Creation process: 'MECHINAL, Falco naumanni'. Wax model

Third exhibition of Wildlife Art Cáceres

Fulica atra, 2011
Oil painting on wood, 50x41 cm.


Gallinula chloropus, 2011
Oil painting on wood, 50x24 cm.


Platalea leucorodia, 2001
Etching and aquatint, 18'5 x 9 cm.

Next April 8th at 20.30, the third Wildlife Art Cáceres exhibition will be open at Cáceres Museum - Plaza de las Veletas, 1- in the very historic city center. A beautiful place. The same as last year, a group of members of AEAN will show some of our works. The exhibition will be open till April 24th. I show you the works Juan Varela has chosen. He is the person in charge of the selection of works and the coordination of this event, which is part of the Birds Festival. In next posts I´ll try to show you the process of creation, as I usually do.

Phoenicopterus ruber roseus (Greater Flamingo)

Phoenicopterus ruber roseus
Mixed media on metal, 21,5x13 cm.

When doing this engraving I was not very satisfied with it because of its simplicity, but it was one of the most admired when I exhibited it. Its simplicity attracted the public.
Whenever I start a work, I divide the empty space into ovals, ovoids and circles and place on them the different elements which make up the work. Then I add more and more details, but always leaving the original curves in order to show the process of creation.
It has not only an aesthetic sense, but also an expressive nuance which show the immediacy of the work and the fleetingness of animal watching.
On the other hand, I use rectangles, an essential element in all my works. It fulfils both a compositive role and a symbolic one; it represents the spatial limitation of nature.

Ixobrychus minutus (Little Bittern)

Ixobrychus minutus
Mixed media on metal, 29,5x22 cm.

Here I used the linear etching technique to create the image and an aquatint with sprinkled colophony resin to add some colour at the back, minimizing uniformity.

Chamaleo chamaleon (Common Chameleon)

Chamaleo chamaleon
Lithography, 38 x 18 cm.

Another lithography I made in my fifth year at Fine Arts for the subject of the same name. This technique is not very used nowadays as it is done with a special kind of limestone whose main quarry has been run out for years.
Now it is used a plate of stippled aluminium (a lot of cuts made in the form of a dot), stamped with an offset press.

Fulica atra (Common Coot)

Fulica atra
Mixed media on metal, 18,5 x 24 cm

The mould of this work was made in two stages. First, all the lines were marked and then we used the etching technique, which provides the work with colour and depth.

Dama dama (Fallow Deer)

Dama dama
Mixed media on metal, 26,5 x 33 cm

Another sample of etching engraving. Here I used texture to provide the back with more expressiveness. I used aquatint with sugar.
It´s a pity you cannot appreciate the quality of texture after scanning the image. That is one of the added merits of this engraving.

Etching engravings

Merops apiaster
Etching design, 17,5 x 21 cm

My good friend José Mª Bellido, Pepón, loved this work. I gave it to him and he put it at his house. Whenever I see the work, it reminds me of him.



Charadrius dubius
Etching design, 15,5 x 19,5 cm

Here I’ve tried to transmit the movement of this bird, so I used the repetition of lines.
My colleague and friend Mr. Luis Cuaresma liked it a lot.




Vanellus vanellus
Etching design, 11 x 14,5 cm

Here are a series of engravings I made by using the technique of line etching.
The making of moulds in this technique is relatively easy. First, you have to varnish the side of the plate to work with and protect the opposite side (better with hard ball ground varnish). Then you transfer the drawing, being careful not to scratch the varnish. You continue scratching the widest lines and putting it in etch. Then you scratch the thinnest ones; the more immersions in etch you do, the better the quality of the lines.

Felis silvestris (wild cat)

Felis silvestris
Mixed media on metal, 29,5 x 24,5 cm

To make this engraving I made an artist’s proof, too. Then I used the technique of `soft´ ball ground varnish to create vegetation, and aquatint for the textures at the back. Sometimes I have thought the artist’s proof would have been better if I had added some lines.

Cervus elaphus (Red deer)

Cervus elaphus
Mixed media on metal, 15,5 x 26 cm

Now I will show you the process of creation of this work. The first three images are artist’s proofs of the matrix and the one above this text is the end result. The lines are made using the etching technique. The different hues of the two figures were made with aquatint. And, finally, the texture at the back was made with an experimental technique: after applying a layer of protective varnish, I partially removed part of it by using adhesive tape.
With this work I want to thank to José Mª – Master of Engraving Workshop at the Fine Arts Faculty in Seville – doubtlessly a good teacher and a better person, and to Mª del Mar Bernal – Professor of the Introductory Course to Engraving Techniques – for encouraging me to learn this artistic technique.

Bufo bufo (European Common Toad)

Bufo bufo
Lithography, 35x49 cm.

I made the two works above as a project for the subject `Lithography´ in my fifth year at Fine Arts. The invaluable `help´ of Professor Manzorro served to discourage all students in the course. In his first lesson he said we all were `a shameful burden´ and that we did not deserve the time he devoted to us; fortunately, that was his last year before retiring.
Manzorro asked me why I had left so much space to the left of the turtle dove and why I had not finished the toad ... no comment.
The teacher assistant supervised us and I got the results you see.

Streptopelia decaocto (Eurasian Collared Dove)

Streptopelia decaocto
Lithography,30x44 cm.

My first Acid-Etched Engravings

Genet
Mixed media on metal, 17’5x11’5 cm.



Stone-Curlew
Mixed media on metal, 17’5x11’5 cm.

The first two works I made using the acid-etched and aquatint techniques. You can appreciate the `doubts of the beginner´.

Lepus granatensis (Granada Hare)

Lepus granatensis
Etching design, 8 x 14 cm

An outing to the country with my friend Carlos Soriano, `Carlitos´, inspired me this engraving. We went hunting to a Sevillian game preserve, as his father was a member of it.

Larus audouinii (Audouin’s Gull)

Larus audounii
Etching design, 8 x14 cm

Caprimulgus ruficollis (Red-necked Nightjar)

Caprimulgus ruficollis
Etching design, 27 x 15 cm

I’ll show you more engravings later but now here are the etching designs. All of them were made while I was studying.

Circus pygargus

Circus pygargus
Mixed media on methacrylate

In this matrix, I used the engraving needle technique and stripper to create textures. But, unfortunately, when I was doing an artist’s proof, the pressure of the screw press was not well adjusted and the matrix broke when rolling it. The whole work disappeared.

Tarentona mauritanica

Tarentona mauritanica
Engraving needle on methacrylate, 14,5 x 24,5 cm

This is another engraving needle work; here I decided to leave the main figure unfinished, so you can perceive the composition tracing.

Red-legged partridges

Red-legged partridges
Engraving needle on methacrylate, 26 x 20,5 cm

Engraving needle is one of the simplest engraving techniques. It consists in scratching the desired image on a metallic or methacrylate surface; then it is stamped.

A countryside view II

A countryside view II
Xilography, 21,5 x 39,5 cm

This is my third xylography. Little by little I will add the engravings which composed my first individual exhibition. I will also give you some technical data.