Armadillo de los Infante town.

Pen&Ink and watercolor on Pentalic Aqua Journal 7" x 10"

Every little town I visit has its unique features. Armadillo de los Infante is close to the city of San Luis Potosi, just 65 km away. It was founded in 1600. As most colonial towns, it has a Catholic church, but this time I didn't want to sketch it, I have this tendency because it is the main building in many small towns. At the other end of the street in the main block, I found this view of the city park, Plaza del Santuario. Still the tower and dome of the Templo the la Purisima Concepcion made it to the sketch. The color I chose for the sky is a turquoise blue, it feels like a tropical town, is it only me? It's amazing how a color can change the feel of a place! The base of the tree's trunks of this town are painted not only in the traditional white, here they added two strips in red and green, the colors of the Mexican flag, something I haven't seen before. This is a very small town, quite charming and very quiet. A place lost in time. I love it.

Simple vs detailed work line

Blue fine liner on Moleskine watercolor journal 3.5" x 5.5"

Last minute I sketched my husband having his shave at the barber shop. The barber was finishing so I had to hurry. I chose to recycle a false start page in my sketchbook. I don't like things going to waste. That big oval mark was done previously in black ink, so I used blue ink. Minimal lines got the essential action, I think. That is not the case with the next sketch, the Shrine Basilica of our Lady of Guadalupe. I have never been here before, it's so beautiful inside and although I drew more elaborated lines in this sketch, still many details were left out. I guess that when you have to choose what to draw and what to leave out, you have to remind yourself that what you are doing is a sketch and question if what you have done so far is enough information for the viewer to get the idea of the place. Although I prefer adding details to my sketches, I think this sketch is good enough to show the interior of the Shrine. The simple or the more detailed of my sketches depend on the circumstances I'm in, whatever the outcome I'm OK with it.

Sepia fine liner on Moleskine watercolor journal 3.5" x 5.5"

The tree trunk

This café has a tree trunk in the center of the place. Full of scars and wrinkles, marks in the skin. This tree has character, personality, wisdom, history, just as the person my husband is thinking of, as shown in this sketch. We love you J.

Far away and close up cathedral

I met with Nadia Samarina for a second time last Saturday. I really have fun meeting with her to sketch together, we share the joy of sketching on location as many of you do, I'm sure. I arrived early to the location we agreed, while I waited for her I did a quick small sketch of the Cathedral of San Luis Potosi viewed from Madero Street. 

Sepia Fineliner and watercolor on Moleskine Watercolor Journal 3.5" x 5.5"

Then we walked on the same street towards downtown and chose a spot where to sit randomly at the Plaza de Armas, the pedestrian square at the very center of the city, where I had the same view of the Cathedral but up closer. I couldn't figure out what church the two domes on the right of the sketch belong to, there are so many churches in downtown, one on each square, and the squares are literally one block apart. It turns out it is Iglesia del Carmen. Another beauty. It's amazing how different two sketches came out, with the same view on the same street but at different distances!

Sepia Fineliner and watercolor on Handbook Watercolor Journal 8" x 8"

Nadia Samarina makes terrific sketches and she is very prolific! While I made the sketch above, just ink (I added watercolor later), she finished three sketches! Well I hope we meet again. It's nice to find a pal sketcher in this beautiful city, which according to the newspaper Proceso dated on March 7th 2018, I quote: "The Historic Center of the city of San Luis Potosí received the certificate that accredits it as World Heritage, by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which granted the declaration in 2010"......and I didn't know! Fabulous!

Morales Park

Fine liner and watercolor on Handbook watercolor journal 8” x 8”

Every March there’s a flower festival in the park Juan H. Sanchez but nobody calls it that way, it’s a.k.a. Morales Park called after the neighborhood of the same name. The vendors who install thier tents here are a caravan of flower and plants farmers who stop in main cities to sell their product. The city grants them a permit to stay for 2-3 weeks with the condition to plant flowers and bushes in the park before they leave the place. It sounds like a smart deal, right? 

