I knewI wouldn’tendupwith
anythingasamazingasSorolla’s
painting,andwaspreparedtobe
miserableandunsatisfiedaboutit,
butit turnedoutthatthejoyofthe
momentstrippedawayanyconcern
aboutmyresult.DAY 122 I stoppedata nearby
monastery.Ina roomofftothe
sideofthechapelthereweresome
wonderfulpaintingsfromthe15th
century.Ina smallstoneroom
nexttothem,therewasanoriginal
Sorolla.ThefirstthatI’deverseen
inpersonanda totalsurprise.It
mademecry.startagain.JustwhatI didn’tneedinthecold.It’sfreezing—
evenwitha hotwaterbottlestuffedupmyjumper!DAY 90 I walkedupandovertheAltodePerdon,stopping
atthetoptopaintthesculpture,whichconsistedofsil-
houettesofpilgrims,includinga fewdonkeys.It’saniconic
Caminolandmarkandanemotionalplacetoreach.DAY 102 AngrypoliceofficersstompedovertomoveDupon
andmealong.AssoonastheysawthatI waspainting,they
letusstayandevencamebackattheendfora look.
I’dlovetohavetimetodothesamepaintingtwice,once
pushingthecolorsandoncenot.I didexperimentwiththe
finalfewcolorsI’dyettouseinmypalette—exciting!
I stayedinanalbergue
(hostel)thathasbeenopen
forpilgrimssinceA.D.
1182.I don’tthinkit has
changedmuch!DAY 117 TodayI stoodinthe
footstepsofJoaquínSorolla
andpaintedthesamescene
ashisCatedraldeBurgos
enInvierno(Cathedralof
BurgosinWinter).Itwas
nothardtofindtheexact
samespot,asverylittlehas
changedinovera century.FUNDINGAN
EXPEDITION
I starteda Kickstarter
campaigntofundmy
expedition,andI’llbe
forevergratefultomy
backers.If you’reconsid-
eringcrowdfundingasa
resourceforanartistic
enterpriseofyourown,
herearesomepointers:- Yourideashouldbe
onethatyoubelievein
withyourwholebeing. - Startplanningatleast
sixmonthsbeforeyou
launcha campaign. - It’svitaltocommuni-
catetheideaclearly. - Offergreatvalueand
tieredrewards. - Identifyinterested
groupsandfindthe
bestwaystoreach
themandwiththe
rightmessage. - Forma small“master-
mind”grouptohelp
youinyourefforts. - Bepreparedtowork
longhoursduringthe
campaigntokeep
upthecommunica-
tionwithyourtarget
market. - Ignoreallyourdoubts
andkeepgoing!
I’d just been inside a
magnificent cathedral,
but when I stepped
outside and saw these
humble, old earth homes,
I just had to paint them. A
passing pilgrim remarked
that it must be wonderful
to see the world through
the eyes of an artist—to
see beauty in things that
others pass by. He said
he’d try to look at things
differently as he contin-
ued his journey.
I was thrilled to paint in
the footsteps of Joaquín
Sorolla. I was able to set
up at one of the same
spots that inspired the
Spanish master.44 Pastel Journal JUNE 2019