part of everyday life. Choose an Open Edition for the pleasure of living with the image, or a signed and numbered edition for a closer connection to the artist.

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