Ciruelo was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1963. At age 18, he began his career as a professional illustrator at an advertising agency, though his goal was to dedicate himself to fantasy art full-time. In 1987 he moved to Spain looking for a better fantasy art market, and throughout the 90s, he worked intensely for top publishing houses in Europe and the USA.

Among his clients are: George Lucas, Magic the Gathering cards, TSR, Bantam, Berkley, Tor, Warner, Ballantine, Heavy Metal magazine, Christopher Paolini, and the writer Alejandro Jodorowsky, with whom he created a comic strip published in France in 2006. His art has been published on book covers, calendars, posters and puzzles around the world.

Currently, Ciruelo dedicates his time to writing and illustrating his own books. Exhibitions are also quite frequently on his agenda, and through these his work gathers fans in cities worldwide. Especially his Petropictos, a technique consisting of painting on stones by way of true magic. Ciruelo lives with his wife Daniela, and children Lys and Angelo in Sitges, a charming Mediterranean
town near Barcelona.