San Luis Potosí Skyline

Finelimer and watercolor on Handbook watercolor journal 8” x 8”

I woke up this morning with this view “with my peaceful, humble, handsome amd calm husband”- his quote. A dramatic sky worth remembering, specially because these clouds lowered the temperature. It’s been so hot here. I just drew the skyline and worked on the clouds. 

In my spare time I’ve been doodling but I thought I could doodle something more practical and I did several decorative borderlines in some pages of this sketchbook. I was curious how the overall page was going to look once a sketch was done on the page. Do you like it?

Leonora Carrington Museum

Fineliner and watercolor on Moleskine Watercolor Journal 3.5" x 5.5

Leonora Carrington is an English surrealist sculptress contemporary of Dali, Picasso, Kahlo, Edward James and others, who lived most of her life in Mexico. Her son Pablo Weisz Carrington visited the Centro de las Artes de San Luis Potosi Centenario. When the disused old wing in this Center, a former penitentiary, was shown to her son, he thought it was the perfect location for her mother's museum. When he found out this processing area was inhabited by women, he felt this gave a symbolic value as the sculptures were created by a woman, her mother, an artist who advocated for women's rights. So renovations started in 2017 and inaugurated on March 22nd 2018. 

After visiting the different halls and patios, I sat in the central patio where there is giant sculpture "The Ship of Cranes", I included one of the watch towers of the penitentiary to show more information about the building where this museum is. I visited this building in 2013, it was then only the Centro de las Artes de San Luis Potosi Centenario. This is the main entrance. 

Pen&Ink and watercolor on Handbook Artist Journal 8.25 " x 5.5 "

All the investment made in this museum match the quality of the work of Leonora Carrington. The building is itself a work of art. With this museum, San Luis Potosi is getting international recognition. I am so pleased to see this city is becoming alive and catching up with other cultural cities in the world. Bravo!

San Francisco Square with USk San Luis Potosi

Last Saturday I met with the Urban Sketchers of San Luis Potosi. Yeah! There is one in SLP! I met with Nadia Samarino, the founder of the group and students of different schools of the State University . We met at the library Ricardo B. Anaya in downtown, the starting point of our walking tour lead by the Director of the library Jose Antonio Motilla also a historian. We visited several locations around San Francisco Square. I did only two sketches this morning but I had also a great time listening to the very interesting information. Here Jose Antonio is explaining some facts about the area in San Francisco Square, one of the most beautiful ones in the city ornamented by the jacaranda tress in bloom.

Fineliner and watercolor on Moleskine 3.5" x 5.5"

Then we visited the Aranzazu Square, which was part of the Franciscan monastery located in the same block. I didn't do a sketch here but I have done one before back in 2012. 

Pen&Ink and watercolor on Handbook 5"x 8"

Next we entered the Museo Regional Potosino, which entrance is in the right end of the arches in the sketch above. Inside there is the Aranzazu chapel, a must see in the city. Here it is the entry way to the chapel which is in the opposite side of this view.

Fineliners and watercolor on Handbook watercolor journal 8" x 8"

I enjoyed my time with the group, I hope I can repeat the experience and get to know more sketchers. 

Photo by Nadia Samarina.

The new old neighborhood.

Uni-ball vision pen and watercolor on Moleskine 3.5" x 5.5"

It seems I can't catch up with the changes and novelties in the city of San Luis Potosi. I used to live in this neighborhood. There was only a movie place with several theaters where I remember I came to watch the Karate Kid with Ralph Macchio. The ticket included two films and it was allowed to stay in the theater to watch the double show twice if you wanted to! Now, the plaza where the theater was, has been transformed over the years into an open plaza with restaurants and bars. My neighborhood has changed so much! It's more alive than ever!

Family in San Luis Potosi.

Pen&Ink and watercolor on ruled notebook 6” x 8”

I nailed my eye on a ruled notebook for sale at 9 MXN (about 0.5 USD) on a trip to the office store. I grabbed it to practice my lettering. I did it in the first few pages until my letters transitioned into this sketch, a family gathering. We Mexicans always see each other at homes, restaurants, cafes, bars. It always involves food, I don't know why, that's how it is here. We had a great time, no rush. I have to cut and paste this sketch to any of my sketchbooks as a form of collage. How could I not, it's a Kodak moment.