Rooftop Flowers, 8x10 Floral Oil Painting by Carmen Beecher

$99, Click to Purchase

This is the finished product from Monday's group session. I can't seem to stop painting San Miguel--it is like being there again, but without the Margaritas. 

I watched Jesus, the yard man, training bougainvillea up the wall, and the one in front of our villa had a trunk the size of a large tree. In the courtyard Jesus kept them tamed by nailing fishing line between two nails and weaving them in and out. I once asked a gardener how to best grow bougainvillea and he said, "With neglect." It's true. Put one in a vacant lot and see what happens.

In the Courtyard

Colors of San Miguel

Since I am working on a larger painting, I have no artwork ready to post, so I will share some of my photos from San Miguel de Allende. Above are Aztec dancers having a big celebration of their conversion to Christianity. I painted "Tiny Dancer," posted on March 23rd, from one of my photos of this scene.

I love this photo because she makes me look tall. This is the lady who owns San Miguel Shoes, and she is always dressed up in a hat.

One night at the villa we had a fiesta with a Mariachi band, and they were wonderful. Six violinists as well as five other members. The younger men decorated their guitars with those big white apple stickers you get when you buy an Apple device. Tradition meets Tech.

San Miguel dates back to the 1500s, which is really old for the New World. Or any World. I love the ancient-looking buildings with their beautiful doors and windows, and inside you may find a beautiful courtyard with flowers and trees. It's the Spanish influence, which in turn was influenced by the Moors when they occupied Spain. It's one of the things that makes San Miguel so appealing to artists.

Posted by Carmen Beecher

Bajio Mountains of San Miguel

Carmen and I saw very different sides of the wonderful Mexican city of San Miguel.  While she was a city dweller navigating the cobble stone streets and tiny sidewalks, I resided outside the town on a little farm overlooking the Bajio Mountains.  The elevation of San Miguel was quite an adjustment for me...dry and cool.  So dry in fact that most of the farmlands surrounding the mountains were various shades of brown and gold at this time of year.  But I was engaged in studying the psychology of color so the "local" tones did not stop me from interpreting the countryside from a feeling side.

Here I am sketching out two different scenes from our front porch.  One is 6 x 12 on board, the other is a 6 x 6 canvas wrapped board.

I did the under paintings in acrylic while still in San Miguel and brought them home to finish up in oil. See the blue house to the far left of the composition?  It was such a happy color that I could not resist letting it literally color my entire view of the beautiful area.

6" x 6" oil

Bajio Mountains

6" x 12" Bajio Panoramic 

And here's the panoramic view front out our front door scanning to the right and beyond of the blue hacienda next door.  The fields were either dried husks or land being plowed up to ready for planting.  Scrub trees often marked the property lines between haciendas and several times we stopped the car to let sheep or cattle cross from one field to the next.  Bright yellow blossoms were the most vibrant natural color along the highway but I never did find out the name of its weed-like plant.  The jacarandas were within days of bursting forth.

So these pieces came out warm and cool, dry and verdant, brown and green...a melange of contrasts just like the country.

Cindy Michaud 

San Miguel Morning, 8x6 Oil on Canvas

Click  to Purchase, $99

It seems as though I've been gone forever. First we went to Virginia, then my sister and I flew to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. There we got to experience the beauty of the city and the company of lovely people. Cindy was there also, but we didn't get to see each other, alas.

San Miguel hides many wonders behind its weathered walls and ornate old doors. Its architecture is influenced by the Spaniards, who were influenced by the Moors, so those doors frequently hide a beautiful courtyard decorated with tiles, fountains, and flowers. On my first morning there I looked down upon such a courtyard and saw this little bird posing in the warm light. I only got one painting done while there, but I did fill my journal pages.

Rooftop Garden

What's Behind Door No. 4?

The music was unbelievable. This page from my journal represents the music we heard, two different nights, completely different from each other. The music at Mi Casa was so beautiful that it reached deep into the soul.