Meet our CAMINO illustrator: Marta Vila

Each month, CreativeMornings has a different theme for the talks given at our local chapter events around the world. It is our tradition to work with an artist in our community to create an illustration for each monthly theme.

Our theme for February is CAMINO. It was chosen by our Oviedo chapter in Asturias, Spain and illustrated by Marta Vila.

Marta Vila is an architect and illustrator from Asturias, Spain. She shared the following about herself:

I’ve always been interested in all forms of art, crafts and design, and for years I’ve combined my work in architecture with my passion for illustration, collaborating with magazines and websites, taking on commissions, and doing personal work.

After my college studies in Madrid, I lived in Rome for several years. There, in addition to working as an architect and learning a lot about Italian design, I began to draw the city from my perspective as a foreigner, inspired by the city itself.

I captured everything that sparked my curiosity, with a colorful, cheerful, and optimistic eye.

There, I was able to develop my more creative side, exploring different techniques, holding exhibitions, collaborating on various creative projects and participating in markets with other illustrators and artists.

Back in my hometown, Oviedo, where I now live, I resolved to maintain that curious and attentive gaze of someone seeing a place for the first time. To appreciate what we have - that we so often take for granted - and continue to tell its story through my drawings.

Marta also shared this reflection on her illustration for our theme: ​​

When the theme of the Camino was presented to me, three main ideas came to mind: the Camino as a path of connection and communication, the personal journey of each one of us, and also the Camino de Santiago.

This illustration is the result of combining these three concepts.

“Since the theme was chosen from the local chapter in Oviedo (Asturias), I wanted Asturias to be part of the illustration. The Camino de Santiago passes through Asturias, both the Primitive Way and the Coastal Way. There are also many scattered rural areas here, with villages connected only by paths.

I also wanted to highlight the beauty of our landscapes, where the mountains reach all the way to the sea. Our Camino is full of beauty if we look up from the ground, but also of difficulties (represented by the many curves and the cliff), as well as uncertainty. The challenge and the excitement lie in the fact that we never know what awaits us beyond the next hill.

We don’t see where it begins or where it ends, because the journey itself is the destination. Since we have to keep on walking, as the pilgrims say on their way to Santiago: “Buen Camino!”

Listen to how to pronounce Martra’s name.

You can see more of Marta’s work in her portfolio on Behance and follow her on Instagram @martaviladesign.

Selected Works