Ciruelo Cabral
Encyclopedia
Gustavo Cabral better known as 'Ciruelo' ('plum tree'), is an Argentine
fantasy
artist whose work focuses especially on dragons.
, Argentina, suffering from color blindness
. That would not stop Ciruelo who at age 13 enrolled in Instituto Fernando Fader, an art school, where he began his formal studies. He started working as illustrator at age 18 for a graphic advertising company, and soon after began doing comic covers. In 1987 he moved to Barcelona
, Spain
where he drew fantasy books' covers and inside drawings for Timun Mas, a publisher that specializes in the genre.
Cabral then widened his horizons and did work for companies around the world, including companies in the United States
, Germany
and Spain
. He drew the covers of the Chronicles of the Shadow War, a Bantam
trilogy written by George Lucas
. He has also done music album covers, such as Steve Vai
's The Seventh Song
, and magazine covers for, among others, Playboy and Heavy Metal magazine. His artwork can also be seen in some Magic: The Gathering
cards.
Ciruelo Cabral uses mainly acrylic
and oil painting
, but also a number of other techniques, including his famous and distinctive paintings on rocks, which he created and calls 'petropictos' (literally, 'stone paintings'). He has published four books with his drawings: The Book of the Dragon (1990), Ciruelo (1990), Luz, the Art of Ciruelo (1997) and Magia, the Ciruelo Sketchbook (2000).
His work is represented in the 2002 collection Paper Tiger Fantasy Art Gallery.
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
artist whose work focuses especially on dragons.
Biography
Ciruelo was born in Buenos AiresBuenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Argentina, suffering from color blindness
Color blindness
Color blindness or color vision deficiency is the inability or decreased ability to see color, or perceive color differences, under lighting conditions when color vision is not normally impaired...
. That would not stop Ciruelo who at age 13 enrolled in Instituto Fernando Fader, an art school, where he began his formal studies. He started working as illustrator at age 18 for a graphic advertising company, and soon after began doing comic covers. In 1987 he moved to Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
where he drew fantasy books' covers and inside drawings for Timun Mas, a publisher that specializes in the genre.
Cabral then widened his horizons and did work for companies around the world, including companies in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. He drew the covers of the Chronicles of the Shadow War, a Bantam
Bantam Books
Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by Random House, the German media corporation subsidiary of Bertelsmann; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin, Jr., Sidney B. Kramer, and Ian and Betty Ballantine...
trilogy written by George Lucas
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
. He has also done music album covers, such as Steve Vai
Steve Vai
Steven Siro "Steve" Vai is a three time Grammy Award-winning American guitarist, songwriter and producer who has sold over 15 million albums. Steve Vai is widely known as a flamboyant guitar virtuoso....
's The Seventh Song
The Seventh Song
"The 7th Song, Enchanting Guitar Melodies " is a 2000 album by guitarist Steve Vai. It is his first compilation album, but unlike a standard "greatest hits" or "best of" album, all of the songs on it can be found on one of Vai's previous albums as the 7th track...
, and magazine covers for, among others, Playboy and Heavy Metal magazine. His artwork can also be seen in some Magic: The Gathering
Magic: The Gathering
Magic: The Gathering , also known as Magic, is the first collectible trading card game created by mathematics professor Richard Garfield and introduced in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast. Magic continues to thrive, with approximately twelve million players as of 2011...
cards.
Ciruelo Cabral uses mainly acrylic
Acrylic paint
Acrylic paint is fast drying paint containing pigment suspension in acrylic polymer emulsion. Acrylic paints can be diluted with water, but become water-resistant when dry...
and oil painting
Oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil—especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Often an oil such as linseed was boiled with a resin such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called 'varnishes' and were prized for their body...
, but also a number of other techniques, including his famous and distinctive paintings on rocks, which he created and calls 'petropictos' (literally, 'stone paintings'). He has published four books with his drawings: The Book of the Dragon (1990), Ciruelo (1990), Luz, the Art of Ciruelo (1997) and Magia, the Ciruelo Sketchbook (2000).
His work is represented in the 2002 collection Paper Tiger Fantasy Art Gallery.
External links
- Non Official Site (Spanish)
- Biography and Drawings (English)
- Interview (Spanish)
Videos
- El arte es la puerta (Spanish)
- La vida es arte 4/06/08 (Spanish)