Lorenzo Manuel Durán is a self-taught artist who was born in Spain and who has found one unique way of bringing art and nature together to produce mind-blowing leaf cutting art.

It was in the year 2005, when Lorenzo was unemployed that he became more aware about himself, his inside, his shadow, and that attempts to communicate with all that through one of the tools he knows better: art.  

Once he was clear with what he wanted to do he started with oil on canvas but it was later in the summer 2006 that he switched patch and took to creating intricate leaf cutting art.

It was a caterpillar eating a leaf that inspired this transition. Initially, Lorenzo found it tough since he didn't have enough information about this type of art so he ended-up developing his own technique. He uses a surgical scalpel and a dental pointed devise to cut and remove leaves.

According to his website, "Due to the lack of information about the "leaf cutting art" I have developed my own technique, going through a long trial-and-error process until I found a good way of cutting my designs without spoiling the leaf. I use a surgical scalpel to cut the figure, removing the plant tissue until the image, previously drawn on paper and fixed to the leaf, appears. My geometric or figurative designs mostly come from my innate observation of nature and the personal metamorphosis I have gone through in recent years."

To know more about Lorenzo we got in touch with him and here's what he has to say:

Happy reading!

1. Hello Lorenzo, please introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Lorenzo Manuel Durán. I was born in Cáceres, Spain, in 1969. I am a self-taught artist who is now mainly focused on Leaf Cutting Art.

2. For the first 4 years (2005-2008) of your artistic career you created oil on canvas drawings. What got you started with that?

I've been painting since I was a little boy, I've always needed to draw "something", so when I decided to move from my previous professional path to this one, I started from what I had left aside for so long: oil painting; and one year later, in the summer of 2006, I began dealing with my Leaf Cutting Art.

One day I saw a caterpillar eating a leaf, and this idea came to my mind, I thought that maybe I could cut plant leaves the same way as many artists had done with paper. Once I began cutting I couldn't stop, and I like this technique so much that I enjoy when creating simple designs as well as intricate.

4. From where do you draw the inspiration of what pattern you are going to create on a given leaf? Do you dry the leaves first?

I believe that what we call "inspiration" comes from the same place to all of us, it looks like a huge bank of ideas to me, so I just pay attention to those "shown" in my mind and if I can I just put them down on my notebook so that I can go back to them anytime I start a new work... And yes, I do dry the leaves first.

5. How do you choose the type of leaf you are going to use to create a given pattern? Do you always make it a point to study the species of the leaf you are going to be using? From where do you source the leaves that you use?

Sometimes I draw a design first, and then I choose the leaf I like for it; but I also develop some designs after having chosen a leaf with a special shape, size, etc. I collect most of the leaves in my residence area, but I'm open to work with any other.


When that caterpillar "gave me" the idea of cutting leaves I started looking for information about how to work with them. Even though I had never seen anything like "Leaf Cutting Art" before, I knew that this material had been related to the work of many artists, so maybe I could find some helpful information towards my new goal, but my research led me to nowhere. So, I decided to start trying with a scalpel as I had seen some Paper Cutting artists do. It was a long trial and error process, but a couple of years later I had achieved a technique which allowed me to cut leaves without spoiling them.

7. Can you share with our readers a brief of the methodology that you use to create each of the masterpieces. What tools do you use to create the intricately patterned leaves?

It takes a lot of steps and waiting periods, but the main process consists on washing the leaf, drying it, fixing the design, cutting it, rehydrating the leaf and pressing it. To cut the design I use a scalpel and a dental tool which helps me when removing the cut tissue. Another very important tool in my work is the press.


Depending on the design, it usually takes me between 2 weeks and 2 months to finish one of my pieces.

9. How do you promote your work? What do you think is more important - social media promotion or word-of-mouth promotion?

I consider that both kinds of promotion are important, and I'm thankful for all the people who have shown my work to someone else directly or to many others through any social media, it's been a great support.

10. What are your future plans as an artist? Do you plan to diversify your artwork?

My main objective is to evolve as a person, so I'm just planning to enjoy all the good and happy experiences I find on my way, and to learn from the unhappy situations as much as I can. On the other hand, natural materials mean a lot to me and I am quite interested in working with them, who knows what all this may lead me to.

11. What lessons have you learnt as an artist that you would like to pass on to budding artists?

So far, I've learnt that many ideas may come to your mind but constancy is what will lead you to see them materialized, so we have to work hard and believe in what we do.

Manuel, thanks for taking out the time and doing this interview with us. It was a great experience learning about you. Wish you good luck!

To read more exclusive interviews of talented artists like Manuel, you can subscribe to our blog. You can also choose to receive updates via email.