Despite living in a city like Madrid, I spent most of my childhood in contact with nature. My family had a holiday home, which my grandfather had it built in a small town in the province of Ávila. He was very keen on hunting, and by extension, country walks. He encouraged his grandchildren to share his expeditions. There, we enjoyed weekends and long summer holidays and it was unusual for us not to contemplate nature. I would spend hours watching swifts flying over my head, noisy sparrows fighting for a piece of bread, and conflicts that occurred when a praying mantis came across a line of ants who got to and from their anthill. Moreover, I was very lucky to visit the next pine forests and the pastures sprinkled with trees that surrounded our country house. The rich fauna that I could find in every corner stimulated my infant imagination and raised my desire to know the secret life of those creatures and name them.
I cannot remember the first time I took a pencil to try to reproduce on a sheet of paper some of the images I had contemplated during the walks with my grandad. Perhaps, it was when I first saw a woodpecker or, that afternoon, when I observed a collared-water-snake eating a little fish on the bank of a river. Since I can remember, I have always been trying to capture personal experiences and imprison them on my drawings, most of the time related to nature and mainly to birds. Attempting to draw what I saw, was a way to keep the memories, to live the experiences through those sketches and apprehend what surrounded me. Furthermore, through my pictures, I could also share those magic moments with others, talk about them and learn from the exchange. For me, representing nature was one more path to knowledge.
My first efforts, and those which came next, were really discouraging. My hand was not able to imitate properly the image I had in my brain and the results were far from what I expected. My family and friends praised my work, which was cold comfort, so I felt motivated enough to continue. Over time, I discovered that others, before me, had experienced the same necessity and had left their legacy in the way of “field notebooks” an essential tool of every naturalist and a concept I immediately felt hooked with. The famous “field notebooks” by Felix Rodríguez de la Fuente were a source of inspiration, as well as the old Natural History Treaties we had at home, which were full of fabulous illustrations representing ecosystems, hunting scenes and exotic species of extraordinary beauty. I copied again and again those images, trying to imitate the great artists who had provided their work for the dissemination of nature.
Through self-study, many hours of dedication and little by little, I became satisfied with some of my results. I broadened my catalogue of techniques through trial and error and I went from color pencils to inks, watercolors, charcoal… feeling that mixture of joy and frustration which defines the progress of human learning. This journey has not finished yet, I am still experimenting, trying new methods, and seeking for inspiration in my colleagues. Fortunately, it is always possible to include new acquisitions to our skill baggage.
After my veterinary studies, my first steps in the labour market were focused on environmental education. I am still working in such an important field, since once you have been involved, it is almost impossible to cease. The need to communicate with my students enabled to discover new possibilities. I included my drawing skills into the teaching activity, without high artistic standards, but to make more attractive and understanding the contents for the students, and later on for the teachers. Thanks to that, I could go on combining not only education, but also naturalistic art and direct contact with the environment, three fundamental pillars to achieve the goal of conservation.
In recent years, I have managed to devote more time and effort to emphasize my work as a wildlife illustrator. Thus, I have taken part in solo and group exhibitions, I have cooperated in several publications and my works have also supported informative materials and environmental awareness-raising campaigns. Besides, I have attended and participated in various trade fairs in Spain related to ornithological and nature tourism. Since 2018 I have been involved in the organizing team of Ornitocyl, in the province of Ávila (Castile-León). In this fair I am in charge of the “Wildlife Artists” coordination, fostering workshops, live shows and group art exhibitions. This kind of great events are a unique opportunity to show the work of wildlife artists and bring pieces of art, not common in art galleries, closer to the general public. Visitors have the opportunity to buy replicas, different items at a fordable prices and merchandising products such as mugs, T-shirts, backpacks… printed with the artist’s works. What is more, you can get inexpensive original pieces of art. This fact differs from the idea of the elitist conception of some kind of markets.
The models of my illustrations are usually the Spanish flora and fauna, in particular birds. I rarely draw species I have not been in contact with or observed in their natural environment. Therefore, previous field research, the drafts from natural models, constitute the base in which I start to build the image. Most of the backgrounds are clear and neat, highlighting the main subject, since I believe that every species is an artistic expression in itself.
I pursue to idealize the shapes and spotlight the details that I consider most relevant, just to highlight the subject in an uncluttered environment. For that purpose, I use various techniques like charcoal, graphite, ink, color pencils… but watercolor allows me such a fresh and subtle coating making it my favorite option. I do not choose large formats, as most of my drawings will become part of divulgation works, which will be published in small size, what makes it easy to scan and treat digitally.
Today, I do not see the idea of education without supporting images. I strongly believe that natural illustration should also be considered a real art form at the service of knowledge and conservation.
