Kelvin Nichols technique. Calvin Nichols and his paper sculptures
Canadian Calvin Nicholls ( Calvin Nicholls) - a man who has devoted about 25 years of his life to his favorite craft - paper art. The main niche in his creative activity is the creation of incredibly realistic sculptures of animals from paper. His paper zoo consists of a huge variety of wild animals, including bears, lions, pandas, owls, zebras, lynxes and others.
The manner in which figures are made from paper is truly unique - with the help of metal and wooden tools, the sculptor creates three-dimensional and deep images, carefully processing all the details for maximum effect. The process of making a paper sculpture begins with creating sketches of the animal in its natural habitat, then a silhouette or individual parts of the body of the future figurine are cut out of cardboard, which will give the creation the necessary strength. Then, using a scalpel, the master makes small parts from ordinary printer paper and attaches them to a rigid frame, giving the necessary shape and texture. With the precision of a jeweler, he arranges every feather and hair. In his works, every detail is important - the craftsman carefully monitors how light and shadow are distributed in the hair of his paper pets, since they play a key role in creating the composition, making the sculptures a little three-dimensional.
The artist loves to work with white color, to watch how an ordinary sheet of paper is transformed and takes on shape, texture and new life. The final touch of the composition is to frame the new inhabitant of the paper menagerie. The artist from Canada achieves a more complex image through studio lighting - this stage allows you to correct all the nuances.
The process of creating a paper sculpture itself takes on average 4 weeks, but this is preceded by a long preparation, which consists of observing animals. Calvin can spend hours studying the habits and behavior of animals, catching mood, monitoring movements so that their paper prototypes turn out to be as realistic as possible and similar to their models.
The talented Canadian received his education at Sheridan State College in the town of Oakville, in the province of Ontario, Canada, at the Faculty of Graphic Design. After graduation, he worked in a design studio, but soon made a smooth transition to paper art.
As Calvin himself says, he has held the title of paper sculptor since the mid-1980s. His first real job was a sign for a bus depot, which he made at the request of his uncle in 1983 and received $15 for it. The world learned about the talented sculptor Calvin Nicholls in 1994, when photographs of his paper animals appeared on the pages of National Geographic magazine. Today, works of contemporary paper art from the Canadian artist are commissioned for advertising campaigns, private collections, book publishers, galleries and as gifts. They adorn the pages of many magazines, books, and are also exhibited in the best galleries in Canada, the USA and Europe.
Of course, in addition to paper sculptures of animals, Calvin also makes compositions on other themes and even uses other colors, but it is the snow-white animals that occupy the most honorable place in his work. The Canadian artist's collection, Paper Zoo, consists of 75 amazingly detailed and lifelike sculptures, which can be admired at the Follett Library in Chicago.
Each of us in childhood tried to make at least one paper airplane, crane or boat. At first glance, this seems like a completely childish activity. But Calvin Nichols, a talented artist from Toronto, Canada, has been doing this for 30 years. In his work he uses only scalpels, scissors and glue. What he creates from paper exceeds all expectations about the capabilities of this simple material.
Bright Side invites you to watch and appreciate how paper comes to life on the artist’s canvases.
It takes from one month to two years to create one work.
If you look closely, you can see in the dog's eyes who he is looking at.
The artist depicts not only every hair, but also conveys emotions.
To create a figure, first a rigid frame is made that describes the contours of the future figure. It gives the sculpture strength, and the main small parts are already attached to it.
The artist cuts the paper into thousands of small strips and assembles the sculpture by hand.
Wings are particularly difficult elements to make.
To make the sculpture look three-dimensional, strips of paper are tightly laid in several layers.
When an artist works with white paper, it is important for him to consider the depth of each piece so that it creates the necessary shadow.
Calvin received an award for his work Bird of Paradise.
King of beasts.
“My passion for wild animals, nature, photography, design, sculpture, light and shadow has converged in one point - my work. When I started in the 1980s, I had no idea what my work would look like 30 years from now.”
Really fantastic work?
These works are sculptures from the pen of an artist named Calvin Nicholls, who, using A4 paper sheets, gave life to a huge number of exotic animal species, including lions, pandas and zebras, which are the main and an integral part of the art collection called “Paper Zoo”.
In order to create one such sculpture-painting, the author had to work 6 hours a day for 4 weeks. And filling the “Paper Zoo” with animals took even more time; according to Calvin, he devoted two years of his life to this art collection. Therefore, it is not surprising that the sculptor put his creation up for auction for $16,000.
Calvin Nichols' amazingly realistic, intricate, and hyper-detailed sculptures of 75 animal scenes are the crown jewel of the contemporary art exhibit at the Follett Library, Chicago, Illinois.
Calvin said that the creation of the new sculpture was preceded by a long preparation, which consisted of observing animals: “I watched the animals for hours: I studied their habits and behavior. I tried to catch the smallest changes in their mood and understand what caused them. But I paid special attention to how they moved, so that the sculptures of their paper prototypes seemed as alive as possible.
I made countless sketches of the animal in its natural habitat, then cut out individual parts of its body from construction paper, gave them shape and volume, and then glued them together. Finishing touches such as claws, teeth, hair, feathers, etc. I apply with a scalpel.”
Using a specially developed technique to “write” this collection of sculptures, Calvin Nichols was able to achieve incredible realism and depth of the image, thanks to which all the animals of the “Paper Zoo” look like they are alive!
“The Paper Zoo collection includes 74 sculptures of the same size – 0.45 m wide and 0.6 m long,” says Kelvin Nicholls. “It took me about 4 weeks to create one such sculpture, and during the first two weeks I only observed the living animal and made sketches, and only then began the main work.”
The world first learned about Calvin Nichols in 1994, when photographs of his sculptures were published on one of the pages of National Geographic magazine. Today, his artistic works not only adorn the pages of countless books and magazines, but are also exhibited in the best exhibition halls in the USA, Canada and Europe.
Calvin's first major work, for which he received $15, was a textured bus depot sign he made at the request of his uncle in 1983.
All of Calvin Nichols' sculpture-paintings are “painted” in such a way that if you look at them from the right angle, the play of light and shadow will make you think that the animals are three-dimensional.
“I have developed my own technique that allows me to harmoniously combine the beauty of wild nature, the simplicity and grandeur of the animal world, photography, modeling, sculpture, artwork and the play of light and shadow. Perhaps this is why my sculptures look so alive and detailed,” says Calvin Nichols. “I imagine my future sculpture as a Hollywood film, the plot of which I am trying to tell the viewer with just one scene.
When, in the early 1980s, I was just beginning my climb up the steep slope of artistic creativity, I could not have imagined that this would become my main work, to which I have been completely and completely devoted for 30 years.”
Currently, talented artist and sculptor Calvin Nichols lives and works in Lindsay, Ontario.