My name is Paloma Collar, I’m from Madrid and I draw with my left hand, although I write with my right hand because I was forced to do so at a young age at school.
I share my name, Paloma, with a very common species of bird, a pigeon (Columbidae). In Madrid it is common to find many women who bear my name.
From a very young age I spent the long summers in the mountains of Madrid, where without realizing it, my family gradually instilled in me a great respect and love for nature.
In my house we all enjoyed drawing and paint. There was never a lack of coloured pencils, colouring books, and drawing pads, and doing so was very valued. My father also made small wood carvings that always impressed us.
In the winter, on Sunday mornings, our parents took us to visit the wonderful museums in Madrid. I repeated this custom with my children to inspire in them a love of beauty.
While I was at university, I participated in a ceramics workshop where clay modelling was done. Thanks to it I acquired a good ability to understand the volumes of the pieces I was working with.
Around that same time, I had a camera and even had a small black and white laboratory. Later, I took several workshops to photograph birds, and I formed a group with my colleagues where we exchanged the photos we were taking.
Around that same time, I had a camera and even had a small black and white laboratory. Later, I took several workshops to photograph birds, and I formed a group with my colleagues where we exchanged the photos we were taking.
My job helped me to strengthen this hobby, as I worked for a few years in the archive of the Royal Botanical Garden in Madrid where beautiful drawings and engravings were kept (especially from the expedition of J. C. Mutis), which were imprinted in my head.
If we add the love of nature, artistic activities at home, clay modelling, a love of photography and a taste for drawing and engraving, all this has created a solid base to later make my own drawings.
Although I always liked to draw, the trigger for this last more intense phase occurred not long ago, one day at work when I was bored Looking at the photos of my colleagues in the workshops, I made a drawing of a bee-eater, which I was even able to colour with the range of colours that my office used. I liked how it turned out and after this, many others followed until we reached almost the current 400.
I am self-taught, I never had the opportunity to attend courses or study a career dedicated to art, although I do have a few books that show how to draw birds, explaining what their anatomy is like.
To draw, I am moved by common sense and an attempt to be faithful to photography that at that time serves as a guide and that is why my style is realistic. This is easy and difficult at the same time.
It’s find, as it’s already there, in the photo, you just must draw it and it is not necessary to remember what it looked like, how long the beak or tail was or how far the dark spot on the head reached. And difficult because on many occasions I fall in love with an image (lately they are images from Social Media) and without thinking about it for a second, I contact the author to tell him or her that if he or she has no problem with me drawing his or her spectacular photograph; I let myself be carried away by the beauty of photography and when I go to draw it I see that it is very complicated and I ask myself why I am so impulsive and do not think about the complication that photography entails. The only thing I do pay attention to is that it is very well focused, to try to get the most out of it.
Generally, the authors of the photographs gladly accept and comment that they are already eager to see the result. I like to publish my drawings including the authors of the photograph. It is a nice way to share the work of others and to establish friendships that would have been impossible for me by other means.
The authors of the photos are from any corner of the world. Social Media opens borders and make it easier to interact with anyone who is part of them, also being able to speak in any language via translators. Thanks to this, I have expanded the collection of birds and other animals from many countries. Sometimes, I don’t know the name of the selected animal, but the authors immediately give it to me so that I can name them. I think this is a way of giving them their own entity and doing my part in their conservation. I believe that everything that has a name is alive, and it is necessary to respect and preserve it.
The Amazon rainforest is one of those places that I tend to visualize with more intensity since the birds present a wide variety of shapes and colours, each more beautiful and exotic than the next. Africa is also very attractive, especially because of its large mammals.
When planning the drawing, I spend time thinking about the paper I’ll use to capture it, since the size of the photograph doesn’t always match the size of the paper. I also consider which pencils to use. Over time, and thanks to my hobby, I’ve built up a large collection of various types.After the first deliberation I choose the colour of the paper, which is also important, because depending on the type of photograph and its background, a white, black paper or even tan, blue and grey colours will be more suitable.
The formats I use the most are A3 and A4, although lately I also draw with other landscape measurements that allow me to frame other different figures. The latest acquisition has been round paper where I have thought of making a collection of portraits.
Once the material has been chosen, I usually view the photograph on an iPad to be able to enlarge the image and look at the details. I like to draw with mechanical pencils. I am used to it and although it has always been said that the hardness of the pencil is important, it is essential for me that it is comfortable and with fine strokes. Having these details frees me from making circles, ovals and other geometric figures that many draftsmen consider essential to be able to make a proportionate drawing but which I don’t like and never use.
The last step, but not least, is to shade the drawing with the pencil to give it volume. I let the drawing rest one night and the next morning, I check if I have captured the essence of the animal. If I am convinced, I give it the go-ahead, and if not, I touch it up a little and leave it ready for the next phase.
I never trace, it seems to me that pencil drawing is fundamental and is part of the challenge of reproducing the image, perhaps it is the most complicated part, but when you start it and see how it takes shape, it is comforting.
When I’m satisfied with how the pencil drawing turned out, I start with the colour, which is where the real magic happens. I don’t have a specific method to give colour to my drawings. Sometimes I use watercolours, sometimes coloured pencils or crayons, fine markers, sometimes I make mixtures between one and the other, I think this is what gives authenticity to each drawing.
I like to take special care when drawing the eyes and the small reflections they have, because they are the soul of the animal, and it is what gives them life.
The background of the drawing generally looks simple, but sometimes shadows, tree branches or reflections in the water appear and they are very difficult to capture with paints.
I ordered a small stamp that I use as a signature for the drawings, so once finished, at the bottom of the drawing, I leave a small bird in black ink as a sign of identity.
In addition to birds, little by little, I dared to try larger birds: storks, black and griffon vultures, bearded vultures, caracaras… making close-ups or full-length drawings.
I also have a good collection of butterflies and moths, the occasional caterpillar, frogs, bees and other insects that allow me to experience other types of skin, wings, eyes, and so on.
Some mammals have also been the object of my pen, wild animals, antelopes, lions, cheetahs, giraffes, deer, lynxes, genets and other more domestic ones such as a few dogs and even a mare.
My only exhibition has been in Madrid, it began in September 2021 and has not ended, it continues to adorn the walls of a creperie in the central Malasaña neighbourhood and from time to time we renovate the exhibition with new additions.
Recently, I’ve started creating drawings on an iPad with the Pencil, achieving a photorealistic look by playing with layers, blurs, and adjustable brushes that offer an endless world of possibilities.Although sometimes technology and I are not good friends, it is also a way to learn new things and to be able to access technological art and see that it is not something that only young people can do.
I hope you enjoy my works as much as I enjoy making them. Compared to other authors I have seen in this same magazine, my artistic curriculum is not the most impressive, but my passion for art has nothing to envy them.
