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Andre Mallinger and I are planning unique 16-day pilgrimage in September 2025. You will create small watercolor sketches in your travel journal, learning and practicing quick sketching techniques to deepen your experience along this ancient pathway.

I have guided several different types of trips along the last 100 km of the French Route of the Camino de Santiago. During the first trips, we walked 8-15 miles on consecutive days with the main goal to get to each days’ destination, while listening to a local guide’s information about the history and cultural significance of The Way.  On these trips, most folks were thrilled to complete the physical challenge, for which they had trained. Yet, a few expressed disappointment that they didn’t have opportunity for the deeper spiritual connections of a pilgrimage. 

Personally, I wanted to slow down each day to notice and record details of the scenic beauty of this ancient pathway. I yearned to paint the many “nature cathedrals” that we walked through, with a circle of light at the end of the “tunnels” formed by chestnut and oak trees arching over the moss-covered stone walls.

I wanted to absorb the many rural communities along the Camino, pausing to sketch and wonder about the lives and stories of the people who built and have lived there. I yearned to paint the details of the age-old thick granite stones with many shapes and sizes, expertly constructed into homes, barns, and churches, along curving narrow cobblestone lanes.

I wanted to take time under an old oak tree, the symbol of wisdom and strength, to look closely and paint the unique multi-faceted granite cross, Cruceiro de Lameiros, that was carved in seventeenth century.

So, I worked with my dear friend, Laura Davis, to offer a different kind of trip with writing and sketching instruction and more time notice and observe along the same 100 km of the way to Santiago de Compestela.  And, again most people on the trip were thrilled to combine walking with sketching and writing about their experience.  Yet, a few wanted to walk faster and get to the nightly destination, feeling constrained by designated stops. We recently offered our writing and sketching trip a second time with more intention about our trip goals and a refined itinerary with even more time for our instruction. We are thrilled that every pilgrim in our group expressed deep satisfaction with their experience.

Now, Andre and I are planning another journey for 2025 along the same 100 km with the main focus on watercolor travel sketching and cultural history.  Thinking about the many different reasons that people embark on a pilgrimage, we want to guide curious people who are craving the simplicity of walking, who want to practice noticing and looking more closely while creating a travel journal of small watercolor sketches and personal impressions — an Artsy Way.

People with all types of watercolor experience are welcome.  I especially invite those of you who believe you have “no artistic talent” or haven’t painted since elementary school. All you need is a desire to look closely and some instruction and practice in basic relationship skills — like other things in life, relationships are the key to drawing and painting. We will have fun learning and practicing how to notice our beautiful surroundings, using color and simple lines, shapes and values, as well as more about the historical and cultural significance of the Camino.

Please contact me if you are interested in learning more about our trip, or know anyone who might resonate with an experience like this.