Spain

September is my favourite month to travel. You get less tourists, comfortable weather and better prices.

This year I decided to spend two weeks in Spain. Most people manage to see half the country in two weeks. Not me. I wanted to take it slowly and to allow myself to explore, relax and most importantly – to paint without stress of not having enough time.

I chose Castile La Mancha, a region in the middle of Spain. My starting point was Toledo, which won my hearth the very first day. In the end I spent five and would easily come back for more. I was painting, wandering, eating, observing and meeting locals basically all the time. I was feeling sharp, strong and full of desire to see and capture everything. Before I moved to my next stop, I had only one blank canvas left.

Next was Madrid. Finnaly I visited Prado and Museo Sorolla (Sorolla is one of my favourite painters). I didn’t paint much in the city itself though. It felt too big and crowded.

Then I moved to Avila, another smaller mediveal town and got enchated again. Same happened couple of days later in Segovia, my final stop.

I chose to paint subjects at which I spent most time looking at. While I was painting it was as if I could hear all those whining voices of my past teachers at the university (with couple of exceptions). “Painting is dead. You shouldn’t paint nowdays and if you do, it’s better be abstract or never seen before”. I had to smile when I imagined myself painting some garbage cans next to the road instead of these. I was glad that I found strenght to do what I felt was right and resisted all the pressure from people who wanted me to be certain way. I knew I was on the right track.

And I found that traveling with oils is easy and joyful. Good trip.

Sincerely,
Tomas