Art that inspires

 “In order to have good output, you need to take time for good input.” That was a quote that I love from the venerable guitarist Peter Frampton.  Our time in San Miguel de Allende is input time that I desperately needed after a very busy and productive fall and Christmas season.

I like to walk when I’m on holidays. In fact, I do my best to avoid taking taxis, Ubers or public transit as much as is possible. On these walks I carry my camera for close up shots. My iPhone comes out when I need wider shots.  The things I see and experience wash over me; the pictures help me remember and process.

The doors of San Miguel de Allende are a great example. Wow! So many intriguing designs from so many different generations.  

When we were out for our late afternoon walk yesterday, we stumbled onto a couple of art galleries. I find it fascinating how one collection of work absolutely inspired me, while another left me flat. The artist who blew me away was Roberto Fuentevilla. He has his own gallery in one of the many markets that pepper the old downtown area of San Miguel de Allende. 

Tucked away on his bench was a portrait of a soccer player (Maradona) done in the fauvistic style. “An exercise,” he said when I pointed it out. I thought it was awesome.  

https://fuentevilla-artgallery.com/

His landscapes of the community are delightfully loose, yet imbued with striking colour and composition. I feel like I will return for a second visit.

Our next inspiring stop was this unique gallery/hotel that featured thousands of ceramic wall hangings. It is called Casa de Los Soles if you ever want to visit. Two young artists were busy painting designs around the door frames.

Heather spent a few hours with her editor, a U.S. citizen who is now a permanent resident of Mexico. While they were reconnecting I returned to the botanical garden about a kilometre from our rental house. As the sun was high overhead and the day’s temperature was at its highest, bird activity was rather quiet.

 I still managed to run into a few beauties. I sat on a rock at the east end of the preserve and tried my hand at some sketching.

 

I’m not sure of the function of this rock structure - perhaps it was an oven of some kind - but it caught my eye.

The day’s walk ended with this wonderful sunset. It gives you some sense of the elevation of where we are staying. We go up and down this incline multiple times a day. We’re going to be in much better shape then when we started this vacation.