Four corners and 3 crosses.

Pen&ink and watercolor on HP watercolor paper 20” x 7 “

I chose this view because I wanted to draw the cross above that corner. Many houses here in San Miguel de Allende have some sort of religious sculptures on top of the entrance or in the corners. Three of four corners at this cross street have crosses.  It’s located on Dr. Ignacio Hernandez Macías St., Pila Seca St. and Cuadrante St. 

It was a challenge to include the four corners. Most of the streets of San Miguel de Allende are narrow, one car wide, so I took some minutes to think what I was going to do about the composition. This can be the hardest part of the sketching process, figuring out what to do and how to do it, does it happen to you? Once I fit the big shapes in the sketchbook with pencil, I knew it would be easier. The sidewalks are also narrow, for one person most of times. I had no choice but to sit and block the way, fortunately I didn’t hear any complaints, quite the opposite, I just heard compliments. This was the second sketch I did last Monday, I wasn’t vey hopeful about the result, I know once I’m tired my sketches don’t come out right, but I didn’t give up. I’m glad I didn’t.

Orange and blue.

Pen&ink and watercolor on HP watercolor paper 10” x 7”

This little corner has three features, it has a fountain (by the way, all the working fountains I’ve checked have clean water, isn’t neat?), it has a cafe, Zenteno Cafe, and it is located in the corner of three streets, Calle del Codo, Calle Tenerias and Calle Dr. Ignacio Hernandez Macías. I really liked the spots of blue to contrast the earthy warm colors of the buildings, I repeated the cool color of the sky in the shirts of people, the sign, the motorcycle and their mirrors, it creates balance in the overall sketch. Also the two motorcycles and two men at both ends of the sketch create balance. Next I have to visit that cafe which has very good reviews! 

By the way, I thought I would share with you how my little studio is set up here in San Miguel de Allende. Always keep your coffee cup away from your working space. I have endless times rinsed the brushes in my coffee!

The office of the Parroquia de San Miguel Arcangel

Pen&ink and watercolor on HP Lanaquarelle paper 10” x 7”

Today I met with the USk of San Miguel de Allende at the front patio of the Parish. Many of us have sketched the church, so it was suggested to look out away from the parish. I went to the office of the parish next door. There’s a beautiful entrance, closed to the public but I could sketch from the hallway. I did the line work within the 90 minutes they gave us before the photo group. I finished it later today. I struggled with the yellow. I thought I could match it with DS New Gamboge, but it looked pale, I swear. Then I added another wash with WN Winsor Orange, there, it’s a match, and I didn’t mean to match the color, it was more important to match the impact the color of this space has on you when you walk in and say wow! I hope you said the same when you saw this drawing!

Photo by Laurie Richards

A night scene.

Pen&ink and watercolor on HP Legion Stonehenge Aqua 10” x 7”

Since I’m trapped in my bedroom in San Miguel de Allende while I recover from a cold, I watercolored the Catedral Metropolitana de San Luis Potosí today, the city I visited last December. It’s a night scene that I thought about doing for a while. I applied masking fluid to the skyline over the first paint washes, but I learned hot press watercolor paper is more sensitive to abuse than cold press. I teared some paper at the begging of the removal of the masking fluid, then continued very  carefully. Still the masking fluid removed some of the paint. I will avoid the use of masking fluid on hot press paper. The sketch looks ok, it’s a sketch after all, and I’m learning my ways with the different brands of hot press paper of my handmade sketchbook. The stars were made with gouache paint, not splattered but painted one by one. I liked the ink line of this sketch, but I liked this night scene much better; I don’t make many, I can count them with the fingers of my hand. So I’m glad I did it.

The unused fireplace.

Procreate 

January can be chilly here in San Miguel de Allende. For cold days, we’ve been using the heater. I haven’t had the chance to use this fireplace. I’m missing the opportunity to be mesmerized by the sounds of crackling wood and watch it being consumed for hours, probably influenced by alcohol. Ha! I love it so much that I might still do it even if than means making a sauna in the room.

The Calvary Chapel.

Pen&ink and watercolor on Legion Stonehenge Aqua 10”x 7”

Painted in red, the Calvary Chapel is a small chapel but very old. It is in a very busy street. The buses of public transportation have to drive uphill in low gear. The fumes were part of the sketching experience, in fact I could see dust from the pollution falling on the white pages of my sketchbook but what could I do? It was the perfect view. I cleared the dust swiping it with the back of my hand multiple times, sketch, swipe, repeat. A smart person wouldn’t seat there in first place, specially when buses pass by very often, but we are sketchers and we have to do what we have to do if we want to sketch on location. Eventually, I finished the lines of a sketch I liked a lot, it was all worth it. Those signs on both sides of the door of the yellow house are signs with the names of the streets. To the left and downhill is San Francisco St. and to the right and uphill is Calvario St, same as the name of the chapel.

I headed back to my place where I colored it with watercolor,  I do enjoy doing it indoors. The values came out very saturated overall, something I don’t dislike. The building on the right was more like a dark blood earthy color, but while trying to reproduce it mixing DS Quinachridone Rose and WN Winsor Green Yellow Shade, this dark aubergine hue came out. Not only I liked it better, this coolish eggplant color also helped to contrast the warm yellow and red. Isn’t lovely? 

