Tree Removal Protests in San Miguel

Sketches from the passionate protests against the removal of 41 trees from Avenida Guadalupe
in San Miguel de Allende by the local municipal government.

Many children actively participating in the protest

The crowd urging the driver to step down.

Trees being lifted out of the ground

Machinery, police and protesters at a temporary standstill

People have been told the 22 year old trees will be transplanted, but no one believes it

                 

Today I went to say goodbye to the trees.

There were only a few left standing, adorned with ribbons and signs.

It was strange not to see anyone else there.

No protesters, no children.

Only the police and the workers with their machines,

and the people in the market passing by.

Hoy fui a despedirme de los árboles.

Solo quedaban unos pocos en pie, adornados con cintas y letreros.

Era extraño no ver a nadie más allí.

Sin manifestantes, sin niños.

Solo la policia y los trabajadores con sus maquinas

y la gente del mercado pasando.

The Art of Conversation

I love sketching people, and especially enjoy capturing the interactions between people in conversation. For one thing, they are usually holding still, and there is also the challenge of capturing the nuances of body language and gesture. The tilt of a head or position of the hands can often say more than words about the relationships between people.

Nothing like meeting up with a good friend at a local café in San Miguel and catch up over drinks.

At the beach in Oaxaca these hipsters were conversing long and hard about deep and meaningful topics. 

Our local urban sketching group meeting up at a rooftop restaurant to sketch and chat.

At the bus station this couple argue over maps and schedules while the daughter looks on.

This couple sat down across from me at a coffeehouse.  They don’t seem to be conversing, but the woman is actually issuing a loud running commentary on the news she is reading from her phone. The husband is obviously used to tuning her out. I think my dislike for them came out in the way I sketched them.

Choice and Chance- Sketching over Collage

I have always loved making mixed media collages and have been wondering how to incorporate them into my sketches. I decided to just randomly glue down pieces of different papers I have been collecting over the years onto my sketchbook pages and see where it would lead.

Some of the collage papers I used include various Japanese rice papers, printed papers from India, and photocopies of my own line patterns and text. and torn papers of watercolor washes.

I glued them to the paper with acrylic gel medium.

Part of the joy of this process is the chance way the sketching interacts with the paper background with lost and found edges, layering of lines and shapes, and randomness of how it all comes together in an unexpected way.

In these pages I used ink, white markers, watercolor and watercolor pencils.

This is a great exercise in incorporating choice and chance into a page, 

and a good way to let go and take a few risks.

***

View from my Capuchino

On cool winter days days we are always 

in search of good hot coffee in San Miguel.

Fortunately there are lots of options-

Under the orange trees at Sacrista Cafe in San Miguel

At the new Silverio Rooftop Bar

At PANIO in San Miguel de Allende- with irresistible chocolate muffin on the side

At the Cafe Buen Dia in San Miguel de Allende