Author: Je

My trip to Spain began in July. The planning for this trip had begun more than a year ago when I received the Xavier Gonzalez and Ethel Edwards Travel Grant in 2024.

As soon as I received the grant, I knew I wanted to paint in Spain, so I began to prepare itinerary as well as a plan to bring my painting materials.

Traveling with simple art supply is a one thing, but traveling with oil paint and necessary chemicals takes another level of planning.

And, if I were to paint portraiture, I would just bring my minimal palette, but I had to bring additional colors to paint the nature, adding cadmium yellow and shades of greens and blues. I also packed lavender spike oil instead of odorless mineral sprit.

I test drove a few different pochade boxes in preparation for this trip and have used all of them for a year, and then eventually choosing one that I carried all over Spain. I also walked 100+ Kilometers carrying this through El Camino, but I will save that story for another time.

Because I was staying in small hotels and guest houses, I quickly found that I couldn’t use the lavender spike oil for painting. It smelled too strong, and there wasn’t a good way to keep my paintings indoors.

Once I got back to Barcelona, though, I was able to buy some odorless mineral spirits. That was nice—I like this European version of spirit better than the American ones.

Catalonia truly is a haven for painters and outdoor enthusiasts. Its mountains, rivers, ocean, and manmade buildings and monuments stimulate imagination.

And, if all the eye candy is not enough one can definitely be inspired by fresh food or variety of cured meat, which all can be readily packaged for painting in the Spanish wilderness.

And because the wild Spanish sun stays lit for additional hours than the one from New York City, I felt energized and didn’t feel tired at all during my stay.