ART · TRAVEL · STORY

A Year of Art & Adventure.

At 41, I’m taking a chance on my art.
I’m Pia — an artist and traveler turning places, animals and unexpected chapters into drawings, stories and creative collaborations.

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Pia smiling with her travel sketchbook
The story

For most of my life, I followed the path that made sense.

I grew up in Chile, studied physical therapy, moved to the United States for work and built a career I was proud of. Art was always there, but mostly in the background — something I loved, not something I believed I could build a life around.

Then a move to Europe and the end of my marriage changed the plan. I had already left my job. I had savings, a sketchbook and suddenly no clear map for what came next.

So I started drawing. Not because I had a business plan. Because it made me feel good. Sketching gave shape to days that otherwise felt untethered, and made the places I visited feel like memories rather than photographs disappearing into my phone.

Now I’m giving myself a year to experiment with a different question: Can I travel through creativity, contribution and connection?

Leave something

A mural. A portrait. Volunteer hours. A useful piece of content. A friendship.

Take something

A sketch. A story. A lesson. A connection. A memory.

Art

I don’t want to collect places.
I want to remember them.

Sketchbooks, portraits and the beginnings of watercolor — made slowly, by looking closely. Click any image to see it larger.

Sketches

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Portraits

Animals have become an unexpected part of the journey. These portraits began before the trip and are becoming part of the story I’m building along the way.

Pet portrait by Pia AspeePet portrait by Pia AspeePet portrait by Pia AspeePet portrait by Pia AspeePet portrait by Pia AspeePet portrait by Pia AspeePet portrait by Pia AspeePet portrait by Pia AspeePet portrait by Pia Aspee
Ways to collaborate

Art that travels.

Murals + Art for Stay

I’m exploring exchanges with hosts, guesthouses and creative spaces: a mural or original artwork in return for accommodation and the chance to leave something meaningful behind.

Pet portrait by Pia

Pet portraits

Pet sitting has become an unexpected part of the journey — quiet homes, generous animals and the possibility of turning the pets I meet into lasting portraits.

Commissions

Architecture, travel memories and animal portraits in ink, pencil and watercolor. A small piece of a place or companion worth remembering.

Pia sketching while traveling
Travel journal

The sketchbook journey

Traveling slowly enough to notice something.

Pet sits give me a temporary home. Volunteering gives me purpose and people. Sketching makes me stop and look. Together, they’re changing what travel means to me.

Places with Purpose
Alongside the art, I’m looking for opportunities to volunteer, learn and contribute. Beautiful places are wonderful; connection is what makes them matter.

Each destination gets one finished thing. A drawing, mural, portrait, story, collaboration — something that proves I was present rather than simply passing through.

Travel UGC

Stories for places worth experiencing.

Natural, story-led travel content shaped by an artist’s eye — for stays, destinations and experiences that value genuine connection over generic promotion.

Stays

Atmosphere, details, rooms, local surroundings and the feeling of being there.

Experiences

Short-form photo and video storytelling built around what makes an experience memorable.

Creative exchanges

Art + content collaborations, including mural-for-stay and custom artwork for hospitality spaces.

This portfolio is growing with the journey.

What’s next

The route is a possibility,
not a promise.

I’m leaving room for unexpected projects, volunteer opportunities, house sits, murals and people who might change the direction of the journey.

Current chapter

Somewhere in Alaska

Chasing the northern lights, learning to leave more room between places, and considering volunteering long enough to create as well as travel.

Next chapter

South America

Including Chile for my birthday and Christmas — a homecoming inside a much bigger year of change.

On the horizon

Australia + Asia

Australia, India, Japan, China, South Korea and Southeast Asia are possibilities. The itinerary will evolve as the opportunities do.

I share broad chapters rather than exact real-time locations.

Say hello

Have a wall, a pet, a place or a story we could make something from?

Commissions · murals · art-for-stay · travel UGC · creative collaborations

piaaspee.art@gmail.com@piaaspee.art