ACTIVITY
Bruno is a specialist in shaded stuccos, carved stuccos, polished plaster, imitation marble using paints and pigments and fresco painting with lime. The craft of stucco allows for many textures. And in good stuccowork what is most important is good materials, washed and selected: the… aggregates must be cleansed of any dirt and, if possible, sieved. The aggregates are normally marble chippings with sizes of 2.5, 1.2 and 0.8 mm, and 35 μm marble dust is also used. With these grains and with lime putty in a white or died paste, lean or fat stucco putties are prepared.
The work process starts with the washing of the substrate or wall surface. A first lean putty coat of 2.5 mm is applied, followed by a second lean coat of 1.2 mm, a third of 0.8 mm and a fourth of 0.35 mm. There can be many kinds of finish, such as rendered, shaded, hot-ironed, carved and sgraffito stucco.
Bruno was certified as a Balearic Islands artisan in 2008, and in 2012 as a Balearic Islands master artisan for heritage conservation in Menorca.
TRAINING
Bruno Martín Serrano’s first contact with painting was at the age of 16 when he joined Hermanos Salcedo, where he worked for nine years. He was further trained by the master Manolo Delgado for three years, during which time he produced stage scenery for the… theatre of Mahón. In 1997 he set up his own firm, Bruno Pintura Decorativa.
He has taken many courses over his career: on lime mortars and lime paints with Vicent Pons, master of Ciudadela (Menorca); ornamental bands and fillets with Federación Nacional de Pintores (ANSPI) in Barcelona; stuccoist diploma course with old stuccos (Barcelona); ANSPI oil and watercolour workshop with the master Ovejero of Mahón (Menorca); advanced charcoal drawing and still-lifes with the master Giusto; ANSPI faux effects course; Osaka designer renderings course; Sika stone restorer and heritage restoration course; Aldecort course on polychromy and gilding; Aldecort polished plasterwork course; Ateneo course on perception and realism; Aldecort courses on glazes and patinas; Facolith master restorer course.
SELECTED WORK
– Mahón library (an 18th-century building)
– 18th-century mansion in Calle Isabel II, Mahón
– Casa Sa Pimya, Menorca (a 17th-century mansion)
– Mahón theatre
