Traveling feeds the soul and the mind

Some people travel to Jerusalem to visit the wailing wall. Some people make a pilgrimage to Mecca. Within each country, people travel to visit historic places. Artists make journeys as well. A lot of our trips are to museums to view pieces of art up close and personal. My wife planned and executed the trip of a lifetime for me a few years ago.

We flew from Dulles to Paris and from Paris to Marseilles. We picked up a car and drove to Arles.

In Arles, we stayed several days at a hotel on the bank of the river VanGogh shared in his second most famous starry night painting. By day, we journeyed to the places Vincent made famous. We ate at the restaurant where he ate. We visited the hospitals where he was confined. We walked the streets he walked. We dined where he dined.

By nightfall, we visited the river. I painted from the spot he painted the Arles shoreline. Then we moved on to St. Remy and the asylum. Terrifying conditions and/or treatments. Vincent was here.

I stopped and sketched and meshed with the essence of his spirit. I sat in his room at St. Remy. I looked out his window. I spent time in the vineyards. I sat next to Pont VanGogh. He is long gone, yet he is everywhere in this region.

We traveled up the coast to Auvers-sur-Orlise. There we visited the church he captured. There we walked the wheatfields where crows rose. We spent time in the room where he died and then we took a long walk up the hill to where he was laid to rest.

Almost one months journey came to an end at his grave.

"I could have told you Vincent, there is no one as beautiful as you."