Here are some photos about this chapel, information displayed on an board located next to the chapel.

People of San Miguel de Allende

All sketches were made with pen&ink and watercolor on A5 Hahnemuhle Watercolor Book

We had some errands to do today, I just brought with me a pen and a sketchbook, perfect to sketch something fast, I didn’t know what would it be but it turned out to be people, people, and more people. The first stop was the barbershop. Two years ago we met Miguel, the barber and owner. His wife had this hair salon 2 years ago, she cut my hair then, and when we asked her if she knew a barber, she sent us to her husband’s old location.  Now they serve at the same place. We were pleased he remembered my husband and I.  

777 Barbershop Boutique is very busy, we had to wait for two turns, it is better to make an appointment but Miguel took us in if we were willing to wait 45 minutes, so we stayed and waited, my hubby was very happy with the shave, worth the wait. Miguel used steam instead of the traditional hot towel. My husband liked it a lot. It caught my attention that he had his bledo cleaner and regular brush, in each on his back pockets.

Here preparing the soap for the shaving.

Here it is his info and address, published with his permission. They are located on Calle San Francisco # 51.

Later we sat in the main Jardin. There, workers from the municipality were removing all the Holiday’s ornaments. On this sketch, they are removing the Christmas lights from the park. While I was there, I spotted other people doing whatever, my favorite drawing from this park is the people seated in the two rows of benches Right in front of the Parish. All of them relaxed and enjoying themselves. Today was a productive day, errands and sketches accomplished.

 

Fuente de la Sirena

Pen&ink and watercolor on HP Legion Stonehenge Aqua 10” x 7”

There are many fountains in the streets of San Miguel de Allende.  This is how the inhabitants got  access to free water in the past. Simple or complex, in good or bad shape, they are all beautiful. Don’t you find pleasure on the sound of falling water? I find it relaxing. This fountain is big and it is on the corner of Hospicio and Barranca Streets. Although it is in a corner, it’s not in a right angle corner but on a diagonal side, perhaps the two walls behind the fountain gives you an idea; it was tricky to put it on paper though, for sure. The surface of the white walls were even, so I added a little of light shade to make it less flat. I think it worked out.  That person was posing for a photo, I added her when she was leaving. Adding her helped to show the size of the fountain and the perspective...well a little bit.

The fruit on the window

Pen&Ink and watercolor on A5 Hahnemuhle watercolor book

There was a medium size basket with fresh fruit in the window of the cafe. Regardless of the disproportionate  comparison of sizes, the window was majestic. Look how thick the wall is. 
I missed part of the wall outside the window by mistake, I corrected it by adding a couple of lines than ended up over part of the leaves. I used white gouache paint to cover those extra lines, frankly it’s a miracle it worked out.

I don’t remember the name of the cafe, but I remember the bakery “La Buena Vida”, next to the cafe, on the right of those two steps outside the window. The bakery is just a small window, like a box office. The empanadas are A.MA.ZING. We’ll certainly return to the bakery!

Chris and Purple.

Pen&Ink and watercolor on HP Stonehenge Aqua Legion 10” x 7”

It was nice to meet up with the Usk of SMA group this morning at Casa Europa Bistro + Cafe. Meagan Burns, the administrator of the group, greeted every one of us, we had a little chat and off we went to sketch whatever was around. I sat by the window to find this view across the street. The statue of Christopher Columbus is located in the corner of the Jardin del Templo de San Francisco, on the streets of Juarez and San Francisco. I really like how Chris was framed by the two buildings right in the middle, I just put him off center for a better composition. Trees are not my favorite subject, but the trunks have such cool shapes, I really had fun with them. I love purple color for shadows or shade. A purple wash over other color washes won’t necessarily show as purple but very often as muted colors which result on hues, most of times very interesting and pleasantly unexpected. For purple, I’m using a mix of Daniel Smith Carbazole Violet and whatever yellow I choose to mute it with. This gives me an earthy purple that suits very well the stone of colonial buildings in downtowns of Mexico. Love it.

Urban Sketchers of San Miguel de Allende
Photo by Meagan Burns

Did you miss me Miguelito?

Pen&Ink and watercolor on HP Stonehenge Aqua 7” x 10”

I did miss you. We are finally settled in San Miguel de Allende. After moving from San Luis Potosí, doing laundry and buying groceries, all of it painfully slow, because of the holidays and the weekend crowd, I’m getting better from a cold and stomach discomfort (you know, all that food from the holidays!) But I finally got the chance to sketch yesterday in the Jardin Principal. I said good bye to San Miguel de Allende last time we were here 2 years ago, and took a selfie with my hubby in this exact location, a great view which stayed in my mind and I could sketch until now. The evening was cold, it was a sign that the night would be one of the coldest here, 31 F. I inked it and finished it later with watercolor. I look forward to discover new sketch-able views (well...anything is). San Miguel de Allende, show me your colors!