Local HEROES Clean Water

Artist ProfileBy Barbara Shulabshula@comcast.netHester ZoutendijkHester Zoutendijk is clearly a masterof drawing animals – horses, dogs,cats, sheep, cows …. The list goeson. Her sketches are created withgraphite or water soluble color pencilson 23 x 29 inch sheets of 100% ragvellum white paper with exact detailto the personality of the subject. I wasintroduced to Hester through a friendwho owns horses. My friend gaveme a beautiful note card with a highquality reproduction of a horse portrait.She mentioned that the horse was hergelding, Paragon. Little did I know thespecialness of this gesture until I metHester in her studio nestled in a fieldoff of Starr Road outside of Windsor.Horse enthusiasts have knownHester as a horse trainer and teacher ofdressage since her arrival in SonomaCounty in 1990. Her home is on a twoacre horse ranch and her professionallife was totally consumed with horses.In 2000, Hester was kicked by a horsein the forearm while training. Theinjury was serious and the trauma wasa wakeup call for Hester. She beganexperiencing fear while working withthe horses which, of course, they couldsense. She had a six year old daughterand a wonderful husband and sheneeded to pursue a less physicallydemanding profession.He ster h a s d raw n c r eat u r e sthroughout her life. She liked to createfantasy animals and funny sketchesto amuse herself and her large familyduring her childhood. She also has anaffinity for the animal world and earlyin her life found that she was a naturalvegetarian. She remembers as a childsaving her money to purchase cagedbirds at the pet store, sketching themand then releasing them into freedom.She attended an art school in SouthAmerica as a teenager and eventuallygraduated from the Royal Academy ofArt in Amsterdam. Her deep connectionwith animals allows her to portray thepersonality of the animal and not justthe superficial exterior appearance. Shedrew her first animal portrait of a JackRussell in 1992 as a gift for a friend. Theresponse was delight. Hester’s abilityto capture the essence of an animalcreated a loyal following of pet andlivestock owners who wished to havetheir companions memorialized in awork of fine art. Although Hester hasalways exercised her artist skills, theefforts were for her personal pleasureand not something that she considereda professional activity. That all changedwithin six months of the accident.As always, I wanted to know the storyof Hester’s journey to Sonoma County.With the surname of Zoutendijk, thereis little doubt that Hester is Dutch. Butaccording to Hester, “Holland wasnot large enough to handle” her, heradventurous parents and her sevensiblings. Shortly aftershe was born, Hester’sparents moved theireight children to theDutch Colony of NewGuinea where herfather was a schoolpr i nc ipa l. Theyremained there untilNew Guinea revertedback to Indonesia.Th e Z out e nd ijk sreturned to Hollandfor a few years andt hen vent ured toSuriname, a DutchColony located on the northern edge ofSouth America where Hester’s fatherstarted a center for performing arts. Atage 17, Hester left her family to attendthe Royal Academy of Art in Holland.After school, Hester sailed, traveledand recorded her adventures throughsketching. She eventually returnedto Holland and began working withhorses. On vacation, she visited oneof her sisters who lived on Mark WestSpring Road. Recognizing that SonomaCounty offered one of the best yearround climates in the world, she movedhere in 1990 bringing her horse, dog andparrot. She finally had found a placewhere she could settle down and growreal roots.Seeing Hester’s work is a specialtreat. I learned while visiting her thatwith each original portrait, she providesan 8.5 x 11 print and two note cardswith smaller prints. I now hold one ofthose small prints of Paragon. Hesterhas ventured into Sonoma Countylandscapes that always include somecreature, baby portraits and otherobservations. You will find her workat the St. Helena Hometown HarvestFaire, Windsor Town Green events(check out the Windsor Official Website2008 Fine Art Gallery) and varioushorse shows. Hauck Cellars has gracedtheir Sauvignon Blanc with a portrait ofwinery dog Margaux by Hester. Twovenues in Windsor, Lupe’s Restaurantand Copperstone Coffee Shop currentlyhave exhibits of Hester’s work. Checkout www.portraitsbyhester.com forprints for sale, price lists for customportraits and to learn more aboutHester.You can email your comments to bshula@comcast.net1/15/09 - www.westcountygazette.com - 37