ThinkingThinking BigBig
Thisambitiousartexpeditionarosefroma singlequestion
I posedtomyselfinDecember2017:“WhereamI heading
withmyart?”I hadplunged,threeyearsago,intolifeas
a full-timeartist.Sincethen,I’dspentmytimedoing
everythingthatanartisthastodotomakea living.I was
lovingit.Whythen,didit feelthatsomethingwasmissing?
I startedtoconsider:WhatdoI reallywantmycreativelife
tolooklike?
Aftermuchsoul-searching,I figuredoutthatI neededto
immersemyselfintocreativeprojectsthatcouldtakeme
deepintothespiritofa place—projectsthatwouldkeep
meconstantlyincontactwithnature.I determinedthatmy
trueinterestliesinexpedition-
basedprojectsthatcanresultnot
onlyinbeautifulart,butalso
inanalternativewayofcom-
municatingimportantstories.
AndI realizedI craveda lifestyle
thatincorporatestravel,which
feedsmyartisticandadventurous
spirit.Theideaofa slow-traveling
expeditionartistwasborn.
Thenextquestionbecame:
Wheretostart?Mymind
swarmedwithexcitingideas
jostlingforattention—untilone
serendipitousmoment.WhileI
wasvisitingLimoges,inFrance,
I noticedbronzescallopshellssetintothepathways.I
discoveredthattheshellsmarkedtheWayofSaintJames,
a networkofancientpathsinWesternEurope,allofwhichleadtotheshrineofSaintJamestheApostleinSantiago
DeCompostela,Spain.TheSpanishpartoftherouteis also
knownastheCaminodeSantiago.
Theroutehasplayeda keyroleinreligiousandcultural
exchanges,circulatingideasandartsincetheMiddleAges.
I learnedthat,in2018,thepathwaywouldbecelebrating
20 yearsasa UNESCOWorldHeritageListing,coinciding
withtheEuropeanYearofCulturalHeritage.
I’dfoundmyperfectfirstexpedition—arouteofenor-
mousculturalsignificance,cryingouttobepainted.Since
theyearA.D.950,painters,writersandpoetshavefelt
thepullofthisjourney.I’dbewalkingandpaintingwhere
ancientmanpaintedoncave
wallsandwhereSorollapainted
someofhisgreatestworks.
I plannedtostartthejour-
neyfromLePuyenVelayin
France,andwalk1,000miles
oftheWayofSaintJamesto
SantiagodeCompostela.I made
a goaltostopforpaintingtime
everyfivemilesinordertocap-
turethewholesenseofplace.
Asdonkeyshavebeenwalking
thisroutealongsidepilgrims
sincethebeginning,I decided
thata donkeywouldbea
perfectcompanion.I looked
onthejourneyasanenormous
challengebut,oh,theromance
ofit all!“SINCE THE YEAR
A.D. 950, PAINTERS,
WRITERS AND POETS
HAVE FELT THE PULL OF
THIS JOURNEY. I’D BE
WALKING AND PAINTING
WHERE ANCIENT MAN
PAINTED ON CAVE WALLS
AND WHERE SOROLLA
PAINTED SOME OF HIS
GREATEST WORKS.”
The Romanesque town of
Conques in Southern France
was one of the early stops on
my painting trek.40 Pastel Journal JUNE 2019