Filipino Artist Creates The World's Most Intricate And Stunning Paper Sculptures Of Animals

"I've been dabbling on a lot creative ventures and so far making paper sculptures is the best things I ever made."

Elana

• Published in Animal Stories
• October 28, 2021

Patrick Cabral lives in Manila, Philippines, where he has his whole life, with his wife of nearly a decade Camy Francisco-Cabral. Patrick has not traveled all over the world himself but his work certainly has.

Cabral is not the only artist in the world who creates pieces of art by crafting with paper, but he is arguably the best at it. He has been commissioned by people and companies from New York to Saudi Arabia!

Patrick dabbled in many things before landing in paper crafting, many of which he enjoyed and was good at, but paper crafting turned out to be the perfect fit, providing him a lifestyle in the Philippines not many are so lucky to have, and he is unabashedly willing to discuss that.

While outside forces contemplate whether or not Patrick is creating art or a craft, he is unconcerned with their discussions, saying that "real authenticity is doing what your heart desires, informed by your experiences and hopes and dreams." He also says:

"If you can't sell work made of paper in your art world, then I don't want to be in your world. It's silly when brands would tell people to be authentic when they are promoting conformity. That you have to make things a certain way because that's useful for selling wares from these giant companies."

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1. Lynx

2. Bee

3. Pangolin

4. Patrick may also be a bit of a story-teller, about his own life and reflections, not to mention what inspires him as he creates pieces for clients.

"I have lived through so many typhoons since the place where I grew up is on its usual route. I experienced not having clean water because it has been affected by floods. My memories of the typhoon have always been the hardest.

My siblings and I would look for houses where we can buy water and had to carry them on long distances just to bring it back to our house. At night it's so hard to sleep because it's pitch black and I would wake up gasping for air and look for the nearest window where fireflies are the only source of light.

We wouldn't have school for months because it's being used as evacuation centers and when the school resumes, we would spend days cleaning super messy classrooms and toilets. We used to bathe in the river when i was a kid, but after one strong typhoon we weren't allowed to go anymore because the river has widened because of the flood.

During these times you would be thankful if you have dry fish and sardines because a lot of people don't even have money to buy rice."

5. Elephant

6. Tiger

7. Palawan Peacock-Pheasant

8. Dragon

9. "It took me about 10 months to finish this piece. My client wanted something that represents the year of birth of his 2 kids."

"I could have negotiated to make this into 2 separate pieces, but this client is among (if not) the biggest supporter of my art so I tried so hard to give him what he wants. I revised this several times until I got to this versions.

It's the hardest work I finished to date. There were times that I am not even sure if I will be able to finish it or if it will come out great. But here we are 10 months later :)

Things doesn't really come easy as I go farther because I always find ways to make the work challenging. Clients also keep me sharp by giving me more exciting challenges. I'm excited to see what else I could bring to life."

10. Shark

11. Panda

12. Roosters

13. Philippine Cockatoo

14. Turtle

15. "This is one of the most technical project I finished."

'This actually looks like a real #koifish because of the depth and how I designed the fins. I basically designed 1 white and 1 gold fish and alternate the layers to make it a negative image of each other, the yin and the yang."

16. Fox

17. Eagle

18. Owl

19. Palawan Hornbill

Patrick says that he listens to the Joe Rogan podcast when he works, usually (and he hopes that someday Joe Rogan will see his work,) saying:

"It has became my routine to watch his show since I started doing this professionally and I would love to see my work on his set. I remember a friend of mine cautioned me when I first started listening to Joe Rogan.

I have always been a fan of martial arts. The house where I grew up is located behind an elementary school and my younger brother and I would try to emulate a class of Taekwondo in a gym nearby.

I grew up with an over-protective mom who were raising us on her own because my Dad has to work in Saudi Arabia for a long time. Fighting is prohibited and my mom is a typical strict Asian parent before. Instead of fighting, I channeled my energy of wanting to be a ninja into Sepak Takraw.

I was really good at it. People often called me Shaolin because I am not only concerned about kicking the ball, as in any work that I do, it's more about the form. I try to elevate athleticism to art. Watch any Sepak Takraw video on youtube and you'll see what I mean.

In high-school I secretly joined a Taekwondo class. We live in a very small town and my mom heard about it. I had to quit or else I'll also get Taekwondo lesson from my mom. Don't get me wrong, I understand my mom. It's hard to raise 3 boys alone. And on top of that, there were few kids in our neighborood who got their backs broken because of doing acrobats.

My point is, I may not look athletic, but these are some of my early pursuits. It also doesn't mean that just because I am a fan of someone that I would agree about their opinion. That's what I like about the show, It gives me a peek to a mind of people far different from myself. What I like about Joe is he try to go beyond his default programming."

20. Mouflon

21. Displayed at The Starbucks Reserve in Manila, Philippines

22. Bear

23. Lion

24. Whale

25. Octopus

26. Cat

Whenever Patrick is working on an endangered species, he switches from using watercolor paper for his work to premium recycled paper. Every choice this artist makes is intentional and meticulous, his craft is truly incredible.

Once a web developer, then a web designer, and at one point even a game developer, Cabral might have a "jack of all trades" somewhere in him, but paper crafting pieces of art work is a gift to the whole world. He truly is a phenomenal artist and story teller, you should definitely keep up with his work.

Elana