Fisterra. 15cm x 20cm, 6″ x 8″ inches. Watercolour on paper. 2018.
In 2018 I walked 1500km from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port in France to Santiago in Spain, looping around Fistera-Muxia and ending up in Fatima. My original plan was to walk the 8ookm section in Spain, following the Camino de Santiago route for about 40 days and paint one watercolour a day which I managed to do taking only a couple of days off. These are 20 of my favorite paintings.
The work is an extension of my “Nature: a space of flows” body of work. With this series I focused on human presence in landscape taking the opportunity to play with the use of colour and abstraction. I liked how the structures were defined by the landscape which was reshaped by our actions.
I was thinking about the historical processes relating to the road I was walking. The way connected to a time before Catholicism took over. The roads were following the same paths Pagans moved about the landmass that was once cover by forest. Some of the sections were built by Roman soldiers as they made their way through Spain which was later conquered by the Moors who used these roads to connect their castles and settlements. Later the Catholics pushed the Moors back and the routes were redefined as the pilgrimage becoming a way of keeping the lands settled by Catholics. Now I was walking next to highways which made use of the valleys people have walked through for thousands of years, and the highways connected to a greater network of the European Union.
The buildings and cities reflected this somewhat with a mixture of ancient, old and modern springing up in a variety of ways along the way. The walking reset my relationship with time and space to a default settings, measuring it within my human scale, one foot in front of the other. I started by walking to get somewhere thinking of the somewhere, within in a few weeks I was thinking about where I was as I moved through space. My walk ended after 1500km in Fatima having continued my journey after reaching Santiago. I am grateful for the experience and recommend it to anyone.
The works are for sale and if you are interesting in purchasing an original or a print please email me directly. I am thinking about putting the images along with some text from the road into a book(let) at some point when things feel right to do so and when I do I will send out an email about it. Join my email list if you wish to keep up with what is next in my art practice.
Ferroglobe: At crossroads between Fisterra and Muxia. 15cm x 20cm, 6″ x 8″ inches. Watercolour on paper. 2018. Santiago, Heading for Fisterra. 15cm x 20cm, 6″ x 8″ inches. Watercolour on paper. 2018. Santiago, Colexio Compania de Maria. 15cm x 20cm, 6″ x 8″ inches. Watercolour on paper. 2018. Catedral de Santiago. 15cm x 20cm, 6″ x 8″ inches. Watercolour on paper. 2018. Eirexe. 15cm x 20cm, 6″ x 8″ inches. Watercolour on paper. 2018. Near la Faba. 15cm x 20cm, 6″ x 8″ inches. Watercolour on paper. 2018. Pieros. 15cm x 20cm, 6″ x 8″ inches. Watercolour on paper. 2018. Foncebadon. 15cm x 20cm, 6″ x 8″ inches. Watercolour on paper. 2018. Hospital de Obrigo. 15cm x 20cm, 6″ x 8″ inches. Watercolour on paper. 2018. Leon. 15cm x 20cm, 6″ x 8″ inches. Watercolour on paper. 2018. Sahagun. 15cm x 20cm, 6″ x 8″ inches. Watercolour on paper. 2018. San Bol. 15cm x 20cm, 6″ x 8″ inches. Watercolour on paper. 2018. Rabe de las Calzadas. 15cm x 20cm, 6″ x 8″ inches. Watercolour on paper. 2018. Burgos. 15cm x 20cm, 6″ x 8″ inches. Watercolour on paper. 2018. Atapuerca. 15cm x 20cm, 6″ x 8″ inches. Watercolour on paper. 2018. Villatuerta. 15cm x 20cm, 6″ x 8″ inches. Watercolour on paper. 2018. Pamplona. 15cm x 20cm, 6″ x 8″ inches. Watercolour on paper. 2018. Zubri. 15cm x 20cm, 6″ x 8″ inches. Watercolour on paper. 2018. Bilbao. 15cm x 20cm, 6″ x 8″ inches. Watercolour on paper. 2018.
2018 05 20. Painting on top of Villa mayor de Mojardin. 2018 05 21. Painting in Torres del Rio. 2018 05 22. Catching up on painting while everyone else sleeps in Logrono Albergue de Peregrinos. 2018 05 25. Painting in Azofra. 2018 05 25. Catching up on painting in Granon while everyone else sleeps. 2018 05 26. Found a cozy spot to paint in at Villafranca Montes de Oca Albergue. 2018 05 27. Painting in Atapuerca. 2018 05 29. Painting at Alberge Municipal de Peregrinos de Burgos unsure if I will be able to continue do to tendinitis. 2018 05 30. Painting after a painful walk at Albergue Liberanos Domine. 2018 05 30. Painting in Rabe de las Calzadas. 2018 05 31. Painting in San Bol after a rejuvenating dip in an ice cold pool of stream water. 2018 06 01. Sketching San Anton after a tricky climb. 2018 06 02. Painting and near heat stroke at San Nicolas. 2018 06 05. Taking a moment to paint and appreciate the magic of the road at near Sahagun. 2018 06 05. Catching up on work after a group meal at Sahagun Monasterio de Santa Cruz Benedictinas. 2018 06 11. Painting from a top of the world at Foncebadon. 2018 06 14. Painting in Ambasmestas. 2018 06 19. Painting in Mato Casanova. 2018 06 23. Painting and vending in Santiago de Compostela. Thinking where to walk to next. 2018 06 29. Painting in Muxia having left the end of the world in Fisterra. 2018 07 01. Painting in Muxia. 2018 07 03. With the chores finished enjoying the afternoon paining at the Albergue Mosteiro de Moraime 2018 07 06_ Painting in the dining hall at the Albergue Mosteiro de Moraime 2018 08 03. The end of this 1500km walk in Fatima